Club News

Wild Turkey 5 Mile Race
by Mike Pelletier
Thursday, November 26, 2009

SALEM - Twenty-eight Striders toed the starting line on Thanksgiving morning, visions of medals, fleece jackets, and/or eating without guilt dancing before them. They were among almost 1200 runners who milled about in front of the Witch Museum and then set off for a run to Winter Island in the Salem Willows. For most of the throng, the size of the field quickly ended dreams of fast times and it became a three-mile warm-up followed by a long sprint to the finish.

The highest finish in a division was a first to George Geis in the veteran category. Pulling off seconds in a division were John Page, Annajean McMahon, Bonnie Hallinan, and Mike Pelletier who lucked out when all of the fast guys except George Geis went to Andover. Taking thirds in their respective divisions were Rich Tabbut, Neil Bernstein, and Melissa Behl.

In a race within the race, Mario Fagone bested Mike Pelletier by 2 minutes in a competition to see who would run the anchor leg on the Veteran team at the Mill Cities Relay.

Place in Division	Name	Time
2nd M15-19	John Page	29:51
3rd M50-54	Rich Tabbut	33:57
3rd M55-59	Neil Bernstein	34:33
6th M45-49	Gary Freedman	34:53
3rd F30-34	Melissa Behl	36:32
10th M40-44	Jay Kumar	36:33
11th M40-44	Frank Lanzillo	36:54
7th F15-19	Katelyn Page	38:58
19th M40-44	Mike Page	38:59
10th F30-34	Kate Gage	40:10
28th M35-39	Dennis Ryan	40:14
2nd F55-59	Annajean McMahon	41:03
24th F25-29	Jessica Martin	42:37
1st M65-69	George Geis	42:37
12th F45-49	Vicky Yee	43:03
10th M60-64	Mario Fagone	43:40
2nd M65-69	Mike Pelletier	45:40
2nd F60-64	Bonnie Hallinan	46:14
29th F45-49	Marisol Ficaro	46:21
37th M45-49	Kevin Counihan	46:27
14th F50-54	Betsy O'Brine	46:36
23rd M55-59	Tom Lima	46:41
56th F30-34	Molly Rowe	47:25
42nd F35-39	Marci Omlor Cunningham	48:07
39th F40-44	Karen Vitone	48:08
39th F45-49	Patty Loubris	49:23
5th F60-64	Anne Pelletier	51:50
24th M60-64	Jim Logan	56:36

Full results at Cool Running.

East Boston Savings Bank Challenge 5k/11k
by Mike Pelletier
Sunday, November 1, 2009

PEABODY - Sean Kay and Sue Quimby led the way in the 11 K with Frank Lanzillo in the middle. Joe, Vicky, Aj, and Tom were still recovering from running the Baystate Marathon two weeks ago, but Joe ran full tilt as always and earned second place among men 60+. Vicky and the McMahon twins barely broke a sweat in finishing in a three-way tie on time, but Vicky was left singing, "Why was I born too late?" when the twins scooped up first place trophies in their respective age groups. Joining them on the medal stand was Bob Holland, a surprise second place finisher among senior men, thanks to recent modifications in training. Mario and Armand are dutifully training to run the longer distances in December at the Mill Cities Relay while George works on his speed. The word among the NSS veteran runners is that Mario and Armand are right on target.

Full results at Cool Running.

In the 5K, Rich Tabbut made an auspicious return to the Striders and surged to a second place finish in his age group, only 4 seconds behind the always tough Chip Mann of Greater Lowell. George Geis cruised to second place in his age group, while behind him, Kate Gage, me, and Mary Stevens finished in the worst possible positions: 3rd in an age group when trophies went only two deep. Scott Fraser was really running strong until a side stitch hit him. Steve Kohanski ran well for being in that awkward position of ten years into an age group.

Carol Geis and Nancy Giannone finished dead even and tied in the same age group. Faced with a single 1st place trophy and a single second place trophy for their age group, the two friends have agreed to joint custody of the trophies: one month Carol will have the first-place trophy and Nancy will have the second-place trophy; the next month, they will swap.

Full results at Cool Running.