My son Joey and I spent the better part of the day down at Bowdoin Park for the Nike Cross Country Regional races for the Northeast and New York Regions. Wow! What a day!
Bowdoin is our home course, and what a great course it is. Today, the folks at Nike really dressed it up even more.
And I must take this opportunity to give a major (huge!) shout-out to longtime Arlington High School coach Terry Horton, now our assistant coach at Marist College, who more or less crafted and sculpted this Bowdoin course from scratch more than 20 years ago, to what it is today. He did this primarily with his own two hands, his trusty pickup truck and his even more trusty father, who helped do the heavy work for years and years on this course. Terry's contributions to the Bowdoin course cannot be overstated.
This year, the course was trashed after about a dozen races at the Coaches and Officials meet in a downpour in late October. Joey and I ran the course the next day during a Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club race. It was a mud pit, seemingly beyond repair.
Today, driving down the park road (thanks to Pete Sanfilippo for giving me VIP parking!), the course looked amazing. It was all mulched and in prime running condition. Nike had the course lined from start to finish. Really classy. When I talked to Terry the day before the race via cell, he was (as usual) down at Bowdoin putting the finishing touches on his baby. He told me: "You aren't gonna recognize this place."
He was right! Imagine being a volunteer groundskeeper at your local Little League field, and then having that field being transformed into Yankee Stadium overnight. That's how Terry must have felt. But as he accurately pointed out, this can be done with a Nike crew of 30 or so folks, as opposed to the one-man volunteer band that he is each and every autumn.
Oh, and one more thing, as an FYI for those interested in map minutia: Everyone says Bowdoin is in Wappingers Falls, and that is its mailing address. But technically, Bowdoin is located in the Town of Poughkeepsie. Not that anyone cares, but I'm kind of a maps/borders freak.
Anyway ... the races were excellent. The runners were among the best high schoolers in the country. It was sunny and windy. But for Nov. 28, you couldn't find better conditions or a better venue. A truly memorable day.
We did a lot of Marist networking down there today. Several runners and their families said there were going to drive up the road to Marist and check out the campus. Nice. Very nice.
Lastly, there has always been this debate about which courses are tougher. Holmdel in New Jersey. Wickham in Connecticut. Bowdoin in New York.
The best New York runners have known all about Bowdoin. Now, entrants in the Northeast Race can reach their own conclusions. No matter what they think, they should know that they saw Bowdoin at its absolute, glorious best today at the NXN meet.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Philly results from today
A pair of Running Red Foxes did well down in Philly today.
In the half marathon, Mike Rolek (class of 08) blitzed the half marathon in 1:09:52. He was eighth overall out of 7,188 finishers. Rolek checked in Sunday morning. He was not pleased and was hoping for better. A blazing 15:00 for 3 miles was a bit too aggressive to start. But Mike had been under the weather for a few weeks leading up to the race. Bad combo. Still, a solid performance and a sub-1:10 for 13.1 miles. Nicely done. BRO.
In the full marathon, current team sophomore Luke Shane ran a personal-best time of 3:08:17 and qualified for the Boston Marathon. Luke was 396th overall out of 7,464 finishers and he was seventh in the 15-19 age group. He improved on his PR by a full 15 minutes. Like Rolek, he was hoping for slightly faster but still achieved his goal of a Boston qualifier. Nicely done!
Unfortunately for Luke, the 2010 Boston Marathon closed out a few weeks before Philly, so he'll have to wait till 2011 to run the famous race. Memo to Luke: Your young. You have many more Bostons in front of you, pal.
In the half marathon, Mike Rolek (class of 08) blitzed the half marathon in 1:09:52. He was eighth overall out of 7,188 finishers. Rolek checked in Sunday morning. He was not pleased and was hoping for better. A blazing 15:00 for 3 miles was a bit too aggressive to start. But Mike had been under the weather for a few weeks leading up to the race. Bad combo. Still, a solid performance and a sub-1:10 for 13.1 miles. Nicely done. BRO.
In the full marathon, current team sophomore Luke Shane ran a personal-best time of 3:08:17 and qualified for the Boston Marathon. Luke was 396th overall out of 7,464 finishers and he was seventh in the 15-19 age group. He improved on his PR by a full 15 minutes. Like Rolek, he was hoping for slightly faster but still achieved his goal of a Boston qualifier. Nicely done!
Unfortunately for Luke, the 2010 Boston Marathon closed out a few weeks before Philly, so he'll have to wait till 2011 to run the famous race. Memo to Luke: Your young. You have many more Bostons in front of you, pal.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Women's ECAC results, some commentary
Team standings, ECAC University Division
1. Marist 85, 2. Albany 119, 3. Towson 137, 4. Binghamton 147, 5. Sacred Heart 188, 6. UNH 199, 7. Loyola 206, 8. Rider 208, 9. Monmouth 217, 10. Fordham 233, 11. George Mason 297, 12. Mansfield 342, 13. Holy Cross 342, 14. Seton Hall 378, 15. Fairfield 384, 16. Colgate 389, 17. VCU 408, 18. St. John’s 411, 19. Hofstra 512, 20. Siena 513
Marist individual results (5,000 meters)
5- Addie DiFrancesco 17:51.8 *school record, 5km cross country; **ECAC All-East
7-Brittany Burns 18:12.5 *ECAC All-East
15-Kathryn Sheehan 18:38.2 *ECAC All-East
28-Erin O’Reilly 18:59.8
33-Katie Messina 19:09.0
37-Julie Hudak 19:14.1
40-Sarah Parsloe 19:18.0
83-Jillian Corley 19:57.4
86-Kara Lightowler 19:59.2
94-Kelley Hanifin 20:01.9
99-Briana Crowe 20:05.3
108-Sarah Keating 20:15.4
Coaches Association Race (5,000 meters)
3-Laura Lindsley 19:50.0
7-Alyson O’Brien 20:05.3
11-Rebecca Denise 20:26.4
12-Dayna McLaughlin 20:35.1
13-Katie Topalian 20:35.4
15-Dana Boscarino 20:45.1
16-Colleen Smith 20:48.7
20-Kim Bartlett 21:00.1
23-Kelley Gould 21:09.7
25-Shannon Farrell 21:21.0
29-Rachel Lichtenwalner 21:32.9
30-Rachel Bremer 21:35.1
Commentary on team standings: Obviously, it does not get any better than this. We had the strongest 4-5-6-7 runners in the field, and that was that. Coach Chuck set three goals for the season-ending championships, and this enabled us to achieve them all. Nicely done!
Commentary on individual performances: Great job by Addie with a record-breaking time! Great way for Brit to go out as a graduating senior. Kathryn and Katie weren't feeling 100 percent, but they did their jobs superbly. Erin O'Reilly capped off a remarkable freshman season. Julie Hudak had a great bounce-back race and was a great leader for this team! Sarah Parsloe saved her best for last, wow! As far as the rest of the team, there were several strong performances and almost universally excellent times on a course that was not as easy as it appeared; certainly less challenging than the MAAC 6km, but not the pancake-flat/fast road race of Albany.
