Best of the Year??

Here are some of my favourite images that i took this year. There were many more, but going through 40,000+ photos wasn't something i really wanted to do. I hope you enjoy these.

The slideshow is from Facebook, as Youtube would not approve the audio that went along with the images.  Turn up the volume and set the show to full screen.  Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1184526329772&ref=mf

First Shoes

Yes, these are the first real running shoes i ever had, bought in early 1979. How many of you out there still have you first real pair of running shoes?  I ran before i bought these, first starting on the cinder track at Lockwood Jr. High wearing leather Nike shoes, the Cortez. After realizing that i like doing this, it was time to get into real hardcore running shoes and the New Balance 320 was the choice for me. I bough these shoes at Lightning Sports on Thayer Street in Providence. At the time, these were top of the line and cost a whopping $29.99. Choices back then weren't anything like today, i could have gone with Brooks, Adidas or Tigers, which seemed to be the choice of many top runners, now known as Asics. The NB 320's weren't the most attractive shoes out there, but they were comfortable. They had a gum rubber herringbone outer sole, not very long lasting. I used to build them up with ShoeGoo to get extra mileage out of them. Funny thing, they were a 9 1/2, i now were 11 but these shoes still fit. It seems the lasts that shoes are built on changed, not my feet. I would beat the crap out of my shoes, lots of miles and running sockless would do that and they would stink to high heaven. Why did i keep these, i don't know, maybe i thought it would be cool to see them 30 years later and compare. Obviously, they don't compare to anything now, not even remotely, but i could probably sell them on EBAY for more than i bought them for in 1979.

Later

Scott

Rhode Island 6 Hour

I woke up Sunday morning to a light mist and darkness, time to roll out of bed and get over to the Warwick City Park for the RI 6 Hour Race.  The weathermen in all their infinite wisdom are saying that it will be a nice day, temps in the low sixties and no rain. I can't imagine that there is anymore rain to fall after Saturday, how much can the clouds hold? 6:30am and here comes Mark Mitsmenn down the street for a ride over with USATF-NE Ultra Chairman Paul Kirsch following behind us. There is a steady stream of cars heading into the park and the locals must be wondering what is going on. We head on down to the beach and start area, the lot is filling fast. Tents are popping up all over, this place doesn't see this much action even in the summer. On a clear day, there is a view all the way down Narragansett Bay towards Newport, it is a very nice spot for a race. The course here is a 2.7 mile paved bike path that meanders through the woods and ball fields of the park. Much of the path is flat, but there is a rolling section that lasts for less than a half mile which could wear on the legs over the course of 6 hours. So let the fun begin.

8am is here and the start of the race goes off right on time. The players here are Ben Nephew and Martin Tighe, Ben is 34, Martin is 17 years older than that at 51. Both have impressive running resumes. Both are looking for more than 50 miles in the alloted 6 hours. They take off together and plan on running together for a while. At the same time as the ultra run, there is also a relay going on. Twenty Eight teams
with anywhere from 2 to 6 runners doing anywhere from 1 to 3 laps an individual stint. This is not a strictly regulated relay like some, you can set it up anyway that suits your team. My team, the Tuesday Night Turtle "C" team is handing off every lap, figuring that will keep us better rested and able to kick the ass of the Turtle "B" team. All our best runners were on the "A" team which was going for the overall win, but we weren't concerned with them, only the B's. Team FuelBelt came in with 5 teams, there were teams from the Wild Colonial Running Club, Shamrock Running Club, Inskip Auto Dealership and many more. Oddly though, no other big RI running clubs showed, oh well, maybe next year.

Meanwhile, Martin and Ben are going at it on the bikepath. Two laps in and Ben has already shed his shirt, a few laps later Martin does the same. They are lapping at around 6.30 pace which comes out to about a 5:25 50 mile time. Seems a bit rich. Two hours in and Martin is off the front just hammering the shit out of the course, i guess he did not want anymore company. Did he go too early, time will tell. Ben seemed to just settle in and run a fairly even pace. Martin was adding time every lap, building up to a 7 minute lead, but things were closing in. Cramping was starting to be an issue. Both runners slowed over time, that was a given considering the early pace. With a few laps to go, it hit. Martin was lying down on the path with someone trying to massage the cramps out of his legs, this cost a good 5 minutes of his time as Ben closed in. Now Martin's pace was off, he was hurting but still able to push on. One thing i know about Martin is he is a tough runner and will do all he can to hold on. But when you are being pursued by someone like Ben Nephew, the writing was on the wall. With a lap to go, Ben came around side by side with Martin and that was it, Ben put 1 1/2 minutes on Martin on the last lap. In the end, both runners covered 51.3 miles, but Ben did it quicker. Both runners ran sub 5:50 for 50 miles, an amazing feat. Martin ran a PR by 10 minutes, i do not know what Ben has previously run for a 50.  Separated by a minute and a half after 6 hours, what an exciting race! Congratulations to both. In the womens race, Daniele Cherniak of New York, a long time excellent ultra runner won by about 2 minutes over Allison Lassoe. Daniele covered 41.4 miles.

Meanwhile, back at the relay. The TNT "A" was out front by over a lap and the rest of us were left to shoot it out. My "C" team was led by Captain Jodi Hall as she led myself, George, Jim, Vicki and Pieter to a third place finish, way above expectations. I managed to run better than i thought i would, averaging 7 min. pace for 3 legs. I'll take it for now. My knees felt good, that is a good thing. I even wore racing shoes, probably not the best thing for a fat, starting to get back in shape runner, but it is a relay and i don't want to let the team down. With the relay going on with the ultra, there were many more runner/ spectators here, and a very boisterous crowd. This had to help the ultra runners and added a certain electricity to the race. The one thing i would like to see next year is an updated leader board for the relay so that we know who we are close to. I was surprised to find we were in the top 3, but in the end, the 2-8 teams were separated by only 4 minutes. It would be good to know who you have to go after or hold off.

I did get to hang out some with old friend and racing foe, Jon Barnes, who was running on one of the Fuel Belt teams. Back in the eighties, Jon ran for the Belle Watling A.C., anyone out there know where that name came from without googling it? Buy you a beer if you get it right.

Want to see many photos from the race, go HERE.

By the way, that is the lovely captain of our relay team, Jodi Hall who is interviewing Ben Nephew after the race.

A big shout out goes to the other Turtle in the 6 Hour, Jake Schieffelin who covered 37.8 miles and took 3rd place in the USATF-NE masters championship.

