Sweltering, hilly, Newburyport 10 miler

Matt Haringa catching earlier-starting 5 km runners
Photos by GreaterSnap

With sweaty hair flapping, Matt Haringa ran down the Moulton brothers in the last miles to take a splendid 5th place. He said he felt good. Hot off the Utica Boilermaker 15 km and prepared for racing long in the heat, he led the team to an official 2nd place.

Christy Bonstelle ran an equally luminous race in the lip-sucking heat and humidity. This race is a New England Classic with nearly the entire town turning out to party and cheer along the streets. Racing runners could hear the celebrations and smell the beer as they passed.

More photos are here, full results are here, and GBTC results are below.

Christy Bonstelle: training for October's Bay State Marathon
Photos by GreaterSnap

Female team 7th and male 2nd.
Yankee Homecoming 10 Miles
Newburyport, MA, July 28, 2009

mid 80s humid.

1 Patrick Tarpy 51:05 5:07 RUN (RETAILERS UNION)
5 Matthew Haringa 53:26 5:21 GBTC
14 Kibrom Temelso 55:30 5:33 GBTC
15 Dan Smith 56:12 5:38 GBTC
16 Andrew Wommack 56:14 5:38 GBTC
21 Ryan Aschbrenner 3 57:39 5:46 GBTC
26 Tomoaki Uchiki 59:17 5:56 GBTC
35 Brad Kozel 1:01:18 6:08 GBTC
67 Dustin Barnes 1:06:06 6:37 GBTC
103 Christy Bonstelle 1:08:59 6:54 GBTC
111 Scarlett Graham 1:09:14 6:56 GBTC
134 Dan Hall 1:10:39 7:04 GBTC
287 Norm Robbie 1:17:14 7:44 GBTC
731 Joy Will 1:30:07 9:01 GBTC
1351 finishers

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Women Win Nationals!

Men place 4th, Combined Team places 2nd.

Photos of the GBTC by GreaterSnap

Classic track and field drama brings the meet score down to the last event, the relay. So it went in NYC Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island on Saturday July 11th between the host Central Park Track Club and the Greater Boston women's team. The score would play out to CPTC's favor only if they won the 4x4 relay and GBTC placed last or not at all. In a relay anyone can drop a baton or run out of a zone and be disqualified. The GBTC team of Jessica Klett, Sara O'Brien, Ronnesia Gaskins and Allissa Nelson stayed in the zone, only one place behind CPTC, producing a winning final score of 159 to 154!

The men's team placed 4th, and in the combined (men+women) scoring GBTC was the national runner-up.

Full results here. More photos below.


Alexander Engel hands off to Hafiz Greigre in the 4x400

GBTC's Joeane Jadotte wins Discus at Club T&F; also won shot, fifth in hammer. Photo by Mike Scott

Jen Harlow won the high jump at Club Nationals Photo by GreaterSnap

General photos of the event are here and here.
Photos by our own GreaterSnap are at Flickr

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A Coversation with TJ Record Holder Sherita Williams

Sherita Williams, holder of the GBTC triple jump record at 13.52m (44' 4.25"), competed at the USATF National championships in Eugene last month. With a first jump of 13.33m (43' 9") she qualified for the final; that ended up as her best jump, good for 8th place. The Wingfoot caught up with her a few days later.

Wingfoot: You placed 8th at Nationals and jumped a season's best...how did that measure up against your goals going in?

Sherita Williams: I was actually very disapointed with my performance. I went in anticipating that I would jump at least 13.50+ based on how I was training leading up to the competition. I had a lot of hurdles this season.

WF: Can you say more about those?
SW: I had some nagging hamstring tightness that was an old hinderance from last year. I also twisted my ankle 1.5 months before Nationals at the outdoor meet at Icahn Stadium in NY.

(Interview continues - click "more")

WF: It was very windy out there. Did the wind affect your jumping? I would think it must be hard to get the run-up right.
SW: It really did. I was already a bit off with my run up and the wind only added another factor into a not so good performance.

WF: Well, of course, to most of us at GBTC it's amazing to get into the finals at Nationals. Can you tell us something about the experience of being out there with all the elite athletes?
SW: Yes, you are right; in hindsight even though I didn't compete up to my standards, I was pleased with myself just making it to Nationals after a long, tough season. The experience of being with elite athletes is like no other. It's almost like we all speak some sort of strange language that only we can understand. There is a high level of respect for everyone competing, everyone there understands the sacrifices and turmoils of just making it to Nationals. The feeling is like no other...being in the elite athlete atmosphere is like seeing distant family that you only see once or twice a year; the entire time you are together is priceless.

WF: Will you be jumping this weekend at Club Nationals?
SW: Yes, I am looking forward to finishing up my season at Club Nationals. I will be taking a year away from track so it is going to be sort of a bitter sweet goodbye for a season.

WF: Ah, well maybe this will be your chance to get off some bigger jumps before season's end. What's on the agenda for next year?
SW: I hope Club Nationals will bring some great jumps. Next year I am going to finally give my body the much needed rest it needs to heal some nagging injuries. I will still be training but at a more leisurely level. I will most likely start going to physical therapy, chiropractor, stretch-ologist and a nutritionist to ensure that I am in tip top shape the next couple of years for 2012. Also personally I just bought a house so this will give me some time to do some home projects that are needed.

WF: That sounds like a great plan. I think we often neglect the importance of recovery time. Any other words of wisdom you'd like to share with the rest of us at GBTC?
SW: I am just so thankful for my friends at GBTC and everywhere else that continue to support me and and to be a positive factor in my life. I would also like to add that it was GBTC that gave me a great foundation to come back to track and I am so thankful for that.

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Team Set For Nationals in New York City

Just two of nearly fifty GBTC members going to Randall's Island, Icahn Stadium. Pictured are Giannis Papadopoulos and Jen Lee.
photo by GreaterSnap

The entry list is available here. GBTC won the men's and women's club championships in 2002 and has always been a top contending club.

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Deanna Clark: Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Deanna Clark posing with her well-earned medal.
Photo by Stander

GBTC's Deanna Clark ran her fastest 400 meter time of the season today in the Eastern Regionals despite strong winds. She and the rest of the team are sharpening for the Club Nationals in NYC next week.

See the full results from Eastern Regionals here.

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The Faces of Competition

Ronnesia Gaskins won the USATFNE 800 meter championships on June 21 at the MIT track in Cambridge.
photo by GreaterSnap

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