2006 Roxbury Race #17

Merrick, Quist vanquish diminished field

    The wet and chilly spring continued yet another week as the Weather Gods reminded us again that the official start of summer isn't until June 21.  We ran the same 4.8 mile Judd's Bridge Rd. out-and-back course we ran last week, but this week we didn't get rained on.  Long sleeves were popular, though, and nobody needed sunscreen.  

    The field of 29 was the smallest of the season, breaking last week's low of 40.  It's even worse than the Stock Market.

    Among those who were there, Dangerous Ken Merrick had a 15 second lead at the turnaround, and extended that to almost a minute by the finish line.  Pam Quist started relatively slowly, chatting with the long-missing architect Dan Lamb, formerly one of our most rapid regulars.  She dumped him the second half to finish 11th overall and first woman.

This week vs Last week

    We got to run the same course two weeks in a row.  People averaged 24 seconds slower this week than last week, with Chris Deming doing the most damage.  He sauntered in 4:28 slower this week.  John Boccuzzi, on the other hand, improved by two and a half minutes.  Mike Ruospo, finishing 4th, was most average, slowing 24 seconds, just like the script said.  Nobody was very consistent.  The two closest were Dan Lynch, 11 seconds faster, and Jeff Tindell, 13 seconds slower.

    Details are in the table after the results.

Roxbury Handicap

    Next week is the annual Roxbury Handicap Race, our exercise in mathematics and spreadsheets.  WebGuy has tried to figure out just exactly how big a head start he needs to beat WebGuy Jr.  Here's exactly what he did.  Since WebGuy has run 12 races this year, he looked at his 3rd fastest pace of the year (6:43 a mile) and predicted he'd run the 2.4 mile Down Chalybes course in 16:08.  Meanwhile, WebGuyJr has run 16 races, so he looked at his 4th fastest pace (25% of 16, rounded if necessary), 6:05 a mile, and predicted that HE'd run 14:36.  So, we figure WebGuyJr is about 92 seconds faster.

    Since we don't give the full handicap, and we use something called a 90% handicap, we're giving WebGuy 90% of 92 seconds, or about an 81 second head start.

    We did this for everybody, and then rounded it all to the nearest 15 seconds.  We made a big list.  The list will be at sign up.  When you get there, you'll find your predicted time and also your start time.  Check, and REMEMBER your start time.  Every 15 seconds, more people will start, so you HAVE TO KNOW WHAT TO DO.  Be ready.

    If everybody finishes at exactly the same time, then WebGuy is a genius.  If WebGuy wins, he's a cheat.  Neither has ever happened.  Usually, it is quite confusing, but people have fun.

    There's a good reason we only do it once a year.

Safety

    Safety is important to us, as we don't run on closed roads and generally like each other.  

    It is safest if we face traffic as much as safe and possible. (on the other hand, avoid the inside of sharp, blind curves.)  Also, it is much safer if we are all  on the same side of the road, instead of making traffic drive between runners.

    Fossil has three rules of running:

1. Be safe

2. Have fun

3. It's sometimes more fun if you win.  Set goals you can realistically achieve.

    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

      First up is a shot of winner Mark LoSacco and his workmate, 8th place finisher John Boccuzzi. Then we have women's winner and points leader Pam Quist, now a veteran of more than 25 Roxbury seasons.

That one is followed by a shot of Chris Deming who moved up out of the fog to the 5th spot in the point standings this week.

    Then we have Kurt Thoennessen and Bob Saterlee working together to straighten the wooden fence posts.  In the background, you can see injured Steve Schoeller on his crutches.  Get well, Steve.  

    Along the side of the results, is a shot of two Mark's one's a LoSacco and the other's a Zerbe.

      The Roxbury Races are now listed on the Internet both on RunningInTheUSA and on HiTekRacing.com

Created June 11, 2006

This week vs Last week