Way to go Jake!!!

New York City Marathon

How great is it to see an American win the NYC Marathon? In a USA shirt to boot.

 I get a kick out of how they played up Ryan Hall for much of the race and Meb comes through with the win.  Of course, that has to do with some of the non-running broadcasters. Everything has to be a cliche or witty remark. Why not put Toni Reavis alone in the booth and keep the others out on the remotes? They did a good job. They just had to put up with stupid questions or idiotic observances from the play by play guy. Just my opinion, of course.

Oh well, aside from that. Great to see Americans finish 1st and 4th.

Photo at right is from Boston in 2006 at 15 miles. Meb finished in 2:09.56, 2.42 behind Robert Cheruiyot. Not sure who #19 is, he was a dnf.

Boston Mayor's Cup

It was a gorgeous day to watch some cross country racing at the Boston Mayors Cup in Franklin Park. The trees were on fire with color, the temps were low 60's and there was a bit of mud on the course, it doesn't get much better than this.

Kudos go out to DJ Principe, son of Turtle president Dave. DJ won the 10 and under race with a time of 6.40 over a 1.1 mile course.

See some photos of the races here:

Mens Championship 8k

Womens Championship 5k

All races gallery

Grog and Dog Jog

What a beautiful day for racing and eating. I headed over to watch the Turtles race the Grog and Dog Jog at the Wild Colonial in Providence. It is a relay of 1 1/4 miles X four with a beer and a dog before you hand off to the next runner. The trick is trying to eat and drink as fast as possible with out puking, because many places change during the handoff. You can also leave your eating manners home for this one.

Our Turtle team dressed up as Geeks, well, truth be told, it is not really a turtle team. Two Turtles, Bob Jackman and Ben Keefe were joined by Alan Bernier of CMS and Zak Kudlak of the Unattached TC. Alan went as far as to add tape the glasses and pens in his pocket, no pocket protector though. Also on the start line were a wench, a hot dog, runners in tux's and wigs and wings, i even saw a running clam. From the start, Zak took the lead for the defending champion Turtles, building a small lead by the time they emerged on the other side of the Providence River. At the end of his leg, Zak grabbed his beer and dog and chowed it down pretty quick, then handed off to Ben Keefe. Ben hasn't been doing any speed work this summer and it showed. He held off the second runner, clad in a tie and BC tank top, by mere seconds. This is where fast eating comes in handy, we were out first with Bob Jackman and another BC runner right behind. Bob lost the lead, but due to fast eating we got a good start on the last leg with Alan cranking out a fast mile and a quarter, but it still was close enough that they were eating for first and second in the food corral at the same time.

From the sidelines, you can look at them and wonder why they aren't eating any faster, but i guess until i run one myself i will just never know. Someone said that Keith Kelly put down his dog/beer combination in 20 seconds, hope he didn't spill any on his wench outfit. Costume of the day is a tossup between the running wenches and the hot dogs. One can only imagine what a passing motorist must think? Why is the St Paulie Girl chasing that guy down the road, is he a bad tipper?

Kudos go out to Brien Lang and the Wild Colonial for putting on a fun event.

For more photos of the Grog and Dog Jog, look here.

Link to the Wild Colonial here.

At right is Clammie the Narragansett beer mascot.

CVS Caremark Downtown 5K

I got out for an early run today so i could finish up and head over to the USATF National Championship 5k in Providence. It is nice having a top notch race as this just 10 minutes from my house. I ran this race only once, 11 years ago when i was 40 years old. At the time, i was pretty quick and managed to run a 15.25 for 5th master, that would have won todays race. That's what happens when you pull out the money for masters, it went 10 deep then and maybe 3 deep now. Aside from that, this is still a great race. You want to run a fast time and aren't concerned with place, come to this race. Don't want to run, it is still a great race to spectate at

Want to see some photos from the race, click here..

See some off beat high school runners here.

See Flotrack Video here.

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM

Well, it is Labor Day Weekend which means one thing to me, Lime Rock Vintage Fest!  For those of you not in the know, it is a weekend of old sports cars racing around a mile and a half road course in beautiful western Connecticut. There are cars from the early thirties to the late seventies. It is NOT your popular run in circles with cars that all look the same kind of boring racing. These cars have character and history attached to them. These cars have style, grace and elegance.


Pictured is the star of the show. It is a Mercedes-Benz W154 Silver Arrow Grand Prix car last raced in 1939 as World War II broke out. It had not been on a road course since then. The sound that this car makes going around the track is like a symphony. See a video of it here .

If you care to see some photos from the event, here are 50 of my favourites.

If you are really bold, see the full 275 shots here.

Race to the Top of Vermont

The Turtle Mountain Team headed up to Stowe, Vermont this weekend to run up Mt. Mansfield. The event is The Race to the Top of Vermont.  Making the drive up on a rainy Saturday were John Peabody, Martin Tighe(why do people continue pronounce his name"teague"?) and his nephew James, Vicki and Chris Jasparro, Jackie and Bob Jackman, Zak Kudlak, Larry Walker and me. We had rented a house for the night right in Stowe and packed it tight with runners. Also staying with us was Jim Johnson, author of the world famous DoubleJ running blog.

Saturday night, we picked up our numbers and headed over to The Shed Brewery for dinner and some beers. The beers were decent but not great and the food was expensive for what you get. A vegetarian quesadilla for 18 dollars seems a bit steep and it wasn't that big either. Towards the end of dinner, the waitress came over to the table and informed us that there was a police DUI checkpoint set up down the road so we let the non-drinkers drive back to the house. Turns out the police were set up right in front of our house! After the checkpoint broke up, we picked up a few six packs and sat down to watch the 2009 video of  Mt Washington road race, good stuff. You might be able to tell that we weren't taking the race too seriously considering all the beers.

Race morning was overcast but soon burned off to produce a beautiful day. We left early to make a stop at Bingham Falls in Smugglers Notch State Park. It was a long downhill hike to the falls and was worth the walk. The hike also helped loosen up my legs for the task ahead. Now it was time to get over to the toll road and hang out for a while for everything to get started.

