The cancellation of the Valentine Invitational leaves a void in our schedule -- and, I'm sure, the schedules of many other teams around the region. It is a high quality meet; well-run, with excellent competition. Galen Rupp's near record run a few weeks ago has exposed to the nation what we have known all along: The BU track, and the meets at that track, are as good as it gets. Terrier and Valentine are the two centerpieces of our indoor track schedule. Losing Valentine cuts a hole in the season. Again, we are not alone in this. It happens. Nor'easters happen. Even storms with quaint, Disney-esque names like Nemo (Side note: Why did the Weather Channel, or whoever, decide it was important to start naming winter storms? Very annoying ...)
Now, we will switch into Weather Geek mode. I have been following this storm with moderate to intense interest all week. Weather Geeks know that the nuts and bolts of forecasting are "computer models." Most computer models did not forecast this mammoth storm that seems imminent until very recently. However, the "Euro Model" has drawn up this very scenario since Monday. It is the only one that has consistently called for this; it's also important to note that the Euro Model was the one that accurately predicted Sandy, both in the short- and long-term. It's kind of ironic that the best predictor of North American weather seems to be coming from another continent. But whatever. This storm has to be of epic proportions for a city like Boston -- well versed in winter weather -- to go into shutdown mode before a single flake flies.
And so we move on. We will retool for the MAAC meet next Friday and make the best of this situation. It's real easy to feel sorry for ourselves and the missed opportunities of what could have been a great meet. But before you do that, consider some folks who deserve real empathy:
--BU meet management, who had to deal with the stresses of preparing for mammoth event, fielding tense e-mails from coaches like us, and ultimately losing out on what is most likely a very profitable event.
--Out-of-area athletes and teams, that either flew into Boston and now likely will be stranded there for days, or teams that will have to eat hundreds or thousands of dollars in travel plans because of this. And have no race to show for it.
--All of our friends, acquaintances and alums in the Boston area and New England corridor, who will have to deal with several feet of heavy, wet snow and strong winds. May they stay safe and away from harm in dealing with it all.
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