Meghan Lynch: What a Difference a Year Makes

Meghan Lynch
Photo by GreaterSnap
One year, three minute improvement over six miles. Wow! Meghan is so ready for Club Nationals in Spokane, WA.

30th TALKING TURKEY 6 MILE CROSS-COUNTRY RACE
Holyoke, MA
Saturday, November 29, 2008 1:00PM

21 BRIAN CRONIN              GBTC  34:30  5:45

UMass grad Brian is ready for indoor track 800s, his favorite.

2007- 54 MEGHAN LYNCH                 8/94   21 S. HADLEY          MA   38:15  6:23 8th woman
2008 -26 MEGHAN LYNCH                2/98   22 S. HADLEY       MA   35:08  5:52 2nd woman

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Old Man teaches Wommack a lesson and other news

Andrew Wommack, file photo
A pack of 7-8 runners surrounded GBTC's Andrew Wommack passing first mile in around 5:10. In the following downhill the pace quickened and continued on the flat stretch of road. The surge cut down the lead group to five by the half-way point. Then the pace started to lag so Wommack pressed slightly at the front to see what would happen. At two miles, three other runners clung to Wommack. Suddenly he felt not so fresh as to press the pace. Thirty-seven year-old Mark Mayall of New Balance runner with vast experience sensed the weakening and seized the lead at 2.5 miles. He knew the young GBTC runner had a better kick and wanted to get away. Wommack let him get 15 meters ahead. Mayall's trick worked. When Wommack caught sight of the finish he started to sprint , but Mayall kicked too. The young Wommack ate up all but .6 of a second of Mayall's lead, but the wise old man prevailed. Wommack vows never to let that happen again.

BOSTON VOLVO VILLAGE THANKSGIVING DAY
5 KILOMETER ROAD RACE
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS


1 Mark Mayall 37 M New Balance Boston 15:40.1 5:04
2 Andrew Wommack 25 M GBTC15:40.7 5:04
4 Eric Greenspan 23 M 4GBTC 15:53.2 5:08
8 Adam Greenspan 26 M GBTC16:51.2 5:27
28 Tara Vance 2nd woman 25 F 4GBTC 19:08.2
790 finishers
Also:
12th Gobble Gobble Gobble
Somerville, MA, November 27, 2008
1 DANIEL HULING 18:59 4:45
14 RYAN ASCHBRENNER 21:32 5:23
19 TOMOAKI UCHIKI 21:45 5:27
20 BRAD KOZEL 21:46 5:27
30 JOHN BLOUIN 22:47 5:42
64 KEN ROSS 24:18 6:05
76 LAURA HAYDEN (4th woman) 24:47 6:12
97 HANNAH HASTINGS 25:35 6:24
139 KRISTIN SCHLEICHER 26:54 6:44
154 KATIE FAMOUS 27:09 6:48
A Smattering of other races:
14th Annual Tiger Turkey Chase
North Easton, MA, November 27, 2008

19 31:12 Lynn Johnson 06:14
22 31:21 Kathryn Fobert 06:16

35th Annual GDTC Turkey Trot 5K
Derry, NH, November 27, 2008

14 Dan Hall 00:17:56 5:47

30th PNC Bank 5k for MS
Date: November 27, 2008
Total Finish: 1416

12 White Max M 24 8 00:17:52 05:46

Newburyport xc 5k...nothin to write home about, says Mike Guarascio who ran 18:09 for 14th overall. Rolling hills with a nice big hill over the last half mile.

Our number one guy in the club nationals cross-country last year Matt Haringa ran the Schenectady Cardiac Classic under an assumed name.


Harringa says, "Unfortunately, they did not have day-of registration like they have had in years past. I lucked out however, and ran into Sam Acevedo, current RPI pole-vaulter with a 5k PR of 17:45 (current fitness- 21:22 according to Thursday's race). He explained to me how his younger brother and father would not be using their race numbers, and how we could do a shuffle to avoid messing with the age groups. As a result, "Sam" ran a nice PR and took home the trophy in his hometown Thanksgiving race."

See this link to not see Matt Harringa's name in first place ahead of a thousand runners. http://hmrrc.com/View/PDFs/Results/08cardiac.htm

Harringa muses philosophical,
"I find it a little funny that the largest race I've ever won doesn't have my name attached anywhere."

Josh Seerherman cryptically corresponds, "Just ran mine this morning . . . 4th place in the Katie Welling Memorial Run/Bronxville (NY) Turkey Trot. 14:22 for 2.5 miles (quite hilly course)."

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Tight Race at Feaster Five as GBTC goes one, two

Dr. Ronnesia Gaskins, Deana Clark, Jen Lee, and Allison McCabe celebrating Thanks for their fine races.