First off were the walkers, then an hour later go the mountain bikers followed ten minutes later by the runners. I started off with John P., just behind Jackie and Chris J. I started off real conservative seeing that the uphill started right away. I figured to run with John Peabody as far as possible, but John wasn't coming along, so i had to go it alone. The course is a mixture of steep climbs and a few flats or near flat sections to give you a chance to catch your breath. The road is also dirt, but in really good condition. I chugged along at 12 min. or so pace for much of the race, mixing in slow running and power walking, this seemed to work well for me. Once the temperature started to drop near the top, i felt even better, not that i was going any faster, just more comfortable with the pain. By half way, we were passing mountain bikers on the road. I just can't imagine riding my bike up a road like this, last week i was riding up some of the jeep trails around Mt Toby and the quad burn was intense. I passed bikers on my power walks, they were peddling and going nowhere. I finished up in 54.40 at 97th place. Not too bad for where my fitness level is right now. This summer has seen too many little setbacks, you miss a week here and 10 days there, so there isn't any forward progress. I think that is behind me now, or at least i hope so. I ran down the mountain after the race and could actually walk this morning, unlike Mt Ascutney six weeks ago. I guess that is a sign of progress.

As a group, the Turtles did well, Jackie Jackman placed 4th woman overall and first in 30-39. Martin Tighe won the 50-59 group and Bob Jackman was 3rd in 20-29.

Overall, the race was won by Jim Johnson (35.30) and Kasie Enman (40.12) New course records for both.

Eric Morse finished second.

All in all, this is a nice race. Organization was very good. The only gripes i have are with the post race. If you go to the effort to do big post race free barbecue, you might want include something to drink too. Bottled water, soda, juice, something. In this case, you had to stand in a long line at the bar to get an overpriced can of soda after waiting in a long line for food. The other thing is the award ceremony. At the start, we were told that awards were at 12.30, the entry form said 1pm. In all actuality, 1.45 they finally got underway. There was a huge raffle with some real nice stuff, but considering that we had a 4 1/2 hour drive in front of us, there was no way we were hanging that long. Chip timing was nice, so can't you get things going faster?

For a report on the goings on up front in the race, see Jim Johnsons blog.

Later

Scott

Runner Attacks Photographer

 

                 Well, I wasn't really attacked by a runner, it just looks like i was in the line of fire.


 I took a ride up to the Mt Toby Trail Run on Sunday with 5 of my Turtle teammates who were running this 14 mile trail race. Since i am in really lousy running shape right now, i went only as photographer and as one turtle put it, Turtle trail organizer. The runners were Martin Tighe, Bob Jackman, Larry Walker, Ben Keefe and John Peabody. I like the fact that more of the Turtles are getting into mountain and trail racing, only wish i was running more of them. Soon, i hope! Actually, next week i am supposed to run up Mt Mansfield @ Stowe, Vermont. Not really looking forward to that. Anyway... i did take my mountain bike with the camera in the backpack up the trail at Toby in search of a place to take photos that wasn't too dark. It wasn't an easy trail to bike on, lots of uphill, ruts, rocks and water, but i loved it. I only wish that there wasn't a race going on and there wasn't a 10 pound camera strapped to my back. Flying down the trails at breakneck speed over rocks and ruts is a total blast! I finally settled on a good place to shoot in a brief clearing where the local fire department guys had set up a water stop. We were the 12 mile mark, down hill all the way to the finish. They even offered me a beer, who am i to turn that down until i heard the choices, Bud or Bud Lite. Much as i despise both of these, i went with the Bud. I was hot and sweaty and covered in mud, the Spudweiser tasted great.

After many photos, we all headed south to Northampton for the local brewpub. The Northampton Brewery was very good. Food and beer both tasted good. The double IPA was quite tasty and the aroma from the brewing process just enhanced the whole experience.

                                     I love the smell of boiling malts in the afternoon.


                                   Want to see some photos from Mt Toby, click here .

Back in the Day, 30 & 10 Years Ago

Thirty years ago this weekend, i ran my first St Mary's Feast 5.5 Mile race. It is held at 5 pm on a Saturday and needless to say, is normally a swelteringly hot day with very little shade along the way. This was race #11 of the year for me which also make it 11th ever, seeing this was my first year racing. I started out with my buddy Richard Collard  and after pulling away from him, ended up in a battle with Darryl Simoneau from Cumberland HS, getting out kicked into the finish. I finished in 30.30 for 5.5 or 5.7, or whatever the real distance was. My friend, Roland Davide, in my opinion, the best runner ever to come out of Rhode Island, easily won the race. Roland was on the comeback trail at the time with a lot of great running in front of him. 

Along the way, i logged many long runs with Roland, which helped push me to the extreme. We would run a Saturday morning 21 miler that was back loaded with some killer hills, pushing up the pace towards the end of the run. It was not unusual for us to run the last mile in 5-5.05 after running two shitty steep long hills leading to the finish at his house in Coventry. Of course, there were days when i would just grab his shoulder and say SLOW DOWN, we always ended up picking the pace up again anyway. I remember one long run leading up to the New York City Marathon in 1982. I told him of this 20 mile workout we could do on a rolling course out around the Scituate Reservoir. We headed out on the supposed 20 that ended up being 27 miles, the pace coming in was fast. I think Roland was pissed! We were wiped out, having no water for 27 miles will do that, but back then, who needed water anyway. Because of my indiscretion in getting the miles right, Roland told me i had to double up on my races the next day so i could join him at an afternoon race he was committed to running at the PM Pub. We both ran the Warwick 10k in the morning where i surprisingly ran 32 flat for a PR at that distance, Don't remember Roland's time, but i would guess it was 30 low change. Later that afternoon, we showed up at the PM Pub and went 1-2 for the 5 mile race after an early scare from Dick Tardiff, who rocketed out at the start, and we no doubt, enjoyed a few beers after the race. The photo in the local paper had us finishing side by side and many people said i almost beat Roland, Yeah, Right. He was a sub 30 10k guy, no way i was beating him at that point of my running career. I really enjoyed my time running with Roland Davide and he is part of the reason i got as fast as i did.

Shoot ahead 20 years to the same weekend as St Mary's and we have the Wachuset to Wachuset Road Race. Like St Mary's, it was a late afternoon 5 mile race and this year, it was hotter than hell. Race time temp was about 95 degrees. I made the trek up to this race with some of the Turtle boys, Dave Larsen, Mark Mitsmenn, Ernie Valliere and Chris McDonough in Dave's 1977 Eldorado. There is more room in this car than a school bus. One of the major draws here was that it finished at a brewery with live music and beer after the race, what is better than that! It also had 40% downhill and only 20% up in this point to point race, so the course profile seemed quite interesting. The race started in the parking lot at the ski area and came screaming downhill to Rte 140 and then headed along rolling hills until you hit the 4 mile mark where it went down for about 3/4 of a mile and then flat into the finish. My last mile of the race was a 4.40 mile, side by side with Dan Johnson from Providence, not bad for a 41 year old. We came in towards the finish and realized that you had to make a sharp 180 degree turn 100 meters from the finish. At the pace we were running, we thought, who the f--- thought up this finish? Dan, with the younger legs, got me in the sprint. The last mile was electric, it had to be one of the most exhilarating last miles i ever ran in a race. Side by side and neither would give, striding like gazelles, that is what racing is all about! 

