NRA-Texas

Quiz: What's the most distant race venue in which a Narragansett Running Association singlet has been worn?

Unless anyone provides evidence to the contrary, it's Glenda or Suellen Adams. Though Glenda Adams lives in Texas, she makes more Thursday group runs than some locals and wins more than her share of age-group awards while sporting the NRA colors in faraway Texas. In this week's picture we see (left) Glenda demonstrating her deep knowledge of NRA ritual by worshiping the neon Sierra Nevada Pale Ale sign (which is correctly placed higher than the Texas-shaped neon sign). On the right Glenda and Suellen break tradition and enjoy(??) a post-race Bud Light, but at least they're sporting the colors. Oh, and in case anyone's interested:

From Wikipedia.com: "The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "Snowy Range") is a mountain range located in the U.S. state of California. In a few places, it overlaps into neighboring Nevada. The range is also known informally as the Sierra, the High Sierra, and the Sierras."

From sierranevada.com: "Our most popular beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, is a delightful interpretation of a classic style. It has a deep amber color and an exceptionally full-bodied, complex character. Generous quantities of premium Cascade hops give the Pale Ale its fragrant bouquet and spicy flavor."

Joe Pascale and Colburn Graves

I'm going to start keeping track of Super 5K "streakers" after this year's race. You know, a list of people who have run every Super 5K since the first one in 2005. With 185 finishers in the first race, we can confidently say that 0 and 185 are the upper and lower boundaries on the length of that list. Surely it will contain a bunch of NRA people, but who else? How about 74 year old Colburn Graves from Stonington and 84 year old Joe Pascale from North Providence? Not only have they run all three Super 5K's, but Super 5K 2008 looks to be a heated rematch between these 70+ age-division rivals. You see, Colburn has beaten Joe by just 1, 2, and 2 places in the first three Super 5K's. This week's picture is a scene about halfway into the 2006 race, and Colburn (right) is running off Joe's shoulder (perhaps drafting!). Unfortunately (for Joe anyway) Colburn threw in a surge and beat Joe by 31 seconds.

Chiller Chase

The Chiller Chase was a mid-January 5K that ran four consecutive years (2004-2007). Starting at the Adeline LaPlante Memorial Center on Willard Ave. in Wakefield, it looped up South Rd., down Allen Rd., and back to the Laplante Center on Willard. Described as 'gently rolling', the course rarely gave up fast times. As Jeff Gould would say, it's an honest course. This week's picture is from the 2006 edition and if you look closely you'll see a few NRA guys, a few Turtles, Chris Poulos, Joe Siravo, Claire Gadrow, and Patricia Hillery (possibly Jim Griffin too). The NRA guys are wearing the old-style singlets. The NRA women dominated this race with Trish Hillery (Trish, do you mind if we call you NRA?) winning in 04, 06, and 07, and Claire Gadrow winning in 05. The only male NRA victory was Mike Tammaro in 05.

Jim Sullivan in 2006.

According to the results pages on coolrunning dot com, there have been 72 (seventy two) 5K races in Rhode Island in 2007*. Though some self-proclaimed purists bristle at the mention of a 5K road race, most are for charitable causes and the 5K distance nicely accommodates both walkers and runners. Besides, there’s nothing wimpy about Kenenisa Bekele’s 12:37 (4:04 pace) men’s 5K world record or Elvan Abeylegesse’s 14:24 (4:38 pace) women’s record. If you’re interested in doing another 5K this year, you only have one more chance: The 6th Annual Jingle Bell Beach 5K on Narragansett Beach. It starts at 3:45pm, and you can find more information and a race application at the Organization Plus site (http://www.geocities.com/oplusfinish/upcoming.html). This week’s picture is from last year’s race, and we see Jim Sullivan taking advantage of the low tide and finding firm footing. Jim placed 13th last year, barely edged out by sub-3:00 marathoner Claire Gadrow.

*(Breaking them down by number/month, we find 1/Jan, 1/Feb, 2/Mar, 6/Apr, 8/May, 13/Jun, 1/Jul, 3/Aug, 16/Sep, 14/Oct, 6/Nov, and 1/Dec.)

Dave's secret parking lot.

