By Linda Desjardins and Mike Pelletier
November 7, 2015. A typical fall day. The pedestrian adjective would be “pretty.” It was a pretty day: sunny, clear, crisp and a good day to run with temps in the upper 50’s. There was a larger than usual contingent of older runners, a comforting sight to those of us who are usually the only oldies but goodies at races. It was pretty nice.
With Lake Quannapowitt on our right and autumn leaves cascading down and strewing the street and sidewalk, runners had a pretty good feeling of what it must be like to run in a landscape painting. It was pretty windy. Tucking behind someone taller and larger and drafting behind other runners was a pretty good strategy.
The 14 participating North Shore Striders did a pretty good job of making their presence known. Our hard efforts warmed us up on a breezy day. But post race, body heat dissipated rather quickly and we were pretty much shivering with the other runners awaiting awards ceremonies. This race had an ambience that was a little different than most races, and it might have been due to seeing the accomplishments of so many runners of advanced ages. It was pretty wonderful.
Here is a link to race pictures of the Run for All Ages which Roger Perham has sent:
https://picasaweb.google.com/112526321345334757614/November72015?authuser=0&feat=directlink
14th Annual Run For All Ages
Wakefield, MA, November 7, 2015
OA place in age-group (OA= Overall place out of 327 finishers)
43 3/14 M6064 William Kobus Salem MA 63 M 22:00.3 7:05
58 3/27 F5059 Lauren Hamilton Beverly MA 51 F 23:05.3 7:26
76 9/38 F3039 Vanessa Diranian Peabody MA 39 F 24:13.8 7:48
109 10/27 M7074 George Geis Beverly MA 74 M 26:02.9 8:24
119 11/27 M7074 Michael Pelletier Salem MA 73 M 26:33.9 8:34
131 1/10 F6569 Linda Desjardins Hampton NH 67 F 27:04.8 8:43
140 11/14 M6064 Neil Bernstein Swampscott MA 63 M 27:15.2 8:47
144 11/16 M6569 Thomas McMahon Lynn MA 65 M 27:20.4 8:48
170 10/27 F5059 Maureen Kelly Peabody MA 50 F 28:43.4 9:15
233 17/27 F5059 Mary Stevens S. Hamilton MA 52 F 32:30.7 10:28
248 23/27 M7074 Armand Claveau Georgetown MA 73 M 33:59.7 10:57
270 20/27 F5059 Jane Schwerdtfeger Lynn MA 56 F 36:51.3 11:52
276 35/38 F3039 Jenny Reynolds Salem MA 33 F 38:24.0 12:22
316 2/4 F8084 Nancy Wilson Nahant MA 80 F 47:48.8 15:24
The following table contains the age-graded results for all of the Striders at the Masters level or above. Notice the Agegrd% Age Grade Percent column which compares runners to their same-age peers. According to the explanation below the table: Linda, Bill, Lauren, and George are all at the Regional Class Level; me, Tom, and Neil are at the Local Class level; and Maureen, Nancy, Armand, Mary, and Jane are all on the verge of moving into that classification. Jenny and Vanessa just need to age up to enjoy the benefits of age-graded results.
The Agegrad column is the time for a 5K which a runner in the open age bracket would run if their effort were equivalent. You can find an age-graded calculator and explanation at http://www.runbayou.com/Wavacalc.htm . (Thank you to Linda Desjardins for tipping me off to this website.)
Age-Graded Results at Run For All Ages
Place Name Ag S No. City/state Finish Pace Agegrad Agegrd%
11 Linda Desjardins 67 F 371 HAMPTON NH 27:10 8:46 18:57 78.35
29 William Kobus 63 M 443 SALEM MA 22:05 7:08 17:18 74.83
17 Lauren Hamilton 51 F 408 BEVERLY MA 23:11 7:29 20:13 73.49
40 George Geis 74 M 462 BEVERLY MA 26:07 8:26 18:05 71.53
46 Michael Pelletier 73 M 375 SALEM MA 26:39 8:36 18:44 69.08
77 Thomas McMahon 65 M 436 LYNN MA 27:24 8:51 21:04 61.33
80 Neil Bernstein 63 M 422 SWAMPSCOTT 27:23 8:50 21:27 60.42
43 Maureen Kelly 50 F 319 PEABODY MA 28:52 9:19 25:29 58.38
54 Nancy Wilson 80 F 223 NAHANT MA 48:07 15:32 26:43 55.74
106 Armand Claveau 73 M 376 GEORGETOWN 34:05 11:00 23:58 53.98
64 Mary Stevens 52 F 495 S. HAMILTON 32:57 10:38 28:23 52.85
75 Jane Schwerdtfeger 56 F 435 LYNN MA 36:52 11:54 30:08 49.11
AGE GRADE PERCENT: 100% = World Record Level, Over 90% = World Class, Over 80% = National Class, Over 70% = Regional Class, Over 60% = Local Class
Mike Pelletier wrote all the race summary material. That’s his hard work, not mine. At the very least he deserves co-authorship credit as I only wrote the short paragraphs of race description. Mike does an incredible job of compiling all the statistics and making us feel like conquering heroes!