Too bad this race only lasted for a few years, your entry fee got you a t-shirt, a pint glass and a growler of beer along with music and food. Why do these races always seem to disappear? 

 Wachusett to Wachusett 5-Miler

Westminster, MA, July 17, 1999

  1   1/98   M2029   24:20  4:52 ARTHUR GILKES          25 M   774 SOMERVILLE MA           CMS
 2   2/98   M2029   24:41  4:57 DANIEL JOHNSON         26 M   956 PROVIDENCE RI           BAA
3   1/176  M4049   24:43  4:57 SCOTT MASON            41 M   576 WARWICK RI              TNT
4   1/203  M3039   24:47  4:58 MAURITS VAN DER VEEN   32 M   775 SOMERVILLE MA           CMS
5   1/19   M0119   24:55  4:59 MIKE SMITH             19 M  3034 PRINCETON MA            CMS
 6   3/98   M2029   25:00  5:00 RICHARD BOLT           28 M   862 PEPPERELL MA            CMS
 7   2/19   M0119   25:21  5:05 NATE JENKINS           18 M  3037 TEMPLETON MA            UMASS LOWELL
8   4/98   M2029   25:39  5:08 KEVIN BECK             29 M   982 CONCORD NH              CMS
9   2/176  M4049   26:49  5:22 TIM BLOUIN             42 M   607 TEMPLETON MA            GLRR/NMC
10   2/203  M3039   27:09  5:26 JASON CAKOUROS         34 M   107 MILTON MA

 

Ascutney

For the last two years, i have been photographing the mountain races and i've had a great time doing it. Yesterday, i decided to be on the other side of the camera and try running one of these things. This would be the first time i have ever done a mountain race. The thought had crossed my mind many years ago when i was a much faster, but i just never pulled the trigger on it. It is also my first race this year without snowshoes under my feet. I knew coming into this that i was in no way ready to race, but what the hell, lets do it anyway.

The day started good with a nice easy 3 mile warmup with all the CMS and other mountain studs. Running wise, that is as good as the day got. Soon after, it was over to the start line to begin this adventure. A few words with Trail Pixie before the gun and we were off. I found that trying to figure out what kind of pace to run up the mountain is not easy, so i just went slow. At about the mile i broke into a power walk which is not much slower than running on the steep sections of road. I kept this up for the next mile or so when it was time to veer onto the trails to the top. This is where it got ugly. The rock strewn trails are steep technical climbs, not condusive to running at all. On top of that, there was much mud, running water and slick footing. For me, being in less than ideal condition, call it fat and out of shape if you will, it was torture. I pulled over a number of times to let faster people through, otherwise you could not pass. I finally made it to the top, it was great to come out of the woods and see the finish line right away. As i made it the final steps, there was Jim Johnson with his camera shooting away. I just had a blank stare towards the camera. Now i know what some of the mountain runners must think when they see me pointing a camera at them on the steep slopes i like to set up on. Oh yeah, Jim also won the race, congratulations JJ. After a long wait for the awards to be given out, we ran back down the mountain road. Probably not the best thing to do as my legs feel shot today, but the knees are good which is very positive.

Now i know what i have to do to get ready for Mt Mansfield in 7 weeks.

If i decide to try Ascutney again next year, i hope that they change the course back to all road.

Upper Walking Boss, Loooooon

A few days before the Loon Mountain race, race director, Paul Kirsch, mentioned that nobody ever shot photos from the Upper Walking Boss and he wouldn't mind seeing some from there.Well, it sounded like a good subtle hint to me and a great challenge too. I watched the start of the race down along the Pemigewasset River and then made haste for the gondolas for a ride to the top, well, almost the top. 

Once i got off the gondola ride, i had to get to the North Peak before the runners reached the same. I booked it up the Summit Trail, a 300ft rise in about 1/3 of a mile, a power walk mixed with some slow running, all while carrying two good size cameras. That little hike kicked the crap out of me, but i made it well before therunners. Now that i was there, it was time to start down Upper Walking Boss, a black diamond slope. My first reaction was, i'm not walking down there, but with a closer look, it did not look so bad. At least i wasn't running up it! Watch your step going down and it is easy. Once the runners started coming up, it was all worth it. I love to shoot where the runners are pushed to their limits and this is one of the best places i have ever been able the photograph. Anything you shoot at the local 5k could never come close to what you see here.

See all my photos here.

It was great to see Jim Johnson coming up the slope first, granted he wasn't moving too fast and seemed to 

be getting caught. He did get caught and then got it all 

back and then some on the descent. Good win, Jim.

 The grade where i started shooting was around 40-45%. You look at some of the pictures and have to be amazed at the angle these runners are to the slope. Absolutely brutal! A few of the runners did manage to run, slowly, all the way up the mountain. Talk about quad burn.

 

 As i worked my way down the course, taking photos all along the way, most everyone is in good spirits. You wouldn't think so if you saw what they were in the midst of running up. I got many smiles and mugging for the camera. I carried on some short conversations and joking around. I even had some runners ask why i was shooting pictures on the worst part of the course. Why shoot when you are running comfortably, that is too easy. Of course, i told them Paul made me do it :) 

These mountain runners are a great group of people.

Read these blogs for the real runners accounts of the race:

Dave Dunham

Jim Johnson

Paul Bazanchuck

Paul Kirsch

Jim Pawlicki

Cranmore Hillclimb 2009

Yeah, I know, A little late on getting this stuff out on the blog this week. 

I had a great time shooting the race this year. I picked up a ride to the top of the mountain with the waterstop crew and then gradually made my way down the mountain while shooting 2000+ images. A stellar field made it an even better to watch. Too bad there aren't more spectators up on the hill to urge the runners on, they don't know what they are missing.

See my photos here and here. 

I also put out a video slideshow here.

See a fun slideshow of the race by Ken Skier here. 

Gotta love the look on Paul Bazanchuks face in the photo, kinda says it all, don't it.

