Finally,
we got a nice day for running. No snow, no rain, about 30 degrees, and a
bit more wind than we may have liked, but not as bad as the day
before. 3.7 miles - South Street-Ranney Hill March 22, 2008 8:30 am, 30 degrees, sunny, windy |
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Clear skies, Deming and Pajer
Finally,
we got a nice day for running. No snow, no rain, about 30 degrees, and a
bit more wind than we may have liked, but not as bad as the day
before.
Chris Deming, Joe Whelan and Matt Cappiello made a fast start of it, and they pulled the whole field out faster than usual. It's hard to compare, though, because the mile mark was 30 yards farther than it usually is.
After the next 22 minutes and 20 seconds, Chris was only one second ahead of Joe, with Matt about half a minute back. The most leisurely of our 55 runners were 19 minutes back.
Among the women, Alissa Pajer recorded a decisive two-minute win over Terri Lee, 14th over all, and her second win in a row. Terri was 22nd.
Friends
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We are sad to report that Shiloh longtime friend and companion of our friend Sharon Gawe will be doing the rest of her running in the next world, for she passed on Monday, March 10, 2008. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to Sharon, her friends and family. We hope that the next generation of runner-companions, Mia, Dudley, Rosie, Lucky and others, will benefit from the opportunities that Shiloh helped to make available to runners like them. We at Roxbury who knew Shiloh will miss her.
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Let us continue ou
r
study of safe clothing. Remember, two weeks ago we published the picture at the
right, noting the safe colors that Fossil
and Mary Shafer were wearing, but the drab
colors worn by the runner on the right. At the time, we could not identify
that runner, but now we see that he is our very own Dan
Lynch. We are happy to note that Dan
has seen the light, as evidenced by the photo below, and now we can see him,
too. We can also see Bob Satterlee, in
the yellow. Al Mletzko, though
colorful, isn't very bright brightly dressed.
This week we welcome back two former winners of the Prestigious Roxbury Points Race, Dave Harvey and Mark Losacco, both running their first Roxbury Race of the year. Dave, one of the first ones inducted into the Roxbury Road Race Hall of Fame, wasn't used to the new starting time (it changed ten years ago), so he was still in his car when the race began. He was apparently well-rested from waiting in his car while the rest of us scurried around pretending to "warm up," actually burning up our energy. Rapid Lynn Zuback (also a former Points Race winner) and Cindy Scannell also had punctuality issues this week.
It was a bit like a Whalen family reunion at
the starting line today, with Heather (43), Jack
(10), Sarah (12) and John
(42) all there at once, and Joe Whelan
lurking like a distant relative. We often have several Demings
and Ongs, and as many as five Levys.
It's nice to be able to extend the Roxbury Family Discount Plan to the Whalens
as well.
Safety
Safety is important. That's why Scott Benjamin gives us the safety warning every month. That's also why we encourage runners to dress in bright colors so that drivers can see us better. (See above)
Be safe. Be polite to the drivers. Remember, if a car hits you, it probably won't damage the car much at all.
Always choose a safe line.
Try to stay on the same side of the road, usually facing traffic.
In general, follow the people in front of you. You can see them better than they can see you.
Call traffic warnings to other runners. "Car up!" or "Car back!" Even if it's a truck.
Dress brightly. Cars see bright orange, blue and red better than they see gray. Give them a chance to miss us.
Fossil has three rules of running:
Be safe
Have fun
It's more fun if you run well
Be nice to the drivers. For the most part, they like us, and they are proud to have us running in Roxbury. Smile, and, if you wave, be sure you use all five fingers.
This week's pictures
Up top we have the pictures of three runners who race with no shoes on. The only one of them who ran this week was Dudley Ong, on the far left.
Then we have two pictures about safe and less-safe running attire. We note that many runners were much more brightly dressed this week.
Below that we have a rare example of a fairly good photograph. Doesn't that look nice with the colorful blue against the about-to-bloom forsythia in the background? The runner is Mark Losacco.
Below that we have brothers Chris and Larry Deming, and a little farther down, the top women's points finishers in the 2007 Prestigious Roxbury Points Race
Along side the results we
have Brian
Vanderheiden and Torpedo Ruospo
battling the elements at Boston last year. Where's Torpedo
this year. Then there's a shot of
Mark Zerbe in his red vest. He, too,
ran his first Roxbury Race of the year this week. Then we
have Jon Binzen worrying about the fog in
front of the pavillion. Near the bottom of the column,
a shot of Fast Mario Hasz and his wife Diane, the Belle of the Finish
Line.
Down at the bottom, we have Fossil meeting a dragon in Germany. He was back in Germany recently, and the dragon is still there and as healthy as ever.
The Roxbury Races are now listed on the Internet both on RunningInTheUSA and on HiTekRacing.com. For information contact Bob Lewis at bwlnm (at) aol (dot) com, or at 203 240 0162.
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Alternate races
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Current points standings
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Over all |
Women |
Other |
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Created March 22, 2007
This is one of the dragons in the fountain outside the 500-year old church in Halle, a rural city in the old East Germany.