Again, it's not often days like this come along, and we should all enjoy it for what it is, and what it was.
Lastly, it was great for Phil to be there to witness this. His legacy and lineage still remain with this team, and he is still very much a part of our family. Thanks for riding in the van with me, it made the trips both ways seem very quick indeed.
Coming tomorrow: Updates from the Philly Marathon (Luke Shane) and Philly Half Marathon (Rolek).
Thanks as always for reading.
1. Marist 85, 2. Albany 119, 3. Towson 137, 4. Binghamton 147, 5. Sacred Heart 188, 6. UNH 199, 7. Loyola 206, 8. Rider 208, 9. Monmouth 217, 10. Fordham 233, 11. George Mason 297, 12. Mansfield 342, 13. Holy Cross 342, 14. Seton Hall 378, 15. Fairfield 384, 16. Colgate 389, 17. VCU 408, 18. St. John’s 411, 19. Hofstra 512, 20. Siena 513
Marist individual results (5,000 meters)
5- Addie DiFrancesco 17:51.8 *school record, 5km cross country; **ECAC All-East
7-Brittany Burns 18:12.5 *ECAC All-East
15-Kathryn Sheehan 18:38.2 *ECAC All-East
28-Erin O’Reilly 18:59.8
33-Katie Messina 19:09.0
37-Julie Hudak 19:14.1
40-Sarah Parsloe 19:18.0
83-Jillian Corley 19:57.4
86-Kara Lightowler 19:59.2
94-Kelley Hanifin 20:01.9
99-Briana Crowe 20:05.3
108-Sarah Keating 20:15.4
Coaches Association Race (5,000 meters)
3-Laura Lindsley 19:50.0
7-Alyson O’Brien 20:05.3
11-Rebecca Denise 20:26.4
12-Dayna McLaughlin 20:35.1
13-Katie Topalian 20:35.4
15-Dana Boscarino 20:45.1
16-Colleen Smith 20:48.7
20-Kim Bartlett 21:00.1
23-Kelley Gould 21:09.7
25-Shannon Farrell 21:21.0
29-Rachel Lichtenwalner 21:32.9
30-Rachel Bremer 21:35.1
Commentary on team standings: Obviously, it does not get any better than this. We had the strongest 4-5-6-7 runners in the field, and that was that. Coach Chuck set three goals for the season-ending championships, and this enabled us to achieve them all. Nicely done!
Commentary on individual performances: Great job by Addie with a record-breaking time! Great way for Brit to go out as a graduating senior. Kathryn and Katie weren't feeling 100 percent, but they did their jobs superbly. Erin O'Reilly capped off a remarkable freshman season. Julie Hudak had a great bounce-back race and was a great leader for this team! Sarah Parsloe saved her best for last, wow! As far as the rest of the team, there were several strong performances and almost universally excellent times on a course that was not as easy as it appeared; certainly less challenging than the MAAC 6km, but not the pancake-flat/fast road race of Albany.
Again, it's not often days like this come along, and we should all enjoy it for what it is, and what it was.
Lastly, it was great for Phil to be there to witness this. His legacy and lineage still remain with this team, and he is still very much a part of our family. Thanks for riding in the van with me, it made the trips both ways seem very quick indeed.
Coming tomorrow: Updates from the Philly Marathon (Luke Shane) and Philly Half Marathon (Rolek).
Thanks as always for reading.
Men's IC4A results, some commentary
OK, the kids are settled and I have a little bit of computer time, so here goes ...
Men's team standings, IC4A Championship Division
1. Duke 41, 2. William and Mary 67, 3. George Mason 113, 4. LaSalle 130, 5. Columbia 150, 6. Marist 153, 7. Syracuse 193, 8. Princeton 213, 9. Delaware 230, 10. UMass 240, 11. St. Joseph’s 242, 12. Duquesne 318, 13. Harvard 320
Marist Individual results (5-mile course)
12-Matt Flint 25:48.5 *IC4A All-East
23-Will Griffin 26:07.7 *IC4A All-East
27-Curtis Jensen 26:12.6
39-Tim Keegan 26:26.2
52-Conor Shelley 26:35.1
71-Nick Webster 26:55.0
80-Zak Smetana 27:04.5
83-Tom Lipari 27:07.0
86-Sam McMullen 27:11.3
89-Sean Nestor 27:16.4
94-Pat Duggan 27:23.7
100-Matt Janczyk 27:36.7
Coaches Association race (5-mile course)
6-Mike Nicoletti 27:55.8
10-Billy Posch 28:04.8
11-Kyle Havard 28:07.6
16-Ryan Brown 28:40.7
20-Joel Moss 29:01.7
21-Colin Johnson 29:11.7
25-Michael Keegan 29;32.5
26-Ryan Fitzsimons 29:54.2
30-Greg Masto 30:25.8
33-Brendan Green 30:53.4
Notes on the team standings: Most of the teams in this race were not playing with a full deck, so to speak. That includes us, as we were sitting out Vess and Quimes, who are nursing injuries. We proved we could hang in this crowd, even without all our horses. Nicely done.
Notes on the course: This was still the "construction" VCP course, meaning the hills were condensed and thus making it tougher than the the "original" VCP course. However, this course was slightly shorter than the "construction" VCP course that was run at MAACs. What does this mean? Who knows. My guess it is what about 15-20 seconds SLOWER than the "original" VCP course. I will admit that the changing face of the VCP course is slightly annoying, given our meticulous school records at Vanny. But such is life. We can only run the race, and the course, that we are in. And today, we did that quite nicely.
Some notes on how our individuals ran, varsity: Flint proved to nail it pretty nicely at the end of the season; Will was still feeling the obvious effects of a serious flu illness; Curtis ran very strong and turned around what had been a 2-race slump of sorts; Zak and Duggan finished up strong, consistent seasons, their best ever in XC; same with Sam; Lipari had his best effort of the year; Keeg and Web ran well but definitely can do better, we will have to discuss and analyze things a little, but your value to our team is unquestioned; Nestor had a pretty typical freshman XC season, with some flashes of great things to come.
Some notes on how our individuals ran, JV: Obviously the times were faster; but in most cases, the effort and race was far superior to the MAAC meet. Among the big stars: Kyle Havard (huge!), Nicoletti, Posch, Brownie, Joel, Brendan; Meegan did fairly well in his first VCP; Fitz was not happy with how it went.
Some notes on our XC Seniors: Much like recent seniors, these men will be remembered as much for the tone they set OFF the xc course as the effort they put out ON the course. Future team successes will be rooted in all that you guys accomplished, both on and off the practice and race venues. It will never be forgotten by your old coach. Captain Conor, Captain Janzo, Masto, Colin: THANK YOU, MEN!