See you all at Loon Mountain this week. Paul Kirsch wants to see some shots from the Upper Walking Boss, so that is where i will be. 40% grade, WOW!

Later

Scott                                                                                    

20 Years ago this week.

So here i am, hanging out at the Mt Washington Road Race. It was the first time i had ever been to the top of the "rockpile". All the runners i talked to along the way were amazed that i had never run in this race.

It might be a big deal that i never had run up the mountain, but there are other races. Back when i was quick, i was kind of hooked on this race in Connecticut called the Norwich Rose Arts Race. It was 10.57 mile race, seems Ct. never was much into traditional race distances and it was run the day after Mt Washington. I ran it a few times, in 1989 i came in as the defending champ but was not the favourite for the race. Mike Cotton, a very good CT. runner was proclaimed the race favourite. I was pissed off at that. I destroyed the field the year before so give me the honor of at least being the best runner here. I already knew i was going to win this race, not to be cocky, but i was going after the race favourite. When you have to race against all the Irishmen who come to RI, it just toughens you up that much more.

So off goes the race and off go i. Toy around with this guy til we hit the hills and drop the hammer. As a runner, you have to know your strengths, mine were running uphill. We hit the Canterbury Turnpike and the race was over. Mike was a good runner but i was better that day. I was going for John Flora's course record, but the heat of the day was just too much. The race win was good anyway. Click on the newspaper article to read the race report.

I had always thought back then than Mt Washington would be a great race to run and i wish that i had done it. Would have been interesting to see how well i could have done then. Hopefully i find out next year just how it is to run up the mountain. I look forward to pushing myself to the summit, just not to the level i was once at. The competitive urge will always be there though, so here goes nothing, i will run as hard as i can up the hill next year, i hope!

Pictured in the shot is Glen Guillmette, Al Pettinichio, Eddie Tarczyk, Mark Mitsmenn, Kevin Maguire and Me. This was the first year of the Tuesday Night Turtles. Notice our race outfits, fluorescent green shorts, you could see us coming a mile away. Life was good. 

Mt Washington Road Race

Before Saturday, i had never had the opportunity to get to the top of Mt Washington, running or driving. This year i drove up (i have the bumper sticker to prove it!), next year i run it. I think i would rather run up after the drive to the top. Driving through a cloud to the top made me feel like i was inside a cotton ball, it was somewhat nerve wracking knowing there was an extreme drop-off right next to you, but you can't see it. I had Jimmy Buffett blasting on the CD player to sooth the nerves. Once i hit about 5000ft, everything cleared out and it was just beautiful! It was nice to get up there early so i had a chance to wander around and check things out, looking down on top of the clouds was an awesome site, not that it was the first time i have seen this,  just that it is the legendary Mt Washington. My first look at the finish was astonishing, the "wall" in the last 100 meters or so is quite intimidating. 30% grade hurts to walk up, let alone, run up after covering 7 1/2 miles already. I staked out a spot halfway up the wall for the first few runners and then made my way back down the road a little for more photos. See them here.

 

Just a few comments and observations:

>Watching Ricky Gates sprinting to the finish after cresting the wall to get under the hour mark and  make the money bonus was very impressive.

>Tara Cardi running to second place was awesome, especially coming from a state with a high point of 812ft. Just shows you can't rule out us flatlanders.

>Thanks for the Smuttynose IPA, MG.

>Hey Sheila, sorry i missed your photo, i'm pissed at myself for that lapse of concentration. Watching that moose in your yard the night before was cool!

>Another flatlander, Glen Guillmette ran great, next year he moves to the 50 age bracket, too bad Craig Fram is already there :(  Craig's blowing away of the old course record wasn't a surprise, but impressive none the less.

>Good run, DoubleJ

>Great to meet up with George Zack, it is good to

actually talk to Facebook friends in person. 

Especially when they live in Colorado and you have never met before. See you next year, i'll bring the homebrew. That is George in the Fleet Feet top in the photo. Read George's Blog here.

>Fun post race get together at the base of the mountain, i got to catch up with many runners i

do not get to see too often. I was also the provider of the bottle opener for the gang at the corner of the tent, all us oldtimers, Don Fredrickson, Bob Hodge, Bob Fitzgerald and Dave Quintal.

>Too bad i missed you at the post race, Tess.

>Stupid Human Tricks Dept. : Coming home along Route 16, i realized i needed to stop to relieve myself. So i find a deserted place to stop, hop over a log (well, not quite) and fall flat on my face and cut open my shin, the log didn't look slippery. Bloody shin and sock, but i felt better anyway. Next time i think i will look for a gas station.

>To anyone going to Cranmore next week, See you there.

Later

Scott

  

Grog and Dog

I started the day with a run, 6 miles at Warwick City Park followed by bottling my latest homebrew, an imperial IPA. With all the important stuff done, it was time to venture into Providence to watch the Wild Colonial's Grog and Dog Relay. This consists of a four runner team that has to run 1 1/4 miles each, but before the handoff, you must eat a hotdog and down a beer ( Narragansett, to be exact).

We had a team entered here, lets call them TNT!?. Seeing that one of our runners is not really a Turtle, he was the !? part of the name. The team consisted of Dave Principe, Ben Keefe, Bob Jackman and former Turtle, Zak Kudlak. Dave was the leadoff runner and was caught off guard by the low-key start but quickly got up to pace and came in second on the leg, getting beat by someone in a Hendricken HS singlet. Dave was a bit slow to get down the dog and beer, so a mixed team got out front with Mary Camire running. Our second runner was Zak Kudlak, who got by Mary pretty fast, but then had to hold off Keith Kelly and Molly Huddle on his leg. Keith was dressed as the construction worker from the Village People, as well as Ben the indian( sorry, don't know your last name), Clay Howland as the cowboy and Brien Lang as the leather clad biker.

 Zak finished and grabbed the dog and beer, he seemed to struggle a little with getting these down while Keith coming from behind, actually inhaled his. How you eat a hotdog and down a beer this fast i do not know. I think i heard Keith say it took 14 seconds, either way, they had a brief lead. Brien took off first, followed by Ben, who was coming off the Nipmuck Trail Marathon. He took the lead and we never looked back. Ben handed, if you want to call it that, to Bob Jackman, and we cruised to the win. 

This was an awesome event. There were 40 teams entered, the race put on by The Wild Colonial on South Main in Providence and sponsered by Narragansett Beer is so much fun. You race along the Providence River on the edge of downtown P-town. It is a great setting for a very low key race.

