Home

Fourth Wild Card Race of the Grand Pricks Series, #6

This is the fourth wild card installment in the twenty one race series.  Most running mags who report on these races center around who won and quick times.  This blog revolves around the seamy underbelly in each race; the also-rans: the has-beens: the crippled: the infirm: the insane.

  These are my people.  Read on.

13th Wachusett Reservoir Deer Run

Boylston, Massachusetts, November 4th, 2006

During the GPS #5 series, this race was one of the required races.  However, this time around it was simply a wild card race.  You only had to show up to get a point.

A friggin lousy point.

The previous series you had to beat the RAT in front of you.  This time, you just show up.

And I'm sorry to say that's what more than a few RATs did.

Just show up and run it.

No... jog the course.

I personally apologized to the race director after the race for these people.

Runners... RATs... showed up to... jog the course!  I was embarrassed.

"Hands on hips, Coach Guido scans the field for slackers.   You can see the disgust in his face! He's pissed."
 

Photos and quote courtesy of Mighty Mike Tammaro.  He should know he witnessed this perversion too.

Here are the best runners in New England, one badly injured...here...and some simply jogged the course.

No excuse...you know who you are...you friggin' pansies.

And I'm being REAL polite here.

If I don't see some PR's at Monson next week I'll call you offenders out.

I'm Mad... and you will pay.

OK, I'll put the carving knives away...for now.

The sun came up and revealed a heavy frost on everything outdoors.  So much for taking the scoot for a nice ride to this race in the country.

Boylston is a destination point in practically every scooter ride I do.  It is such a beautiful spot.

It's a perfect location for a cross country race.  Why this race isn't more popular, only drawing eighty or so every year, I'll never know.  It is a great, challenging run.  I love it. 

On my way out, I'm in my cage (SUV) testing my Megellan Roadmate 760 trying to get lost, but the unit won't let me. If you do a lot of driving, having one of these units is indispensable. Check 'em out.

I get to the school an hour early and post register, there are no numbers, they write your name on a tag and you run with that, at the finish, a volunteer hands you a numbered ticket and you turn the two in to determine the order of finish, the old fashioned way.  I like it.  Very personal, nice touch. Essential old school running.

This is how to score a race - old school

I take RAT attendance and find the indestructible Pete Brook SRR is not here.  At first I didn't see Rhode Islands Dan Ravenelle and am psyched, since he's just ahead of me in the standings, but he's here. Besides that, Caroline Ceailles is taking the day off as well as the MacSchneiders.  Must be nice

I circulate and hear the unsettling news that some people are going to "mail this one in" as in not run.

I have to turn away in disgust.

My pals Tresa Casaletto and Sarah Winkley are here... and they're here to run.

In typical Cross Country style, a hundred or so runners line up across a span off twenty yards and with a few announcements, we're off.

In the swirl of runners I fall in with Ted Ridout.  He is certainly here to run and we pace each other through the playing fields and into the woods.

The course is five miles, a two looper.

The first half mile is an out and back then angles into the woods over to the reservoir. I give it everything I got and jump out ahead of Ted knowing there's no room to pass as the course parallels the reservoir.

I give chase to the runner ahead, hearing Ted hot on my heels.

The course then turns inland up a fairly steep grade and Ted passes.

I attempt to throw a shoulder at him but he slices by, with me now hot on his heels.

Uphill over a rutted trail we duke it out, angling left back towards the school, Ted flat out now just ahead, and me fending off a runner who witnessed my attempt to push Ted into the bushes.

Clearly he's worried I might try the same trick so he paces me as we circle the playing fields back at the school.

Then it's a drag race back into the woods and I can feel Ted's fear, He pours it on downhill and I catch him at the turn-around and seeing me, he bounds out of there and I'm not letting up.

Together we pass a couple of slower runners and angle back to the reservoir.

Out of nowhere this kid passes me with reckless abandon, smashing past me with no thought to where his feet land on this rocky rutted trail.  I fall in behind him and literally push him into Ted, hoping someone will trip as we run over the narrow rocky track next to the reservoir.

The three of us now in lock-step navigate this dangerous path without regard to our safety.  Back uphill for the second time, Ted unleashes an amazing effort, digs in and leaps up the hill, the kid and me not letting up. In fact the kid, reading from my playbook, tries to shoulder Ted!

Then I remembered the second out-and-back portion seeing Runner X and Charlie Farrington together...behind us.

What? It finally registers.

In a race the only thing I see of these guys are their backs! 

And they're behind us?

Shit!

We scramble to the top of the hill and back to the school for the finish, Behind me I hear Dave Tyler call out, taunting me.

"Son of a Beyatch!" I yelp and dig in.