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading.
Men's team standings, IC4A Championship Division
1. Duke 41, 2. William and Mary 67, 3. George Mason 113, 4. LaSalle 130, 5. Columbia 150, 6. Marist 153, 7. Syracuse 193, 8. Princeton 213, 9. Delaware 230, 10. UMass 240, 11. St. Joseph’s 242, 12. Duquesne 318, 13. Harvard 320
Marist Individual results (5-mile course)
12-Matt Flint 25:48.5 *IC4A All-East
23-Will Griffin 26:07.7 *IC4A All-East
27-Curtis Jensen 26:12.6
39-Tim Keegan 26:26.2
52-Conor Shelley 26:35.1
71-Nick Webster 26:55.0
80-Zak Smetana 27:04.5
83-Tom Lipari 27:07.0
86-Sam McMullen 27:11.3
89-Sean Nestor 27:16.4
94-Pat Duggan 27:23.7
100-Matt Janczyk 27:36.7
Coaches Association race (5-mile course)
6-Mike Nicoletti 27:55.8
10-Billy Posch 28:04.8
11-Kyle Havard 28:07.6
16-Ryan Brown 28:40.7
20-Joel Moss 29:01.7
21-Colin Johnson 29:11.7
25-Michael Keegan 29;32.5
26-Ryan Fitzsimons 29:54.2
30-Greg Masto 30:25.8
33-Brendan Green 30:53.4
Notes on the team standings: Most of the teams in this race were not playing with a full deck, so to speak. That includes us, as we were sitting out Vess and Quimes, who are nursing injuries. We proved we could hang in this crowd, even without all our horses. Nicely done.
Notes on the course: This was still the "construction" VCP course, meaning the hills were condensed and thus making it tougher than the the "original" VCP course. However, this course was slightly shorter than the "construction" VCP course that was run at MAACs. What does this mean? Who knows. My guess it is what about 15-20 seconds SLOWER than the "original" VCP course. I will admit that the changing face of the VCP course is slightly annoying, given our meticulous school records at Vanny. But such is life. We can only run the race, and the course, that we are in. And today, we did that quite nicely.
Some notes on how our individuals ran, varsity: Flint proved to nail it pretty nicely at the end of the season; Will was still feeling the obvious effects of a serious flu illness; Curtis ran very strong and turned around what had been a 2-race slump of sorts; Zak and Duggan finished up strong, consistent seasons, their best ever in XC; same with Sam; Lipari had his best effort of the year; Keeg and Web ran well but definitely can do better, we will have to discuss and analyze things a little, but your value to our team is unquestioned; Nestor had a pretty typical freshman XC season, with some flashes of great things to come.
Some notes on how our individuals ran, JV: Obviously the times were faster; but in most cases, the effort and race was far superior to the MAAC meet. Among the big stars: Kyle Havard (huge!), Nicoletti, Posch, Brownie, Joel, Brendan; Meegan did fairly well in his first VCP; Fitz was not happy with how it went.
Some notes on our XC Seniors: Much like recent seniors, these men will be remembered as much for the tone they set OFF the xc course as the effort they put out ON the course. Future team successes will be rooted in all that you guys accomplished, both on and off the practice and race venues. It will never be forgotten by your old coach. Captain Conor, Captain Janzo, Masto, Colin: THANK YOU, MEN!
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading.
A "banner" day at VCP!
Big, breaking news!
Our women's team WON the ECAC University Division, today at Van Cortlandt Park.
Addie DiFrancesco set an all-time Marist xc 5km record and was 5th place overall. Brittany Burns and Kathryn Sheehan joined Addie as All-East finishers, all placing in the top 15.
Our 4-5-6-7 pack was the best in the race. Depth wins cross country races!
Congrats, ladies. And major kudos to Coach Chuck for putting together a great program. The future is bright.
Our men's varsity -- minus Vess and Quimes -- had a strong showing in the Championship Division. We were 6th of 13 in a competitive field. A positive end to a mostly strong season.
More results and details later on when I have time to type them up.
FYI: It was literally a "banner" day as the ECAC rewarded us with an "ECAC Champions" banner, which is now hanging proudly in Chuck's office.
Rock on.
Our women's team WON the ECAC University Division, today at Van Cortlandt Park.
Addie DiFrancesco set an all-time Marist xc 5km record and was 5th place overall. Brittany Burns and Kathryn Sheehan joined Addie as All-East finishers, all placing in the top 15.
Our 4-5-6-7 pack was the best in the race. Depth wins cross country races!
Congrats, ladies. And major kudos to Coach Chuck for putting together a great program. The future is bright.
Our men's varsity -- minus Vess and Quimes -- had a strong showing in the Championship Division. We were 6th of 13 in a competitive field. A positive end to a mostly strong season.
More results and details later on when I have time to type them up.
FYI: It was literally a "banner" day as the ECAC rewarded us with an "ECAC Champions" banner, which is now hanging proudly in Chuck's office.
Rock on.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
One more time for Ogden Hills
On Wednesday, a few men did a scaled back version of the opening season Ogden Hills workout. Fitz called it a "full circle" moment as we ended the season with the same workout as we began it.
It was a beautiful fall day, not nearly as cold as it seems based on how I was dressed. Also pictured are Captain Conor leading the charge up the hill, along with the Thug Patrol of Mr. Awesome, Flint and Will.
Thanks to Vess for taking the pictures and providing me with coffee.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
IC4A/ECAC information
Word on the street is that there will be strong alumni support at Vanny on Saturday. Hopefully that is the case! Here is the race schedule, for those keeping score at home:
9:30 a.m.: Combined JV races (men and women)
10:15 a.m.: Men's Championship Race
12:30 p.m.: Women's University Race
Who is racing what for the men, in no particular order ...
JV (10): Nicoletti, Brown, Posch, Masto, Moss, Colin J., Fitz, Green, Havard, Meegan
Varsity (12): Flint, Big Papa (Lipari), Will, Keegan, Conor, Web, Zak, Nestor, Janzo, Duggan, Sam, Curt (aka Mr. Awesome)
Not racing (7): Vess, Quimes, Holinko, Townsend, Panebianco, Schanz, Lombi
Racing, but at Philly in the marathon (1): Luke Shane (good luck!)
Hope to see you there ...
9:30 a.m.: Combined JV races (men and women)
10:15 a.m.: Men's Championship Race
12:30 p.m.: Women's University Race
Who is racing what for the men, in no particular order ...
JV (10): Nicoletti, Brown, Posch, Masto, Moss, Colin J., Fitz, Green, Havard, Meegan
Varsity (12): Flint, Big Papa (Lipari), Will, Keegan, Conor, Web, Zak, Nestor, Janzo, Duggan, Sam, Curt (aka Mr. Awesome)
Not racing (7): Vess, Quimes, Holinko, Townsend, Panebianco, Schanz, Lombi
Racing, but at Philly in the marathon (1): Luke Shane (good luck!)