Everyone seemed to have a great time here. I really want to compete in this race when it is held again this fall. Just have to sign up early. 

Check out a few photos here.

Read Keith Kelly's Blog here.

Photo at left is Mary Camire, i think 

she is giving me the evil eye for taking her picture while eating :)

Saturday, i headed up to Northfeild, Ma for the Northfeild Mountain Race. See some photos(300+)from the race here.

  

Busy Weekend

What a hectic weekend! I was photographing a soccer tournament in Tiverton and Pawtucket on Saturday and Sunday. It consisted of 9-10 year old kids, girls on Sat. and boys on Sunday. There were 2-3 games every hour and i had to get photos from them all which means a lot of hustling around, 34 games in 13 hours between 2 days. It was fun to watch the kids playing, but equally annoying to listen to some of the parents. They seem to forget that there are actual coaches to tell the kids what to do. Why confuse the kids? They have people yelling at the from both sidelines, just shut up, sit down and enjoy the game. If you are going to yell, try some encouragement. I'm not a parent, so you can take my opinion for what it's worth. I'm just an outside observer.

See a few soccer photos here

Before Sundays games started, i stopped by the Rhody 5k NE Grand Prix in Lincoln. I would have thought it was Lincoln, Ma. or NH when i looked around at the lack of RI talent that shows for this race. Being that it is the USATF-NE Grand Prix and gets almost 800 runners is great, but why aren't there more good RI runners at this race? I counted 6 RI men in the top 100 and 12 RI women in the top 100. I realize that there were two other races in this tiny state on Sunday and that real Rhode Islanders have a problem with traveling across the state without making hotel accomadations for the weekend. This is a good race on a somewhat dull course, but it is a 5k race and you aren't here to sightsee. The post race feed is great and they even have good, deep competition here, all the better to drag you along and get a good time out of it. I know that hosting a Grand Prix will boost a races numbers greatly, but i do wonder why they even bother considering holding one in RI. It would be nice to only hold the GP Series where the locals are going to support it. Runners drive hours to get here for such a short race, it just doesn't seem right.

You can check out a few photos from the race here.

The photo above is DJ Principe, son of Tuesday Night Turtle Prez Dave Principe. DJ ran 20.41 @ 6.40 pace, not bad for a 10 year old!

Next up, Northfield. See you there.

Scott

Farewell, Woody

My cat, Woody, died yesterday. He was 18 1/2 years old. He was a good cat, a pain in the ass at times and a good friend too. Woody wasn't a lap cat or the most friendly one you would ever run across. He was your best buddy when it was dinner time, but try to scratch his belly and be prepared to lose some blood. He would wake you up at 5 in the morning by jumping up on the bed or hawking up a hair ball next to it. In other words, Woody was a typical cat in many ways. He acted like he didn't care until he wanted something. Woody liked to sit next to my computer and wait for me to give him his tuna treats. It just seems like he was always around, lurking, waiting to pounce. I watched him jump on a squirrel once and then not know what to do, i caught it, now what?

The last year or so, he was deaf, which bothered me because he couldn't sit in the window and enjoy the outdoors at it's best, in other words, not hear the birds. Through all that though, he was still a great and beautiful cat. I will miss him.

I think i will plant a flower garden over where he rests now.

Wachusett Mountain

I headed up to Wachusett Mountain for the race this past Saturday and then on to Burlington, VT for the Vermont City Marathon and Relay. I was only there to shoot some photos and cheer on 3 of my teammates that were running the trails. Since i arrived pretty early, i decided to do a run with Martin Tighe and get a feel for the condition of my left calf muscle that i pulled a few weeks ago. The day before, i had had a massage from Nicole Toth and the calf was sore from that, but deep down, it felt good. So off i go with Martin, it felt good to run some trails. We ran maybe half the course, it looked to be more challenging than just running up the auto road. I bagged it early and turned back, happy that the leg held up and not wanting to risk too much. Now i could settle in with the camera and try to shoot some good stuff.

The race itself was great to watch, nothing like a close finish. See the photos here scottmasonphoto.com

Here are a few shots from Vermont City Marathon

Homebrew Weekend

I started the weekend with my first real bike of the year, 53 miles with Don Henderson. It started out as a nice ride to the Point Judith Lighthouse and back to North Kingstown, but the ride got ugly towards the end, mainly because i bit off a little more than i could chew. It was a painful ride past forty, the body was running on empty, but i survived and realized i need many more miles on the bike. I am not in 50 mile condition, more like 35-40. At least it was a workout of some sort, since running is not going good at all right now with a pulled calf muscle. Friday is massage day, i can't wait!

Once the ride was over, it was time to get down to the business of the day,

 homebrewing two batches of beer. These are going to be some big beers, one being an imperial porter and the other is an imperial IPA. 

The porter is made up of various grains steeped before boiling and then adding in 12lbs of dry malt extract. That is alot of malt, which means high gravity/high alcohol and some hop aroma with a late addition of cascade hops in the last 10 minutes 

of the boil. This is not what you would call a "session" beer, 2 after a

 hard run will knock you on your ass. As you can see by the photo, fermentation is going well.

The IPA is my favourite style of beer and this particular recipe is the best i have. It will turn out to be a large, chewy, aromatic brew. I started out by mashing 6lbs of pale and crystal malt followed by 9lbs of dry malt extract and when finally done, 12ozs of hops. I dry hop in both primary and secondary fermentation to get a beer that just smells heavenly. 

Joining me for this homebrew extravaganza was George Ross, Mark Howard and Bob Jackman, who had just finished second to Mark Carroll at 5k just up the street from here. The race wasn't close ;)  They got to experience the sights and smells and sample some good beers along the way, as well as a great still cider i made 6 years ago, and yes, i even helped press the apples for the fresh cider. 

Looks like a busy weekend coming up as we make the annual trip up to the Vermont City Marathon and Relay. I am the captain of the mens master team in the relay, but obviously not running. The long range goal was to be in this race but there always seems to be some minor setback that crops up to kill my training. I keep having to reset my goal races. I think i should just plan on being in as good of shape that i can be for snowshoe racing next winter. 

On the way to Vermont, we will be stopping in at Wachusett Mountain so Bob Jackman and Martin Tighe can run the race and i can take some pictures. I'll be the one on the mountain slopes with the big camera pointed at you. Smile and say hi if you like, should be fun.

