Lisa, forgetting to wear green. : (

Holiday theme races focusing on St. Patrick's Day are popular, especially those finishing at a an Irish Pub. Somerville's "An Ras Mor" 5K is no exception, and on March 13, 2005 a small NRA contingent set off for Somerville with PR's and post-race beers in mind. Due to road construction the course was changed, and the official distance became "about 3.6 miles", which was not announced before the start. Many runners started their kick only to find the finish line about 1/2 mile further than expected. We still had fun anyway, and making the trip were Rich, Ellen, Lisa, and Mike. Here we have one-time-NRA-treasurer and proud-to-be-Irish Lisa Ryan smiling through the about 2.5 mile checkpoint. Lisa got 83'rd of 400 and ran about a 7:15 pace. Lisa's still with us and was last spotted at the sunrise run this morning.

more pain

We have confirmation that the Jingle Bell Beach Run will not interfere with the holiday party. Meridith Nelson's site (to find it google "Organization Plus") has the listing, and it's on Sunday 12/9 at 1:30pm. This week's picture is yet another photo from the 2006 race in which Brian McNeiece (barefoot) outkicked his closest competitor in the final 1/2 mile. Brian is headed up to New Hampshire this weekend to run the New Hampshire Marathon. He's defending champ. Good luck Brian. (Thanks to Dave Tonks for the pictures.)

pain

Just a couple of NRA guys running the 2006 Jingle Bell Beach run. In this heated rematch, the 2004 champ (right) ran stride-for-stride with the eventual winner (left) until the final turn at the north end of Narragansett Beach. Let's hope the 2007 Jingle Bell Beach run doesn't conflict with our holiday party on 12/02/07.

Melissa

We had a great showing at the Block Island 15K. Top NRA was comeback-kid Zak Kudlak, who placed 5th overall. Tara Cardi won the female division in a very impressive 6:10 pace (heat and hills notwithstanding). Overall, NRA placed 4 in the top 10, and had about 25 participating. Many turned it into a weekend event, but those who took the 7pm ferry back to the big island had their fun too, as evidenced by this week's picture. Here we have Melissa Nathaniel slurping from the victory cup with Zak Kudlak (left) and Ryan Blazejewski (front) eagerly awaiting their turn. The author of this report was not present at the time, so we cannot report on the cup's contents.

Mr. T

This week's picture illustrates two unfortunate trends of the 1980's: tube socks and men with perms. The runner (we'll refer to him as "Mr. T" to protect his identity) is a current NRA member and is seen here at the 1981 Old Stone 10K, in which he finished seconds from 40 minutes. Mr. T no longer wears tube socks or wears a perm, but he's a regular at some of our group runs and is still a strong runner. In his own words, "The picture is from the 1981 Old Stone Bank 10K. The race was held in October in conjunction with an Octoberfest celebration on South Main Street in Providence. South Main Street was closed to traffic and there was plenty of food, drink, music and merriment. (Particularly at Muldoon's Saloon!) As best as I can recall, the race started at the gold domed Old Stone Bank building on South Main Street (now occupied by Rhode Island's Office of Attorney General); headed north on North Main Street (with a hill at the end), turned right (heading east) on Olney Street (another hill), continued to head east on several residential side streets before coming out onto Blackstone Blvd; turned left onto Blackstone Blvd. heading north and continued until the end (flat); turned left heading west, eventually coming out onto North Main Street; turned left and headed south on North Main Street, then South Main Street to the finish."

good boy

The NRA isn't all about being fast, but we do have some real talent. Here we have two of NRA's fastest: Rosie Sosnowski and Zak Kudlak. They were counselors at a cross country camp this summer and we'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Booty Shot

"....the Battle of Stonington, the encounter during the War of 1812 when a substantial British naval squadron attacked a small coastal village, employing more than 160 cannon and firing more than fifty tons of shells, rockets, missiles, and cannonballs against only three cannons in a makeshift fort. On August 12, 1814, having failed to do whatever it was they intended to do, the British withdrew." (from http://www.stoningtonhistory.org/archiv6.htm)

The annual celebration of the Battle of Stonington includes a 5K road race that winds through Stonington Borough, starting and finishing near the free library in the town square. Up for grabs? A case of red, a case of white, and a fistfull of cash. Place overall for cash, place in your age group for a bottle of wine. Of the ten NRA members running the race, no fewer than eight took home cash or liquid hardware. In fact, of the seven people who traveled to the race in Carlene's gigantic Navigator, all seven traveled home with a bottle of wine in their lap. Carlene, Denise, and Ryan each smashed their all time PR's at the 5K distance and NRA friendly Glen Guilmette got 2nd place overall. This is the third consecutive year that we've sent a group to this race, and if you can think of a better way to spend a Tuesday afternoon, please drop a note in the suggestion box. This week's picture is the group photo and before anyone tries to give Rick Cota a conciliatory hug (he's the only one not holding any booty), please note that Rick almost set his old-man PR at the 5K distance and perhaps would be drinking wine at this very instant if it were not for his NRA comrades who finished ahead of him. Good times.

car stickers

The NRA has two logos. The car stickers use the old logo while the newer logo appears on the singlets. Peter Barbera coordinated the design of the old logo. There were four versions of the old logo submitted, but the one with the tower-in-circle caught on. In this week's picture we have a collage of pictures of tower-in-circle car stickers, and these were taken at the summer party after dark and after dinner (and several drinks). If you can identify the owners of these cars you will win a new NRA car sticker autographed by the NRA officer of your choice!

Deerfoot

When's the last time an American won the Boston Marathon? 1985, Lisa Larsen Weidenbach (f). The last time before that? 1983, Joan Benoit (f) and Greg Meyer (m). When's the last time a Rhode Islander won the Boston Marathon? 1941, Les Pawson (m). The last time before that? 1939, Ellison Brown (m).

As NRA members we have a loose kinship with Ellison "Tarzan" Brown. Not only was he a Rhode Islander, but a Narragansett Indian. Born in Westerly, RI on Septenber 22, 1914, he won the Boston Marathon in 1936 (2:33:40) and 1939 (2:28:51). He was killed in 1975 when a car hit him in the parking lot of The Wreck bar in Westerly.

In this photo "Deerfoot" (Tarzan Brown's Indian name) poses for a picture that appeared in a 1939 issue of PIC magazine. On the right he's on his way to his 1939 Boston victory in which he set a course record.

Warren Angell

It was the hottest Blessing in years. Very few people had a decent race, and almost nobody achieved their goal time. Matt Pelletier (RH) was first overall in a very impressive 51:02. Suellen Adams (NRA) set a distance PR in that heat, actually beating her goal time. In this week's picture, though, we have Warren Angell, who only recently started running with the NRA. He's one of the few runners who had a decent race, and perhaps his affection for the punishing "blue runs" in Exeter is one of the reasons. Warren sports a 2:52 marathon PR and is in the process of getting back to running after a long layoff and will be running the Philadelphia Marathon in November.

Thanks to George Ross of TNT for permission to use the picture.