Hope to see you there ...
Monday, November 16, 2009
Final thoughts, images on regionals
Before I wax philosophical about Saturday's meet once more, please take about 10 minutes from your busy lives to check out the tremendous videos put together by freshman women's team member Kelley Gould.
"Gouldilocks Productions" did an amazing job. It gave me chills watching these videos. Thanks, Kelley!
Men's video here.
Women's video here.
OK, some final takes on the meet ...
Women: Looking at the "big picture," this was another big step in the right direction for our program. We are on the verge of some big stuff here! It was a six-position jump from last year. However, the ladies are not satisfied, and that is great. It shows they care.
In analyzing the results, there are several areas in which we could have improved and thus could have been several places higher. But we can do that with every meet. We must again look at the "big picture" and realize that the program is headed in the right direction, with so much potential for growth in the coming months and years.
This is in large part due to the great work of Coach Chuck, and of course the hard work, dedication and toughness of the women's Running Red Foxes. It is a pleasure and honor to be closely associated with you all (hopefully, some of you read this fancy blog?).
Men: Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells was always fond of saying "you are what your record says you are." We believe as a team and as a program that we are much better than what we showed on Saturday. However, to say that we "should have" been higher up would be to disparage the excellent teams ahead of us that got it done. I won't do that.
A lot conspired to make Saturday's men's race a disaster for us. But we are prideful team and a prideful program. Our job is to get up off the mud, move on and finish with pride and power at IC4As.
Looking ahead: We have a lot to prove and a lot to run for at ECACs (women's university) and IC4As (men's championship). We will talk during the week about goals. There is one more race to run, and we must run it well.
"Gouldilocks Productions" did an amazing job. It gave me chills watching these videos. Thanks, Kelley!
Men's video here.
Women's video here.
OK, some final takes on the meet ...
Women: Looking at the "big picture," this was another big step in the right direction for our program. We are on the verge of some big stuff here! It was a six-position jump from last year. However, the ladies are not satisfied, and that is great. It shows they care.
In analyzing the results, there are several areas in which we could have improved and thus could have been several places higher. But we can do that with every meet. We must again look at the "big picture" and realize that the program is headed in the right direction, with so much potential for growth in the coming months and years.
This is in large part due to the great work of Coach Chuck, and of course the hard work, dedication and toughness of the women's Running Red Foxes. It is a pleasure and honor to be closely associated with you all (hopefully, some of you read this fancy blog?).
Men: Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells was always fond of saying "you are what your record says you are." We believe as a team and as a program that we are much better than what we showed on Saturday. However, to say that we "should have" been higher up would be to disparage the excellent teams ahead of us that got it done. I won't do that.
A lot conspired to make Saturday's men's race a disaster for us. But we are prideful team and a prideful program. Our job is to get up off the mud, move on and finish with pride and power at IC4As.
Looking ahead: We have a lot to prove and a lot to run for at ECACs (women's university) and IC4As (men's championship). We will talk during the week about goals. There is one more race to run, and we must run it well.
Thug Central
After the debacle with my throwaway camera this weekend, I decided to invest an entire $19.99 on a cheap digital camera from CVS. Just messing around with it at practice today, here's what I got for you.
Now I can get some digital shots from meets. Again, quality won't be great. But it'll be there.
Conor stuck in the mud
OK, well, I was able to get one picture uploaded -- thanks to a scanner in the Enhancement Center at McCann. Obviously, photo quality suffered due to a lousy camera and even lousier conditions.
This is a picture of Conor going through either 5km or 8km, with me in the foreground exhorting him to go faster.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A real Marist Track hero ...
OK. So yeah, Saturday's meet from the men's team perspective was a bummer. A real bummer. But checking my email slaps me right back to reality and gives us all a lot of perspective.
Got a short note from an old Marist Track teammate from back in the mid-1980s, Mike Carson. Mike was a thrower on those teams. Correction: Mike was THE thrower on those teams. He WAS our throwing team.
Mike's a military man and a local guy, from Hyde Park, and we have stayed in touch through the years as he visits home frequently. Unfortunately, since 2003, it hasn't been that frequently -- since he has been deployed to Iraq at least 4 or 5 times by my count.
The email I got from him the other day informed us all that he's gone for another tour of duty in Iraq. We pray for his safety every day.
For those old-school readers of the blog that may have been teammates or friends with Mike, I share his address with all below.
For those new-school readers of the blog that might want to drop a note of encouragement from an extended member of the Marist Track Family, I am certain Mike would love to hear from you. He follows the team closely and stays in close tabs with me via email.
Here is his snail mail address ...
CW4 Michael T. Carson
HHC, 3-158th Aviation Regiment
Joint Base Balad, Iraq
APO AE 09391
Got a short note from an old Marist Track teammate from back in the mid-1980s, Mike Carson. Mike was a thrower on those teams. Correction: Mike was THE thrower on those teams. He WAS our throwing team.
Mike's a military man and a local guy, from Hyde Park, and we have stayed in touch through the years as he visits home frequently. Unfortunately, since 2003, it hasn't been that frequently -- since he has been deployed to Iraq at least 4 or 5 times by my count.
The email I got from him the other day informed us all that he's gone for another tour of duty in Iraq. We pray for his safety every day.
For those old-school readers of the blog that may have been teammates or friends with Mike, I share his address with all below.
For those new-school readers of the blog that might want to drop a note of encouragement from an extended member of the Marist Track Family, I am certain Mike would love to hear from you. He follows the team closely and stays in close tabs with me via email.
Here is his snail mail address ...
CW4 Michael T. Carson
HHC, 3-158th Aviation Regiment
Joint Base Balad, Iraq
APO AE 09391
No go on mud pictures
Brought that throwaway camera to CVS today but they do not have the ability to make a digital disc there, so I just got some prints. Pretty poor quality anyway.
While there, I bought a cheap ($19.99) digital camera. I will experiment with it at ECAC/IC4A and maybe get some more photos up on the fancy blog.
More later ... just didn't want everyone waiting for pictures that will never come. Team members: I will distribute prints at practice on Monday.
While there, I bought a cheap ($19.99) digital camera. I will experiment with it at ECAC/IC4A and maybe get some more photos up on the fancy blog.
More later ... just didn't want everyone waiting for pictures that will never come. Team members: I will distribute prints at practice on Monday.
Quick regionals results
Women: 17th out of 43 teams in the region, 496 points
6km
59. Brittany Burns 23:46
72. Addie DiFrancesco 24:00
103. Kathryn Sheehan 24:30
115. Katie Messina 24:36
147. Erin O'Reilly 25:14
198. Jackie Gamboli 26:10
225. Julie Hudak 27:33
Men: 16th out of 43 teams in the region, 462 points
10km
61. Matt Flint 33:09
64. Adam Vess 33:10
106. Will Griffin 34:02
114. Quimes DelaCruz 34:09
117. Tim Keegan 34:13
126. Curtis Jensen 34:21
129. Conor Shelley 34:24
Times were obviously affected across the board by horrendous course conditions. But this meet is about place, as always. Times mean nothing.