Two volunteers standing trailside marvel at our sprint to the finish and cheer us on.

I didn't catch Ted or the kid, but beating the Charlie Farrington left a bad taste in my mouth.

If I catch either of you two guys loafing at Monson I'm going to put my foot in your ass.

A concerned runner adds:

Accusations of dogging it!

Just-about-everyone who showed up in Boylston now is under a cloud of suspicion. So I ask you, why not name names? Why protect wusses? If it's just the two Daves, say so. Otherwise, those of us not exonerated have their good names drawn into question. Dogging it? No one from SRR dogged it Saturday. I don't know that any ever have ever. Anywhere. But since SRR was noted but not cleared in your screed, I thought it should be pointed out. By the way, there's 5 SRR people in the Top 35--more than any other club! Only two made it out to Boylston. The other 3 didn't get the 1.05 points (and didn't jog a race). Anyway, Saturday, both Kevin and I came to race:

1. Kevin Guarnotta ran a smokin' 6:09 pace. For reference, he did 6:23s at the East End and 6:38s at the Steamer (he missed Norwood). He was flying Saturday.

2. Me. Saturday, I ran my first-ever sub 7 pace trail race (6:54s). Trail races tend to do me in. In Groton last fall, I averaged 9:46s for a 9.5 mile trail race, while I did 7:31s at the paved Harvard 10 miler. Also for reference, I did 6:53s at Norwood for a paved 4 mile and 6:59s at the East End 5 (7:50s at the Steamer, pushing a double stroller).

So, we get back to the key question. Why not shine the cleansing light of disclosure? The only ones who'll feel any pain are those whose reputations deserve the comeuppance.

Chicken?

Michael Quinn
SRR

P.S. I really enjoy your race write-ups, including this one. See you next Sunday.

Another reader responds:

"Coach,

What's all this crap about me dogging a race. I ran as hard as I could at Boylston and was puke breath at the finish.

I don't pretend to be a trail runner and run very few of them. But my pace wasn't that far off from what I've been running lately on street courses. And I don't think the trails are Dave Tyler's forte either. I beat him at the Northfield trail run in the last series and that's as rare as an easy course in the RAT series. (And believe me he's looking for revenge).

 

Actually you do yourself a disservice.

 You are a good trail runner.  Not only did you beat me at Boylston this past week but I'm quite sure you came ahead of me here in the last series too.  And as you stated, in the last series Boylston was not a wild card.

So take your kudos for running a good race, but as for me dogging it--smooch my ass!" :)  

Dave "Smoocher" Martin

 

In a series of following emails then finally a confrontation like a scene from the John Wayne movie: "The Quiet Man" .

Dave Martin and I came to understand one another. Dave brought up another good point:

Not only does the Somerville Road Runners five runners in the top 35 so does the Colonial Road Runners have five in the top 35 (of which I'm one). 

So watch it SRR, CRR is looking to kick some SRR ass.  Nothing like a good old fashioned Donnybrook!

 

Dave Tyler responds:

 

Hey Coach,

 

I see you're calling me and a few others out for Boylston.  Thats ok, I can take it.    I'd ask you to reconsider the extremity of your conclusion that because you finished ahead of some people whom you usually don't beat  that you assume we were dogging it, slackers even.   Here's the deal from my perspective.  It was a trail race.  I REALLY stink at trail races, ask anyone who runs with me.  I trained on trails for the past month more than I ever have with this race in mind.  With a leaf covered rooted course like that and this marathoner's shuffle/limp,  it was all I could do to have only fallen once in the race.  Thanks to the kind runner who helped me back up when I fell along the lake and without taking advantage and passing me, never did see who it was, thanks whoever you were.  If not for the reasonably smooth surface on the last 3/4's of a mile of the course I would have never had a chance against you whatsoever.   But when I saw you up ahead, and I was closing,  I thought I'd show my respect to Coach Guido by announcing my presence with a little "here I come" (which by the way someone did to me at Haverhill which was VERY motivating)  I was proud of your response,  you sucked it up and picked it up, you really pushed hard, and held me off and my steady acceleration to try to beat you.  So I was clearly racing, no doubt in my mind.  Did I run 110%,  probably not,  its a long series,  gotta be smart to endure sometimes.  But I'm no dog, that's for sure.  I'm a Swamp Rat, pure and simple.

 

Thanks for the race,  may we race again.  Perhaps Northfield.  In the meantime,  take this chance to gain on Nails (Broken Rib) Orni,  he is tougher than you and me combined.  That's for certain.   We're in pretty tough company, are we not?

 

Keep up the good prose,  I enjoy your pen.

Dave Tyler

MVS/TriFury

 

BACK