NE Runner dev site
(Note: Special notes that warrant special scrutiny at bottom of page)
A beautiful day in Norwell for Malt & Hops Tour race No. 3. Everyone that ran here last year, ran faster this May 21 given that it wasn’t 85˚ with high humidity for the 9:30 am start.
Course record setter Nick Green.
The end result was two course records among the first three finishers. Battle Road TC’s Nick Green lowered Derek Noland’s CR by 6-seconds to 15:32. Not the first Pub Series CR to be turned in by Green as he also set the standard at the Liam Maguire’s Almost 5-Miler.
“Green is wearing the wrong green,” quipped 3rd placer and new Masters record holder TJ Unger of HFC (both clubs have green singlets). Unger took down SRR coach Joe O’Leary’s time of 17:14 set in 2016.
3rd Place & the Masters record for TJ Unger.
This was Unger’s first bettering of Pub Leader Patrick Bugbee and he thought he might pile up some points but one (1) was all he got as Bugbee arrived next in 16:56. Things are heating up with Bugbee at 146 points and TJ at 145.
Bugbee’s CSU teammate Jason Goldschmidt arrived next in 17:27 and is third on the leaderboard with 130 points followed by Norwich U. coach Michael McGrane with 120.
Nicole Nelson with teammate Emily Larson on the final downhill.
HFC’s Nicole Nelson is now 3-for-3 in the Series after a course-long scare from teammate Emily Larson. After attending her brother’s wedding the day before (which left father Frank hors de combat for race day) it took until the final steep downhill for Nelson to pass and place 3-ticks ahead of Larson in 18:35.
The Masterful Elizabeth Lennox with huffing and puffing Pat Sweeney in pursuit.
With Evan’s the 3rd race in the Series the “Miss two, you’re through” clause kicks in to separate the wheat from the chaff and nowhere was there more chaff than in the women’s W40-49 division where Somerville’s Elizabeth Lennox reigns supreme.
We can now refer to Elizabeth as “the one and only” as she’s already clinched her division (barring missing two of the final three races) and that has never happened before in the history of the Pub Series dating back to 1998. Lennox is also No. 2 overall in the standings. If she can maintain a top-3 position it pays more at Awards Night than the top Masters payout…which would leave the Masters division…empty.
While HFC’s Eileen Cakorous has a bit of a handle on the Senior divison, it is femano-a-femano (does that work as contrasted with mano-a-mano?) between HFC’s Mary McNulty and RI ace Marge Bellisle. McNulty took her 2nd straight W60 win to break a tie and go one point up on Marge, 29-28 with Mimosa Run starlet Cassandra Clancy firmly in third with 22 points.
Scituate’s Ted Coyle, 2-points behind TIR’s Dave Wessman in the M60 division.
One other record on the day as Whirlaway world beater Jan Holmquist ran 7:42 pace at age 79 to log in at 23:54 to break Colonial Road Runner Betsy Knapp’s mark from 2018 (Betsy was 2nd). Another Septuagenarian spring chicken, Rich Paulson, 79, tops the Pub Series M70 division but only by 1-point over RI’s Kevin McCarthy.
NE-65+ superstar Dave Pember, 80, can’t be stopped in the Ozone Warriors division, placing 3rd overall among M70 competitors and holding a 6-point lead over Maine’s Phil Pierce.
Finally, good to see everyone but especially those coming off the shelf ala Bill Riley and most certainly Larry Cole.
*****Special Note: Marge Bellisle mentioned you can save $10 off the entry fee at the next race (the Riverwalk Brewery 5K in Newburyport) if you join a team and have 10 members or more. I’m guessing this is done as a chargeback on your credit card. Anyway, we signed up New England Runner as a team so hop on board as the entry fee ain’t cheap.
Another Special Note Even More Special: We’ve also signed up New England Runner as a team at the Cambridge Fall Classic. We don’t want to see Publicans parading as Team Brookside or such as this year members may be shunned at our tent in the University Quad Beer Garden. We need 20 members for that privilege so here’s a link:
https://raceroster.com/registration/da0a3c85-5b2e-432f-9ede-bbd3f3e6592a/entry?team=530836
Beer Garden tent action is a must so don’t waver.
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