course. Ranney Hill Road is the only road that we race on in Roxbury with
the word "Hill" in its name. Fitting.Up Chalybes March 19, 2005 8:30 am. 30 degrees, sun |
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The weather jinx missed us this week, and 65 hardy souls (soles?) toed the
line. It was the largest field that anybody can remember, though rumors of
a field of 74 back in 1983 occasionally pop up. Regardless, there were
more than three times as many of us this week as there were last week. We braved
the formidable incline on the 3.7 mile Ranney Hill Road
course. Ranney Hill Road is the only road that we race on in Roxbury with
the word "Hill" in its name. Fitting.
Rookie Jeremie Schumacher was the fast guy today. He showed up expecting to win, but points leader Jeff Sheldon and high school ace Alister Ratcliff made him sweat for his prize.
Roxbury's own Theresa Krebs, gearing up for her first Boston Marathon in just four weeks, became the season's first double winner, edging Caroline White by 22 seconds to take the prize. Women's points leader Pam Quist was the third woman.
Farther back
The continuing rivalry between so called "friends" John Murphy Jr. and Bill Gillen took another turn today. As they turned on to West Apple Lane, just half a mile from the finish, Gillen had the lead, but Murphy went storming past to triumph by just four seconds.
Another regular confrontation is between
Mark Zerbe and the Fossil.
Four out of five races this year it's been the same story, Fossil catches Zerbe
in the last mile to win by a place or two. The fifth time, though, Zerbe
won by eleven places, so he holds a six point lead in the Prestigious Roxbury
Points Race.
News from Eire
One of our overseas correspondents writes from Ireland, where even the electrons are green:
Dear Ed
Last week's Roxbury page ,with its clever piece of blarney in
Erinising 'O Sacco', prompted me to send this congratulatory note to show that I
am still following events from Ireland.I now know that ,as well as being
proficient in ethology (hence the interest in dragons) ,you have also mastered
etymology (hence your ability to play so well on words). In any event, I wanted
to send best seasonal greetings to you and all the Roxbury participants. If legs
feel lighter to-morrow in the days after St.Patrick's Day it is because I have
sought the assignment of a group of Irish Leprechauns to help with to-morrow's
proceedings (one per participant except for Sinead who, with typical Irish
fairness, gets two)! Hope you all have a good run.
Dermot Quigley
Other events
Wally
Jahn has announced that the proposed Half
Marathon in Danbury and through Bethel is really going to happen, and it will be on April 3.
Ryan McGorty, a senior at Shephaug Valley High School, along with Michael Hall, is organizing an April Fools Day 5k and two mile walk in Washington. Part of the April Fools joke is that the race is April 2, not April Fools Day itself. He handed out a bunch of entry forms. We should be able to get from Roxbury up to the high school in plenty of time to run both races.
The Rumor is true that Wayne Blackman, a regular on the Roxbury Injured List, and Dr. Mary Chute will tie the knot the first week in April. Paparazzi take notice!
Pete Gillen eMailed an appeal to participate in an unusual charity drive to support "microloans" in developing countries. You can read our conversation on this. I was skeptical at first, feeling it seemed too good to be true, but I checked with Oxfam America and it checks out just fine. Or you can go straight to the web site at www.povertyfighters.com. The drive ends March 31.
Pictures
At the top, Bob Lewis, Dave Harvey and Victoria Sandifer stand still before last week's race. Weather sure can change in a week. Next, in the foreground, Mike Abraham tries to get his watch to work at the start, with Jeff Tindell right beside him. There are lots of other familiar faces in the background.
Then comes Ken Merrick, stretching before a race last year. After that is a photo from around this time last year, to remind us that this isn't the only year it's snowed at Roxbury. In this one, we have Kyle Knight leading Sinead Blevio to the finish line. Below that, the small but brave field leaves the finish line last week. Who is that wearing shorts, anyway?
Along the side, next to the results, we have pictures of people in short sleeves and shorts. Those photos must either be from a long time ago or from very far away. Way down at the bottom we have Fossil in Germany, six time zones east of here, meeting another dragon. Both the Fossil and the Dragon survived the encounter, only slightly the worse for wear.
The Roxbury Races are now listed on the Internet both on RunningInTheUSA and on HiTekRacing.com
This week's results:
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Created March
12, 2005