Donais took the early lead uphill on the slow first mile at 6:17.
McCabe stayed a stride or two behind her after the mile until two miles. GBTC's Jen Lee ran a few strides behind McCabe. McCabe discribed the course as tough. At the two mile mark McCabe pulled up right next to Donais. The two ran side-by-side, each trying to break the other. All the time Jen Lee waited behind them to make her move. At about 400m to go Lee came up next to the two leaders. The three of them ran side by side. The last 200m is a turn and up a hill. Donais surged up first, then Lee. McCabe thought she'd be settling for third, but then with about 50m to go, she found inspiration and surged past Donais. Lee followed her teammate to the thrilling finish. Although it was 30 sec. slower than last year, it was 17 sec. faster than the year before.
Gaskins and Clark brought in the whole team into the top ten. A field of 1302 women ran in the race.

5km Thanksgiving Day, Andover, MA

1. 18:34 5:59 Allison McCabe GBTC
2. 18:36 6:00 Jennifer Lee GBTC
3. 18:39 6:00 Melissa Donais Merrimack Valley Striders
6. 20:08 20:05 6:28 Deanna Clark GBTC
7 20:21 6:33 Ronnesia Gaskins GBTC

STOW GOBBLER THANKSGING DAY 5K
STOW, MA, November 27, 2008

6 JOHN RAGUIN 39 ACTON MA 17:43 5:43
554 in the race

MANCHESTER ROAD RACE
Nov. 27, 2008 4.748 Miles Manchester, CT


62 10/1002 26:26 5:34 26:27 Ryan Eckel 30 M Jamaica Plain MA USA
236 14/1186 29:55 6:18 29:56 Ellizabeth Kelly 24 F Storrs CT USA
10,462 finishers

Kate Klim in the New England Cross-Country Championships.
photo by GreaterSnap

WE GATHER TOGETHER 5K
THANKSGIVING MORNING, NOVEMBER 27, 2008
SANDWICH, CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS
35 18:46 Kate Klim GBTC
third woman 1,637 finishers

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Kibrom Up Bear Cage Hill

Kibrom Temelso, born in Ethiopia now a Boston resident, charges up Bear Cage Hill in the USATF New England Championship where he was the first man on the club team that placed third. But since he is not yet a US citizen, along with a dozen other GBTC members, he is not allowed to represent the club or compete at all in the National USATF Club Cross-country Championships.
photo by Scott Bosworth

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More Cross-Country Action

Nursing Student and Brandeis grad Gretchen Chick,left, Jane Ovanin, Wisconsin and RISD grad powering up Bear Cage Hill in Franklin Park in the New England Championships Nov 9.
Hannah Hastings, Weslyan Grad, leads Californian MIT Chemistry grad student Kristin Schleicher while Kate Klim battles a plethora of competitors.

photos by Scott Bosworth

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Open Teams each Third in NE Champs

First you start,
then you finish,
then you eat.

Top: The start of the women's 6km USATFNE Championships in Franklin Park on November 9th, 2008. Middle: John Korhonen kicking past a Central Park runner to assure the GBTC 2 point margin. Bottom: The lavish pot luck picnic including baguettes, brie, bagels, and cider.
photos by GreaterSnap

Full results are here.

Team scores:
BAA, men, 33, women, 37
New Balance Boston, men, 59, women, 40
GBTC, men, 114, women, 79
Central Park TC, 116, women 80

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Tomoaki Uchiki Wins Long 10 km

Photo by Jim Pawlicki

    No one knows exactly how much longer this was.
On Sunday you can see Tomoaki in action on the 10 km Franklin
 Park Course that is only 9845 meters, but may be muddy.
                                    
                       East Boston Savings Bank  10K+ Challenge
Peabody, MA
                   Sunday, November 2, 2008 9:30 AM
               
1 Tomoaki Uchiki        37:45  5:38

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Margaret Nervegna (1979-2008)

(Photo by Stan Hu)

"As long as we live, they too shall live. For they are a part of us, as we remember them."

We regrefully report that one of our club members, Margaret Nervegna, has passed away after a lengthy battle with astrocytoma (a type of brain cancer). A graduate of MIT, Margaret joined our club during the summer of 2001 and periodically raced for us over the years, recording lifetime PR's in the Mile, 3000, and 5000 while wearing the GBTC singlet. Although in recent years she had moved to the triathlon world, she still paid her club dues and would occasionally race for the club, such as in 2006 at the Tufts 10K for women. Margaret was a mechanical engineer at Draper Laboratories in Cambridge and her sharp wit will be missed by all the members that ran with her. When young people with such vigor as Margaret pass away there is a bit of a hole in the world.

The link to her obituary is here at the Scranton (PA) Times.

Information on her memorial service in Boston will be forthcoming, but as stated in the obituary contributions may be made to the Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Medical Center, Box 3624, Durham, NC 27710.

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Good Girls win Bad Boy

Sara Donahue took an early lead and never lost it or her smile.
Photo thanks to Sue Pearsall.

The GBTC women's team led by Sara Donahue won the 2008 Bad Boy cross-country race in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, NY on Nov 1. Donahue was followed by Allison McCabe, Jen Lee, Katie Famous, Ronnesia Gaskins, and Hannah Hastings.

The men's team placed third, with Dan Smith leading with Rob Espinosa following in seven seconds, then Junyong Pak, Ted Breen, and after a long wait, the all-important fifth man, me. The last time I ran that course was 36 years ago. There is a forest where a meadow was.

Results for the bad boys and good girls are now available.

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