Later

Scott

 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

What a beautiful day for a race! Newport, RI was a great place to be today, unless of course, you were a beat up out of shape Tuesday Night Turtle. A few weeks ago over a few pints, one of our members decided it might be a nice idea to have a race for the ragged bunch of Turtles that are coming back from injuries or just not training much anymore. We set Mothers Day as the time and Newport for the place. For the record, it was the NPEF Mothers Day Road Race, but were calling it the Broken Down 5k, a race within a race.

We had 11 runners show for the race of which  7 were in the "banged up" class. There should have been more, i did not run because i tweaked my calf on Monday and hadn't run since , that is my excuse and i am sticking by it. Being Mothers Day, i figure the rest had prior

 commitments, or they were just plain chicken.

The race went off like all others, some guy from Australia took the lead and the rest followed. As the busted up Turtles came by, i thought i could hear bones creaking, but maybe that was just the 30 mph winds blowing through the trees. Coming up the final hill, we had Martin Tighe and then Dave Schaad come by before the first broken Turtle, Capt. Ken Kirejczyk came by. It should be noted that Ken only had a broken collarbone from falling on the ice in a race on New Years Day. Next up, Jenny Saunders, not broken and running pretty good followed by Pieter "Dutch" Snoeren, who is recovering from knee surgery. After this, the fun started. Who would be next? Who would be walking? "Cousin" Rich Northup was next in followed by the blazing Rick Curran and Mark "no knees" Mitsmenn. Finally we had Sir George Ross of Scotland and Mark Zartarian bringing up the rear. This race is sort of a run in to the Sir George Ross TNT Handicap Race and Barbecue in August. Today just gives us an idea of where some runners are in their training or lack there of. It also sets off the 8 weeks of trash talking that will precede the handicap race. If you are counting, that is only 10 runners, Iron Mike Darigan was 4 seconds behind Jenny, that makes 11. 

With my latest setback this week, i was forced to put off my run up Mt. Washington until next year. It is something i really did not want to do, but i really need to be in shape to run up this hill, and i am i such lousy running condition, i had to do it. I still may go up to cheer on friends that are running and take a few photos. It sucks, i was looking forward to doing this race, but i am so far behind in my training. I look forward to next year.

Later

Scott

 

1st Race - Thirty Years Ago

It was thirty years ago that i ran my first race, the Kiwanis 10k Road Race in Warwick, RI. What prompted me to try this race i really don't remember. Could be that i just saw it mentioned in the local fish wrap and figured it was time to see what it was like. I had started running 8 months before just for the hell of it and was addicted right from the first lap i ran on the cinder track at Lockwood Jr. High.

Going into this first race, i hadn't a clue about pacing, actually, most all of my runs were solo so running with all these people had to feel strange. I can't say as i remember much of this race other than running hard and finishing in 35.28 for 11th place. Having never raced before, i had nothing to compare this race to and since i did not know any of these runners, i couldn't gauge myself against the others. I ran 5.42 pace in my first race, not bad. Now i was really hooked!

In thirty years, i have run good, run great and not run at all. I have dealt with way too many injuries, most could have been averted, but i always had this thing about running fast workouts. When healthy, i ran very well, seems like there was no in between. Run good or don't run. I do wonder just how much faster i could have run if i wasn't always getting sidetracked with one injury or another. Oh well, one can only speculate.

On to the next 30 years.

Boston '09

I took the day off from work today so i could make the annual trip up to the Boston Marathon to watch and take some photos. George Ross, Glen Guillmette and myself left Warwick at 8am and headed to Framingham to see the runners at 5 1/2 miles. We then planned on going over to the 20 mile mark to catch the action and then back to RI. 

The lead womens pack at 5 1/2 was large and at a somewhat casual pace, but the men came by at record pace and it showed, the lead pack had already distanced itself from the rest. Nice to see Ryan Hall setting the pace, even if it was a tad quick into the headwind. I did not see a whole lot of familiar faces out there, but  DoubleJ Jim Johnson came by looking good, wish i could say the same of him at 20, not a good day for JJ. Don't fret Jim, there will be others. My teammates, Don Henderson and Patrick Meacham came by looking comfortable, as did Scott Bessette. Don and Scott lost time over the second half where Patrick stayed pretty close to first half pace.

At 20 miles, the women were still bunched up where the men had blown things apart. It must have been a fun womens race to watch coming in, but it is not like i could have recorded it since it wasn't on tv in RI. This must be the first year in a while that it hasn't played on national tv, must have been something more important on, like a poker game! 

It is always a fun time coming up to watch, it almost makes me want to run it again. Last time i ran Boston was 1981 and that was a DNF. I could never really see the lure of this race, but i would like to do it again sometime. 

Want to see shots from todays race? Go to scottmasonphoto.com  

Mt Washington Road Race

OK, so i got my spot in the lottery to run up Mt Washington, YAHOO!!

Now for the reality of it all, i have to start training for it. Lets see...last week i ran 18 miles. That is not going to get it done for this race. I have 12 weeks to whip my body into decent shape so as not to embarrass myself on this run. Can i do it? I think so! It isn't like i expect to compete for age group or anything like that, just have a good strong run. Having some of my teammates running will help, Bob Jackman, John Peabody and Martin Tighe will be there running. So, here goes nothing, Mt Washington, here i come.

Photo by Corey McEntyre

Weekend Update

What a beautiful Saturday for a race! It is the 1st annual St. Patricks Day Race in Providence, RI. For a first time race, there were 2100 finishers, not a bad turnout. Race director Charlie Breagy had to be overjoyed. And seeing that this was a St Patty's Day race, what better than the winners being from Ireland. Mens winner, Mark Carroll ran unmolested for the whole race, coming in at an easy 14.25. Womens winner and first master, Trish Hillery(photo at right), also from Ireland, took the title in 18.21. 

Photography for the race was done by George Ross and Myself, you can see all our stuff on George's website here (if you want to go thru thousands of pics).

Post race was the annual parade, check out a few of my shots here.

The post race party was at RI-RA, those pints of Guinness sure tasted good.

There was a big marathon down in Washington DC on Saturday that a few of my Turtle teammates went to run. It was the Suntrust National Marathon that was won by Patrick Moulton(no, not a teammate) in 2:21.17. Tuesday Night Turtle Finishers were:

Bob Jackman   2:40.47 (PR)

Dave Principe  2:47.15

Michaela Driscoll  2:53.12  (pr)

Jackie Jackman  3:03.59 (pr) 

Sorry to say, Martin Tighe was not able to attempt his 1ook in Ireland this weekend due to a bout with pneumonia. Alot of training to no avail, but be assured, Martin will be back for another try sometime in the next few months.