Mark your calendar. Saturday, February 16th, 2008. The 10th annual Martha's Vineyard 20 Miler. This is a classic winter race and an NRA tradition. Don't let the rumors of lukewarm showers at the Oak Bluffs school dissuade you. Beer on the ferry and the post race party at Dave's makes it all worthwhile. Last year the NRA cleaned up, with most everyone going home with a medal. We even won both the male and female "currently lives on an island" categories with strong finishes by Andrea 'I live in Jamestown' Brayman and Tim 'I still have Staten Island on my license' Mahoney. In this photo we have Tim and Liz preparing for the short walk to the ferry from Dave's secret parking lot in Falmouth.

Byron

From the Marine Corps Marathon site: "31 years of MCM history can all be traced back to one man Colonel Jim Fowler, and big idea. According to Fowler, 'After the Vietnam War, popularity of the military services declined in the eyes of many. At the same time, distance running was gaining considerable positive attention.' This thought process lead Fowler to write a memo to his superior, General Michael Ryan, dated 17 October 1975, outlining his idea for a Marine Corps Reserve Marathon, to promote community goodwill, showcase the Marine Corps, serve as a recruiting tool and finally, to give local Marines an opportunity to qualify for the legendary Boston Marathon." The NRA has had very few MCM participants, but on October 28th 2007, Navy man Byron McKenzie ran MCM in 3:08:02 placing 312th out of over 20,000 runners, 2nd among RI finishers, and qualifying for the Boston Marathon in the process. In this week's picture, we see Byron (#23022) looking fresh early on, and it's no surprise because Byron ran very rare negative splits (1:35:09/1:32:53).

Staten Island, night before.

To the best of this author's knowledge, there were eight NRA members who ran the NYC marathon last weekend: Jim, Maureen, Melissa, Mike, Zak, Ryan, Brian, and Dave. Zak, Brian, and Ryan each turned in a solid performance, placing in the top 250 of a 38,000-runner field. This week's picture is a scene from the night before at the home of Mike T's friend Susan, who generously hosted six runners for the weekend. Susan lives on Staten Island, only 1/4-mile from the Staten Island Ferry, where runners board buses for a three-mile ride to the start.

Twinkie The Kid

Happy Halloween. Due to 2008 being a leap year, Halloween in 2008 will be on a Friday. Please be prepared for a big NRA Halloween costume party. The Dublin Marathon is only a few days earlier (Monday, 10/27/2008), and those who run Dublin are NOT exempt from the pre-party group run (we always have a group run before our parties). Keeping with the Irish theme, this week's picture is a shot from Sunday's Jack O' Lantern Jog at which Brian McNeiece took first place running as Batman. Dave Tetreault finished a (pretty slow for him) 23rd place, but luckily he saved face by winning the "most difficult costume to run in" prize. Ryan Blazejewski finished a very-slow-for-him 32nd place, but he did not save face because nobody knew that the ice chisel completing his ice fisherman costume weighed 40 lbs! There was a big NRA turnout, with too many NRA finishers to name here. This is the third consecutive year that NRA took 1st place in both male and female categories, with Andrea taking top female all three times. In this week's picture we see Dave enduring the post-race foot pain inflicted by running in cowboy boots with complete dignity. What are you laughing at Andrea?

Perfect Day All Around

Sunday was a perfect day for running, but the low humidity and unseasonably high temperatures made it a perfect day for virtually any outdoor activity. This week's picture shows four of the five NRA members who enjoyed a Sunday afternoon on the water. On the left we have a partially occluded Dave "Honky" T., Denise, and Ryan (who appears to be wearing women's sunglasses). On the right we have one of the two new Kates. Kate decided that sailing with her new NRA buddies was more important than schoolwork. Good call.

Final sprint: 2007 Super 5K

Here we have two runners are enjoying the last 50 meters of the 2007 Super 5K. With the Patriots rolling, and preparations for the 2008 Super 5K underway, we thought some Super 5K trivia was in order:

How many times have the Patriots played on a Super 5K day? Once, on Feb. 6th, 2005.

How many times has an NRA male placed top 5 in the Super 5K? Three times. Zak Kudlak got 4th in 2005. Ryan Blazejewski got 4th and 5th in 2006 and 2007.

How many times has an NRA woman placed top 5 in the Super 5K? Five times. Rosie Sosnowski placed 2nd and 5th in 2005 and 2006. Claire Gadrow placed 4th and 3rd in 2005 and 2007. Laurie Feit-Melnick placed 4th in 2007.

How many times has 16:00 been broken in a Super 5K? Six times.

How many times has 15:00 been broken in a Super 5K? No times.

Number of finishers in 2005, 2006, and 2007? 185, 242, and 284