More analysis and photos to come later ...
6km
59. Brittany Burns 23:46
72. Addie DiFrancesco 24:00
103. Kathryn Sheehan 24:30
115. Katie Messina 24:36
147. Erin O'Reilly 25:14
198. Jackie Gamboli 26:10
225. Julie Hudak 27:33
Men: 16th out of 43 teams in the region, 462 points
10km
61. Matt Flint 33:09
64. Adam Vess 33:10
106. Will Griffin 34:02
114. Quimes DelaCruz 34:09
117. Tim Keegan 34:13
126. Curtis Jensen 34:21
129. Conor Shelley 34:24
Times were obviously affected across the board by horrendous course conditions. But this meet is about place, as always. Times mean nothing.
More analysis and photos to come later ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Quick regionals recap
It was a muddy, muddy day at Franklin Park.
On the women's side, we finished a solid 17th, a six-spot improvement from 2008. We should be proud of this as a program, all the while knowing we are capable of several spots better. Nicely done, ladies!
On the men's side, we finished a very disappointing 16th. No way to sugar-coat this one, fellas. It was a trainwreck: A combination of bad timing in terms of recent illnesses, subpar performances and horrendous course conditions. They joined forces to create the perfect storm (no pun intended) of a somber 16th-place showing. Such is life.
What's next? One more meet. We move on to ECAC/IC4A. We have a lot of school history here. Our mission is to run with pride and prove ourselves at this meet.
On the women's side, we are in the University Division -- where we should challenge for some of the top positions individually and as a team. It all depends on which teams declare that event.
On the men's side, we are in the Championship Division -- where we have been competitive in the past. We should aim for the level of excellence our previous programs have achieved at this meet.
I will follow up with complete Marist-related results from regionals, as well as some mud pictures if they are able to be developed, from the $5.99 disposable camera I bought at the Star Market this morning.
Good night, everyone.
On the women's side, we finished a solid 17th, a six-spot improvement from 2008. We should be proud of this as a program, all the while knowing we are capable of several spots better. Nicely done, ladies!
On the men's side, we finished a very disappointing 16th. No way to sugar-coat this one, fellas. It was a trainwreck: A combination of bad timing in terms of recent illnesses, subpar performances and horrendous course conditions. They joined forces to create the perfect storm (no pun intended) of a somber 16th-place showing. Such is life.
What's next? One more meet. We move on to ECAC/IC4A. We have a lot of school history here. Our mission is to run with pride and prove ourselves at this meet.
On the women's side, we are in the University Division -- where we should challenge for some of the top positions individually and as a team. It all depends on which teams declare that event.
On the men's side, we are in the Championship Division -- where we have been competitive in the past. We should aim for the level of excellence our previous programs have achieved at this meet.
I will follow up with complete Marist-related results from regionals, as well as some mud pictures if they are able to be developed, from the $5.99 disposable camera I bought at the Star Market this morning.
Good night, everyone.
Friday, November 13, 2009
From the hotel
Team members that have been around me for the past few days know how excited and thrilled I am to have this new, Marist-issued laptop. Well, here I am in the Marriott Newton, Room 135 (yes, Phil: The heat is cranked at 80 degrees!) -- blogging from my fancy laptop. Cool. Very cool.
The meet tomorrow is going to be a bit messy, I think. The weather forecast is for heavy rain and wind, the remnants of the hurricane/tropical storm that has ravaged the East coastline. Oh well, that's cross country biz ...
In other random news: Our coaches meeting was at the BU track. So of course Chuck and I enjoyed a great pizza dinner at T Anthony's, the famous food venue of choice for generations of tracksters.
Also: I was thrilled to hear from Captain Janzo that the remainder of the team that did not make the trip due to the untimely and ridiculous cancellation of today's JV race met and did a fine workout at the Cator Loop. Lesser men would have been disheartened and stopped training, or at least lost their motivation to train. Not our beloved Running Red Foxes, who remain fired up and committed to a strong, end-of-season effort at ICs/ECs next Saturday.
More details on race times for next week in a future post. Hope to have good alumni and family support there.
I will not be able to post from the bus on the ride home, so I'll get the regional results and stuff up here as quickly as I can.
For those tracking the festivities Saturday online:
Men's race, 10km: 2:30 p.m.
Women's race, 6km: 3:30 p.m.
The meet tomorrow is going to be a bit messy, I think. The weather forecast is for heavy rain and wind, the remnants of the hurricane/tropical storm that has ravaged the East coastline. Oh well, that's cross country biz ...
In other random news: Our coaches meeting was at the BU track. So of course Chuck and I enjoyed a great pizza dinner at T Anthony's, the famous food venue of choice for generations of tracksters.
Also: I was thrilled to hear from Captain Janzo that the remainder of the team that did not make the trip due to the untimely and ridiculous cancellation of today's JV race met and did a fine workout at the Cator Loop. Lesser men would have been disheartened and stopped training, or at least lost their motivation to train. Not our beloved Running Red Foxes, who remain fired up and committed to a strong, end-of-season effort at ICs/ECs next Saturday.
More details on race times for next week in a future post. Hope to have good alumni and family support there.
I will not be able to post from the bus on the ride home, so I'll get the regional results and stuff up here as quickly as I can.
For those tracking the festivities Saturday online:
Men's race, 10km: 2:30 p.m.
Women's race, 6km: 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Friday's JV race at Franklin Park canceled
I have started to spread this unfortunate news.
We will fill everyone in more at practice in a few hours. This changes some things logistically and in terms of training. We will figure it out and go from there.
It's too bad but it could not be avoided for a variety of reasons.
We will talk ...
We will fill everyone in more at practice in a few hours. This changes some things logistically and in terms of training. We will figure it out and go from there.
It's too bad but it could not be avoided for a variety of reasons.
We will talk ...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
We can talk about track ... next week
A small pet peeve of mine for years is when team members start discussing a future season while a current season is ongoing. In our sport, where there is always another season, another race, another goal, this is common and not necessarily a bad thing. It means you care.
However: One season at a time! We can only focus fully on the season we are in. At least, that's the way I look at it.
Now, having said that ... after the Regional Weekend in Boston, I will allow one and all to start thinking and talking about track goals. That would be next week.
This may seem like I am breaking my own rule, and technically I am since we have ICAAAA/ECACs next week. However, after this weekend, the training is pretty much done. We will just do light training next week as maintenance for the final xc meet down at VCP for 2009. IC4A/ECAC is a meet steeped in tradition, overall and for our program. And so when we go, we play for keeps. Just like we do in most every other meet. Right? Right.
