Find this page online at www.coolrunning.com/results/99/ma/Mar7_Stus30_story.html
Find this page online at www.coolrunning.com/results/99/ma/Mar7_Stus30_story.html
How many reasons do you need not to run a race? Plenty, apparently, at least for the 376 folks who completed the rugged 18.6-mile romp around the Wachusett Reservoir on Sunday, known as the Stu's 30 Km. Sandwiched between two USATF New England Championship races on the calendar, many speedy shorter-distance, club-running specialists had already planned to sit this one out. And if that was not enough, Central and Eastern Massachusetts was blanketed by a late-winter snowstorm that was still going strong early Sunday morning, just hours before the scheduled 11:00 a.m. start. Against all odds however, the show did go on, starting just 25 minutes after the scheduled hour, a minor miracle given the bleak outlook in the hours leading up to the race. CMS's Don Drewniak said that after much discussion and agonizing by race organizers, they decided to go, with the cooperation the Clinton Police.
Then - the kind of thing that ages race directors prematurely: As soon as the powers that be decided to hold the race, the snow began again with a vengeance. Drewniak explains, "It continued to snow quite heavily until 8:10 when I arrived at the school. A CMS member was just leaving after having plowed both school lots. As I began to put the cones out on Route 110 near the start area, the sun began to force its way through a thinning cloud cover (it was still snowing). By 8:30, the snow had stopped and the sun was out. Another chapter in the epic that is Stu's." The streets were mostly cleared of snow, but there were plenty of slick, icy sections along the course. In addition, the freezing temperatures were accompanied by a biting wind riding off of the lake. And then of course, there were the hills. The (in)famous hills of Stu's that give this course its unique New England character. Race winner Kevin Beck adds, "One interesting factor was the clumps of snow falling from great heights (there are some tall pines down there) onto the runners, like mini-meteor showers. At other times we had the equivalent of dust storms, only it was snow. Combined with the occasional brutal headwinds, this was obviously disruptive." A well (under)stated description of the conditions. Anyone who was able to successfully conquer this course on this day should have no trouble with that paltry downhill marathon in Hopkinton next month. Indeed, Stu's is a true test of Boston Marathon readiness. Two who passed with flying colors were Beck and Dana Parrott.
Beck, the defending Fred's Marathon champion, and who will eschew Boston to defend that title next month, held off New Hampshire's Brian Stevens to capture the race in 1:48. Both runners deserve respect for running well under a six-minute pace. Meanwhile Parrott, snagged a nifty 10th place finish. She seemed unbothered by the conditions, as would be expected by a former winner of this race. Beck was happy to have Stevens along for company, most of the race. "My aim was to run with the leader if said fellow wasn't really fast. The speed we were running was about as fast as I was willing to push for the lead." He pronounced himself happy with his result. "My expectations were skewed by the obvious (rugged, unfamiliar course, hellish weather) as well as behind-the-scenes factors (18 miles (Saturday), speed work Friday, bruised ribs in a fall on 2/25 that caused me to miss four days of running, including DH Jones). I did not expect to run faster than 6:00 pace and certainly didn't expect 10-km splits of 36:45, 36:07, 35:40." Behind the winners, they ran onward to the finish, hundreds of runners, up and over the final nasty climb from Clinton center to the finish line. With wind-whipped faces and shoes caked with water, mud, and ice, all with a victory over this tough route. No, there may not have been any prize money or club championships at stake. Just an honest test of endurance and running ability. |
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