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3.55 miles - up Hemlock October 26, 2002 |
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Keyless, but not Winless
Keyless Bob Derringer was one of the best
Roxbury runners never to win a race. Persistence finally paid off, and Bob
notched his first career victory, with perennial rival JT Schemm as his
victim. Before the race, everyone knew the race would probably be between
JT and Bob, with a chance that Ken Merrick would climb in to the mix. Ken
got
a
slow start, though, and it was JT and Bob for the first half mile.
As they turned off West Apple Lane on to South Street, JT made the first of his many surges and opened five yard gap on Bob. More surges over the next mile extended the lead to about 25 yards as they passed the General Store. By then, though, Bob was beginning to realize that his hopes would be dashed if he let the lead grow any more, and he started answering the surges. Over the next mile, as they ground their way up the Hemlock Road hill, JT's lead eroded, and Bob passed him as they reached the pavement near the top of the hill. At almost that same instant, the sun peeked through the clouds for the first time of what was otherwise a rainy morning, giving, it seemed, a celestial blessing to Keyless Bob's imminent victory.
The leg speed that had made JT Schemm the WCC 800 meter champion when he was a star at Brookfield High School some ten years ago had been left on the hill, and Bob built a nine second lead over the last 3/4 mile.
The race for third place was somewhat similar, as Ken Merrick waited until the very last moment, as they turned off Rocky Mountain Road on to West Apple Lane, just a hundred meters from the finish, to pass Steve Benoit.
Pam Quist won for the women, five places and three minutes ahead of Nora Hulton.
Our top left photo shoes Keyless Bob in his fast shoes as he nears the finish line last week. On the right is the Fossil, looking not very fast.
The Roxbury Races are now listed on the Internet on CoolRunning.com and on HiTekRacing.com AND on runningintheusa.com. All the great sites link to RoxburyRaces.com!
(when available)
This week's Roxbury results
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Al Curtis looks surprised that he's already at the finish line.
Gregg Scribner is running his first marathon on Sunday.
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Last modified: October 26, 2002