But because training will be very light, you can start switching your mental focus -- for a few days, at least -- to track. However, come late next week, for those that are racing (that would be MOST of you...), it's back to cross country thoughts for a few more hours and days.
OK? Deal?
Good.
However: One season at a time! We can only focus fully on the season we are in. At least, that's the way I look at it.
Now, having said that ... after the Regional Weekend in Boston, I will allow one and all to start thinking and talking about track goals. That would be next week.
This may seem like I am breaking my own rule, and technically I am since we have ICAAAA/ECACs next week. However, after this weekend, the training is pretty much done. We will just do light training next week as maintenance for the final xc meet down at VCP for 2009. IC4A/ECAC is a meet steeped in tradition, overall and for our program. And so when we go, we play for keeps. Just like we do in most every other meet. Right? Right.
But because training will be very light, you can start switching your mental focus -- for a few days, at least -- to track. However, come late next week, for those that are racing (that would be MOST of you...), it's back to cross country thoughts for a few more hours and days.
OK? Deal?
Good.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Bowdoin Boys
Last Friday, I was down at Bowdoin Park for the Section 1 state qualifying meet. Presumably, I was there for recruiting purposes. And I was. It was a productive day. The thing I was looking forward to most was seeing some of my old Marist runners in action as high school coaches.
I was bummed out to hear that Gilby Hawkins is coaching modified this fall and thus was not at the meet. But I did see Pool from Dover (still Mr. Sunshine, as always), Pat Driscoll from Tappan Zee and Joe Scelia from Brewster. A few Brewster boys are looking at Marist. Although I was not able to see them race because I had to hustle back north for my own team's practice, I was glad to catch up with their coach.
Joe looked great, but he was really nervous as he knew his boys' team was in for a dogfight in the Class A race. As I was winding up my team practice, I heard via text that Joe's Brewster team won the sectional title. I also heard that Pat's TZ girls romped in their race.
Congrats to Pat and Joe on their team titles! Great to see them having success in the coaching ranks. Best of luck, men, to your respective teams at the states -- which this year is up near the North Pole, from what I can gather.
I was bummed out to hear that Gilby Hawkins is coaching modified this fall and thus was not at the meet. But I did see Pool from Dover (still Mr. Sunshine, as always), Pat Driscoll from Tappan Zee and Joe Scelia from Brewster. A few Brewster boys are looking at Marist. Although I was not able to see them race because I had to hustle back north for my own team's practice, I was glad to catch up with their coach.
Joe looked great, but he was really nervous as he knew his boys' team was in for a dogfight in the Class A race. As I was winding up my team practice, I heard via text that Joe's Brewster team won the sectional title. I also heard that Pat's TZ girls romped in their race.
Congrats to Pat and Joe on their team titles! Great to see them having success in the coaching ranks. Best of luck, men, to your respective teams at the states -- which this year is up near the North Pole, from what I can gather.
Got me a laptop!
For team members reading this who were at practice yesterday ... you know how excited I am about my new, Marist-issued laptop. Very, very cool. This means I can now type up splits and other track-related nonsense on bus trips home from meets, when, as we all know, the DVD player on the bus is always broken. Right? Right.
Anyway, this fancy laptop (I'm posting on it now!) has an internal wireless card, meaning I can grab some WiFi on the road as well.
Congrats to Walsh on correctly answering the Pink Floyd trivia question. It is from the "Animals" record, which in my humble opinion was the finest work by the band.
Trying to get healthy here in Poughkeepsie. We'll do our best ...
Anyway, this fancy laptop (I'm posting on it now!) has an internal wireless card, meaning I can grab some WiFi on the road as well.
Congrats to Walsh on correctly answering the Pink Floyd trivia question. It is from the "Animals" record, which in my humble opinion was the finest work by the band.
Trying to get healthy here in Poughkeepsie. We'll do our best ...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Big man, pig man ...
Well, a lot of folks at Marist are freaking out about the various strains of flu circulating through campus, and with good reason: There are a lot of students getting sick.
College campuses -- and college athletic teams -- can be breeding grounds for such nasty viruses. Is this year worse than most? Hard to say, but don't ask me this question now (I know. I posed it.) ... because we've had our fair share of the flu or whatever ravaging our team pretty much all fall.
Unfortunately, it continues to work its way through the squad, and we have a few more guys home nursing their ailments. Hopefully, we'll get them back here soon and in time for championship season. But most importantly, we pray for their return to good health -- running aside.
Lastly, a free Marist Track T-shirt to anyone who gets the Classic Rock reference in the title of this post (hint: Ha-ha, charade you are ...)
Pass the Purell ...
College campuses -- and college athletic teams -- can be breeding grounds for such nasty viruses. Is this year worse than most? Hard to say, but don't ask me this question now (I know. I posed it.) ... because we've had our fair share of the flu or whatever ravaging our team pretty much all fall.
Unfortunately, it continues to work its way through the squad, and we have a few more guys home nursing their ailments. Hopefully, we'll get them back here soon and in time for championship season. But most importantly, we pray for their return to good health -- running aside.
Lastly, a free Marist Track T-shirt to anyone who gets the Classic Rock reference in the title of this post (hint: Ha-ha, charade you are ...)
Pass the Purell ...
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Texting in my class
In the interest of full disclosure: While I teach my fancy "Track and Field Coaching" course each Tuesday and Thursday morning at Donnelly Hall ... yes, my cell phone is on, ready to receive calls and texts.
The reason is simple: If someone from my family (or my kids' school) needs to get hold of me in case of emergency, I need to be reached. It has happened.
Sure, you all can be wise guys and text me now when I am in class. I'll be sure to give you an extra interval or three in the next workout!
OK. I'm posting out of nervous energy as I watch the Yankees in Game 6 of the World Series. Go Yankees.
The reason is simple: If someone from my family (or my kids' school) needs to get hold of me in case of emergency, I need to be reached. It has happened.
Sure, you all can be wise guys and text me now when I am in class. I'll be sure to give you an extra interval or three in the next workout!
OK. I'm posting out of nervous energy as I watch the Yankees in Game 6 of the World Series. Go Yankees.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Stop texting in class, already!
More than once, I have been texting with a team member (I won't give up names here, to protect the guilty), and then it dawned on me. Hey, wait! They are in NIGHT CLASS!
I felt like an accessory to a crime: Texting in class. Apparently, it is not a big deal for many of you on the team. And from what I hear, it's not a big deal to a lot of professors out there.
Well, I'm here to say this, as an old-school guy: It does not seem right or appropriate to be texting -- me, or anyone -- while in class. There. I just had to get that off my chest.
Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on this.
I felt like an accessory to a crime: Texting in class. Apparently, it is not a big deal for many of you on the team. And from what I hear, it's not a big deal to a lot of professors out there.
Well, I'm here to say this, as an old-school guy: It does not seem right or appropriate to be texting -- me, or anyone -- while in class. There. I just had to get that off my chest.
Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on this.
Maybe Morrie had it right after all ...
Below are the complete results from last Friday's MAAC meet -- for those that have not found them online yet, and so they are part of the permanent record for future reference and archival purposes on this blog.
These results have been analyzed and sorted through many times by us here at Blog Central -- at practice, in person, etc. No need to add a lot more commentary here, except to say this (and, as a way of explaining the title of this post ...):
The Mitch Albom book, "Tuesdays With Morrie," is about the best and most important book published in my lifetime. If you have read it, I suggest you re-read it at least once per year. If you have not read it, do yourself a favor: Buy a copy online or at a used bookstore. Read it. Re-read it.
Anyway, in the book, the main character (Morrie) is at a basketball game at the college at which he teaches. The cheerleaders are all cheering: "We're Number One! We're Number One!" Morrie calmly walks up to them and inquires: "What's Wrong With Number Two?"
In our case, there is nothing at all wrong with Number Two. In the MAAC, that is. Finishing runner-up to Iona is as good as it gets on the men's side. On the women's side, we are not quite satisfied with being #2 each year. But this year, it was as good as it could have been.
The bottom line: We can control two things, and that is our preparation and our effort. We cannot control our conference affiliation and the level at which the teams in our conference compete.
I am proud to be associated with a great group of athletes on both squads, and I look forward to what the future brings.
Men's Team Standings
1. Iona 17
2. Marist 57
3. Rider 115
4. Manhattan 125
5. Fairfield 141
6. Loyola 147
7. Canisius 168
8. Niagara 200
9. Siena 266
10. St. Peter's
Marist Individual Results
7. Adam Vess 26:14.2 - All-MAAC
10. William Griffin 26:36.9 - All-MAAC
11. Matthew Flint 26:41.9 - All-MAAC
14. Arquimedes DelaCruz 27:00.2 - All-MAAC
15. Conor Shelley 27:04.8 - All-MAAC
18. Timothy Keegan 27:17.2
21. Nick Webster 27:21.4
28. Zak Smetana 27:38.8
34. Sean Nestor 27:51.9
36. Matthew Janczyk 27:59.6
37. Patrick Duggan 28:00.0
39. Sam McMullen 28:04.3
40. Thomas Lipari 28:05.4
57. Curtis Jensen 28:37.5
61. Brian Townsend 28:46.0
62. Mike Nicoletti 28:46.4
69. Ryan Brown 28:58.1
74. Billy Posch 29:18.8
79. Greg Masto 29:34.5
85. Matt Panebianco 29:43.5
87. Joel Moss 29:49.9
99. Colin Johnson 30:13.3
104. Ryan Fitzsimons 30:27.7
118. Brendan Green 31:46.8
123. Luke Shane 32:43.0
125. Michael Holinko 33:09.3
Women's Team Results
1. Iona 27
2. Marist 56
3. Canisius 66
4. Loyola 94
5. Rider 144
6. Fairfield 157
7. Manhattan 214
8. Niagara 243
9. Siena 258
10. Saint Peter's 261
Marist Individual Results
2. Addie DiFrancesco 22:51.8 - All-MAAC
8. Brittany Burns 23:53.8 - All-MAAC
9. Kathryn Sheehan 23:54.6 - All-MAAC
16. Jackie Gamboli 24:38.6
22. Erin O'Reilly 24:48.4
30. Julie Hudak 25:02.3
34. Jillian Corley 25:14.8
46. Brianna Crowe 25:36.2
50. Kelley Hanifin 25:42.3
51. Sarah Keating 25:42.6
56. Kara Lightowler 25:52.8
58. Sarah Parsloe 26:03.1
59. Laura Lindsley 26:05.2
64. Katie Topalian 26:19.9
67. Dayna McLaughlin 26:32.2
75. Allyson O'Brien 26:47.9
77. Rebecca Denise 27:00.1
79. Shannon Farrell 27:02.3
90. Dana Boscarino 27:25.1
94. Kelley Gould 27:48.6
97. Rachel Lichtenwalner 28:04.1
99. Elizabeth O'Brien 28:15.5
101. Rachel Bremer 28:21.9
104. Colleen Smith 28:48.7
110. Meaghan Lass 29:45.7
119. Daria Kowalik 30:46.1
These results have been analyzed and sorted through many times by us here at Blog Central -- at practice, in person, etc. No need to add a lot more commentary here, except to say this (and, as a way of explaining the title of this post ...):
The Mitch Albom book, "Tuesdays With Morrie," is about the best and most important book published in my lifetime. If you have read it, I suggest you re-read it at least once per year. If you have not read it, do yourself a favor: Buy a copy online or at a used bookstore. Read it. Re-read it.
Anyway, in the book, the main character (Morrie) is at a basketball game at the college at which he teaches. The cheerleaders are all cheering: "We're Number One! We're Number One!" Morrie calmly walks up to them and inquires: "What's Wrong With Number Two?"
In our case, there is nothing at all wrong with Number Two. In the MAAC, that is. Finishing runner-up to Iona is as good as it gets on the men's side. On the women's side, we are not quite satisfied with being #2 each year. But this year, it was as good as it could have been.
The bottom line: We can control two things, and that is our preparation and our effort. We cannot control our conference affiliation and the level at which the teams in our conference compete.
I am proud to be associated with a great group of athletes on both squads, and I look forward to what the future brings.