Whats up with the 6 foot plus leprechaun with Mark Carroll and Jim Harvey? Thats Way Hedding, race director extraordinaire from SNERRO in Ct. Way puts on many road races in southern RI and Nearby Connecticut including Lil'Rhody Runaround, Block Island 15k, John Kelley Ocean Beach 11.6 Miler and the late, great Norwich Rose Arts Festival 10.6 Miler.

  

New Bedford Half Marathon

                                          Pictures from the New Bedford Half marathon are up 

                                                              @ scottmasonphoto.com

                         

Treadmills Suck!

I did a treadmill run tonite at the local gym, the purple palace, also known as Planet Fitness. First off, i am not a treadmill runner, in fact, i have scoffed at these machines for the first 30 years of running. My first TM run was last May because the weather was lousy and i thought i would give it a try. Strangely enough, i came down with a knee injury the day after the run and just figured that they were evil machines and would never use one again. Now that everything is healed and i am trying to get back into running shape and a snowstorm hit Monday, i decide to give it another try because i really wanted to run. The run was OK, i did a few miles and felt it was a decent workout, then did the same tonite. My question is, how do you actually put up with the boredom of running on a treadmill? There are 24 TM's at the gym and after work, they are all full, so how bad can it be? Well, on one side i have someone with a book propped up on the machine and on the other is a guy that stops every 5 minutes to adjust his ipod. I need something to keep me going, why can't i have the New England Patriots cheerleaders working out in front of me? I feel way out of place but press on at a slowish 7.30 pace, but feel guilty, like i am rubbing it in to all these casual workout people. I also wonder why i am the only one who is sweating during their workout, am i a freak? I used to do the elliptical machines, there would be someone in front of me on their cellphone for twenty minutes, why do these people even bother? You can't get a workout while yakking on a phone. I guess we all have our priorities. Back in the day, i would run in any weather, afterall, isn't that why they made goretex. Have i really gone that soft that i even thought about running on a treadmill? I did not care if it was snowing, pouring rain or even a thunder storm, I RAN OUTSIDE! I am becoming a wimp. We were talking tonite at the local watering hole and Turtle Prez Dave Principe put it best, it is a necessary evil. F that, if i am going to get back in shape, i have to run outdoors. For those of you who run treadmills, i give you all the credit in the world, but they are so boring to run on! Running in lousy conditions helps build an inner strength that you need for racing well. I can only hope that i get that feeling back again real soon. That is my rant, agree with it or not, don't matter to me :)

Speaking of treadmill running, we have my friend and teammate, Martin Tighe. Now we all know that Martin is somewhat of a freak when it comes to running, but how did he ever manage to run 85.83 miles on a treadmill in 12 hours? It is still the standing World Record even though there is one better time that hadn't been ratified yet. During the same run, he also set the current 50 mile WR of 6:06.19 and is 2nd for 100k in 7:39.31. We are talking about a treadmill run, that is sick!! Of course, this is a guy who would do treadmill runs in an ice cream cooler for hours at the local dairy in preparation for his North Pole Marathon attempt, which he won, of course. I don't doubt there is anything Martin can't accomplish. 

Three weeks from now, Martin will be running the UK 100k Championships in Galway, Ireland. Best of luck to you, Martin. I can see a top three performance happening.        

Mt Washington Lottery

Well, today is the first day to sign up for the Mt. Washington Road Race so i figured that it is a good a time as any. This morning at 8 am, i signed up for the lottery as a group leader, hoping that i get more of my Tuesday Night Turtle teammates to try and get in also. I know that Martin Tighe is in as he did the whole mountain series last year and we have a few runners who showed some interest in this endeavor. Personally, i have always wanted to do it, but something always got in the way (mostly injuries). It was always the same weekend as the Norwich Rose Arts Race in Connecticut, that was a favourite of mine. Hopefully i get in this year as i need a goal to help me get back into running shape and is there a better race to egg you on than this one. If i do not get in, i can always park my ass somewhere up on the mountain with my camera to get the pain on your faces as you approach the summit, but i would rather try to do it myself this year.

I always liked this photo on the cover of New Englang Running taken near the finish. Really wants to make you run the race, Don't ya think ;)

Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe Race

I took the 2 hour drive up to the Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe Race yesterday with teammate, Bob Jackman. I had decided not to run after running just 3 times since my lousy race at Sidehiller, due mainly to shooting a hockey tourney here in RI that took up 8 days of my time between taking photos and editing. I figured to take a few pictures and hang out with some of my NH freinds. Of course, it was also an opportunity to go to my favourite brewpub, Portsmouth Brewery, after the race. I found out two things about this race, it is tough to spectate at a night race and taking pictures is even harder. I only took a few shots that were ok, if not surreal with the little light you are afforded from just the headlamps on the runners. I tried using the flash for some, but really did not want to blind any of the runners out there.

After talking to Bob and Jim Johnson after the race, i found out they had run together for the first part of the race, putting some distance on the rest of the field. Then Bob's bad luck hit again, seems there was this guy walking his dog out near the course and this friendly pooch decided to knock Bob down by running into the back of his leg. So Bob falls and has his snowshoe partially knocked off and loses a few spots in that time. The ironic thing is that his entry fee check was made out to Cocheco Valley Humane Society , had the dog known this, maybe things would have turned out differently :) There is no truth to the rumor that DoubleJ payed off the dog owner to watch his back in the race. Now Jim has a huge lead and Steve Wolfe moved up to second and Bob finished in 5th place. It was real cool to watch the headlamp wearing runners weaving down the switchbacks near the finish in total darkness, just little specks of light through the trees. 

I was glad to hear Chris Dunn announcing that the series would be expanded next year so that you can score best 6 of 8 finishes which allows you to miss a race or two. I hope to make at least six of those races next year and if i can get my fitness level close to where it should be, i will do pretty good.  I look forward to it.

We hit the Portsmouth Brewery on the way home for a bite to eat and a 

couple beers. I had a 5c's IPA and a cask IPA, both very tasty for a beergeek like me. Of course, they aren't as good as my homebrewed Imperial IPA, but still damn good.

I though about going out to Amherst today to shoot some stuff at the GrandPrix, but the weather looked like it was going to suck. I will be at the next race in New Bedford. 

Smile at the camera when you come by.