It was fantastic to see so many Striders turn out for the annual Lynn Woods Relay this past Wednesday night! Though only two and a half miles this is not an easy race, featuring two long, steep hills at the outset, topped off with a gnarly, steep-stepping goat path before the final downhill return – all with the added obstacle of rocks and roots to step over while running as fast as possible. What a workout! But the Striders put together some formidable teams that did a spectacular job tackling all of these challenges. Among these, the Men’s Super Veteran team of Armand Claveau, George Geis, Giuseppe Giannone, and Mike Pelletier; the Women’s Veteran team of Linda Desjardins, Deb Jackson, Anne Pelletier, and Linda Fitzpatrick; and The Women’s Senior team of Jayne Sexton, Denise Young, Marisol Ficaro, and Mariellen Hayward all placed first in their respective divisions. The Men’s Veteran team of Bill Kobus, Neil Bernstein, Roger Perham, and Tom McMahon; and the Men’s Senior team of Dan Forster, Martin Tighe, Steve Weitzler, and Michael Veatch each earned second place in their divisions. The Women’s Masters team of Rosie Kyes, Lauren Hamilton, Sue Arslanian, and Maureen Kelly placed fourth. The top three teams in each division at the Lynn Woods Relay are recognized with awards, but because it’s such a competitive division, the Men’s Open team awards go five deep. The NSS Men’s Open team of Aidan Kay, Sean Kay, Sean Michael Kay and Andy Moore proved themselves exceptional competitors, placing sixth in the division. In addition to these teams, there was simply a lot of really impressive running done on the trails Wednesday night – and a few impressive recoveries by those who fell victim to the loose footing!
Once the sweat stopped pouring and the hills were becoming a memory of the mind rather than the legs, one of the best things about the Lynn Woods Relay is the annual NSS pizza party afterward. Thanks to Anne Pelletier for organizing the special requests for pizza and/or soda from each and every team member, we had a feast of really good pizza in even better company. To see the latest NSS Grand Prix results, including last Friday night’s Derby Street Mile, click here. To see a few photos (thanks, Roger!) of Striders at the race, click here.
This is a wonderful write-up, Karen, capturing the essence of Lynn Woods. I’d only add that it chews us up and then spits us out; but we keep returning with a vengeance. What the terrain doesn’t eat up, the mosquitos do! But man, what a good time.