Men's Team Standings
1. Iona 17
2. Marist 57
3. Rider 115
4. Manhattan 125
5. Fairfield 141
6. Loyola 147
7. Canisius 168
8. Niagara 200
9. Siena 266
10. St. Peter's
Marist Individual Results
7. Adam Vess 26:14.2 - All-MAAC
10. William Griffin 26:36.9 - All-MAAC
11. Matthew Flint 26:41.9 - All-MAAC
14. Arquimedes DelaCruz 27:00.2 - All-MAAC
15. Conor Shelley 27:04.8 - All-MAAC
18. Timothy Keegan 27:17.2
21. Nick Webster 27:21.4
28. Zak Smetana 27:38.8
34. Sean Nestor 27:51.9
36. Matthew Janczyk 27:59.6
37. Patrick Duggan 28:00.0
39. Sam McMullen 28:04.3
40. Thomas Lipari 28:05.4
57. Curtis Jensen 28:37.5
61. Brian Townsend 28:46.0
62. Mike Nicoletti 28:46.4
69. Ryan Brown 28:58.1
74. Billy Posch 29:18.8
79. Greg Masto 29:34.5
85. Matt Panebianco 29:43.5
87. Joel Moss 29:49.9
99. Colin Johnson 30:13.3
104. Ryan Fitzsimons 30:27.7
118. Brendan Green 31:46.8
123. Luke Shane 32:43.0
125. Michael Holinko 33:09.3
Women's Team Results
1. Iona 27
2. Marist 56
3. Canisius 66
4. Loyola 94
5. Rider 144
6. Fairfield 157
7. Manhattan 214
8. Niagara 243
9. Siena 258
10. Saint Peter's 261
Marist Individual Results
2. Addie DiFrancesco 22:51.8 - All-MAAC
8. Brittany Burns 23:53.8 - All-MAAC
9. Kathryn Sheehan 23:54.6 - All-MAAC
16. Jackie Gamboli 24:38.6
22. Erin O'Reilly 24:48.4
30. Julie Hudak 25:02.3
34. Jillian Corley 25:14.8
46. Brianna Crowe 25:36.2
50. Kelley Hanifin 25:42.3
51. Sarah Keating 25:42.6
56. Kara Lightowler 25:52.8
58. Sarah Parsloe 26:03.1
59. Laura Lindsley 26:05.2
64. Katie Topalian 26:19.9
67. Dayna McLaughlin 26:32.2
75. Allyson O'Brien 26:47.9
77. Rebecca Denise 27:00.1
79. Shannon Farrell 27:02.3
90. Dana Boscarino 27:25.1
94. Kelley Gould 27:48.6
97. Rachel Lichtenwalner 28:04.1
99. Elizabeth O'Brien 28:15.5
101. Rachel Bremer 28:21.9
104. Colleen Smith 28:48.7
110. Meaghan Lass 29:45.7
119. Daria Kowalik 30:46.1
Monday, November 2, 2009
Video of the MAAC meet
If you are interested, click this link for a pretty cool video from Friday's MAAC meet.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
NYC Marathon today
Congrats to the following three Marist Alumni who ran strongly at today's New York City Marathon:
Mike Guarascio: 2:55:56. 661st place. G was proudly representing the Greater Boston Track Club and, of course, the Marist Alumni Racing Team. Nicely done, my friend!
Sean Hopkins: 2:57:48. 791st place. 13.1-mile split: 1:27:56.
Chris Camp: 2:58:59. 908th place. 13.1-mile split: 1:27:49.
Notice the splits and the finishing times. Close race between Hopkins and Camp. Of course, a little history and perspective is needed here. Back in their college days, while sharing a few (well, maybe more than a few) Barley Pops, somehow they got to discussing who might be a better post-collegiate marathon runner. A ridiculous bet was hatched. Four years after graduation, they would go head-to-head (mano-a-mano?) at the NYC Marathon. The winner would get to slap (punch?) the non-winner in the face.
I know. Very mature, right?
So at the halfway mark, Camp had the slight edge. But Hopkins closed a little stronger. As of this writing, the Winning Slap had not been delivered. But don't worry. It's Hopkins. He will deliver. Perhaps he already has!
Great job to all three alums, all of whom finished in the top 1,000 of the field.
In addition on Sunday ...
-- Brian Sheehan, dad of women's team sophomore (and All-MAAC runner!) Kathryn Sheehan and big supporter of our program, finished strongly in 3:13:05, 278th in his age group. He had to overcome a ridiculously slow start in the crowd (23:33 first 5km!), but worked his way through for the strong finish (his 13.1 split was 1:37:46). Nicely done, Mr. Sheehan!
-- Erin Duggan, sister of men's team junior Pat Duggan, completed the race in 4:26:31. Members of the Duggan Family are also avid supporters of the Running Red Foxes. Congrats on the finish, Erin.
Mike Guarascio: 2:55:56. 661st place. G was proudly representing the Greater Boston Track Club and, of course, the Marist Alumni Racing Team. Nicely done, my friend!
Sean Hopkins: 2:57:48. 791st place. 13.1-mile split: 1:27:56.
Chris Camp: 2:58:59. 908th place. 13.1-mile split: 1:27:49.
Notice the splits and the finishing times. Close race between Hopkins and Camp. Of course, a little history and perspective is needed here. Back in their college days, while sharing a few (well, maybe more than a few) Barley Pops, somehow they got to discussing who might be a better post-collegiate marathon runner. A ridiculous bet was hatched. Four years after graduation, they would go head-to-head (mano-a-mano?) at the NYC Marathon. The winner would get to slap (punch?) the non-winner in the face.
I know. Very mature, right?
So at the halfway mark, Camp had the slight edge. But Hopkins closed a little stronger. As of this writing, the Winning Slap had not been delivered. But don't worry. It's Hopkins. He will deliver. Perhaps he already has!
Great job to all three alums, all of whom finished in the top 1,000 of the field.
In addition on Sunday ...
-- Brian Sheehan, dad of women's team sophomore (and All-MAAC runner!) Kathryn Sheehan and big supporter of our program, finished strongly in 3:13:05, 278th in his age group. He had to overcome a ridiculously slow start in the crowd (23:33 first 5km!), but worked his way through for the strong finish (his 13.1 split was 1:37:46). Nicely done, Mr. Sheehan!
-- Erin Duggan, sister of men's team junior Pat Duggan, completed the race in 4:26:31. Members of the Duggan Family are also avid supporters of the Running Red Foxes. Congrats on the finish, Erin.
Fan Mail
It happens, like clockwork, every year.
Some angry local driver calls the College to complain about those skinny runners with Marist shirts on.
Oh, they are jaywalking across Route 9! Oh, they are running five abreast up West Cedar! Oh, they are so dangerous and they are disrupting traffic!
It always trickles down to me, and I am told to have a word or three with my athletes. I get annoyed and frustrated that the only "recognition" we get is negative, despite the countless hours and miles we spend methodically removing the rubber from the bottom of our running shoe soles through our hard-earned miles.
And then, the other night, I got this email. It made me smile, and I share it with you here tonight.
Subject: Second place finish at your conference meet
Peter, the hard work of your runners paid off. While on my way to work the afternoon shift at Mid Hudson Bridge, I have seen your runners practicing over here in Highland. You surely have them working hard. By all means please have them keep up the good work. And best of luck for the rest of the season. Richie Matthews, Red Fox Club and Mid Hudson Bridge.
Some angry local driver calls the College to complain about those skinny runners with Marist shirts on.
Oh, they are jaywalking across Route 9! Oh, they are running five abreast up West Cedar! Oh, they are so dangerous and they are disrupting traffic!
It always trickles down to me, and I am told to have a word or three with my athletes. I get annoyed and frustrated that the only "recognition" we get is negative, despite the countless hours and miles we spend methodically removing the rubber from the bottom of our running shoe soles through our hard-earned miles.
And then, the other night, I got this email. It made me smile, and I share it with you here tonight.
Subject: Second place finish at your conference meet
Peter, the hard work of your runners paid off. While on my way to work the afternoon shift at Mid Hudson Bridge, I have seen your runners practicing over here in Highland. You surely have them working hard. By all means please have them keep up the good work. And best of luck for the rest of the season. Richie Matthews, Red Fox Club and Mid Hudson Bridge.
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