Eggnog Frolic - CCAC Grand Prix #5

Brewster, MA, December 31, 2000

The Last Gasp

The weather report was troublesome: 1 to 3 inches of snow forecast for Saturday with the potential of another 1 to 3 inches by late morning on Sunday. With a course that relied heavily on unplowed paths and dirt roads, the potential of a canceled race was looming. But this is Cape Cod. What we got? Five inches of rain, a dusting of snow on Sunday morning, and bright blue skies by race time. As in the previous week's run, the scheduling of a race on a holiday weekend found many club members on the road or engaged in other activities opening the race for Grand Prix points up for all. But the holiday weekend also brought some visitors as well: CCAC was happy to welcome John and Cheryl Gouveia from Assonet, Linda Karpinnen, Dennis Miuille, and new members Gary Campagna and Stephanie Michienzi. Stephanie has been running most of the series races but finally decided to join and get her points on the board.

The race course followed the Cape Cod Rail Trail from the house of John and Connie Worgan to Long Pond Road (Route 137) and returned via a parallel dirt road. Although not particularly scenic (just a bunch of old pine trees and bare branches), the course is peaceful and apart from a potentially hair-raising crossing of Route 124, features no auto traffic. The bike path and the dirt road were also soothing breaks from pounding on the roads every day. The course was predominantly flat with the exception of a 30º± hill at the start/finish which has a tendency for causing very fast starts and very slow finishes. There was plenty of company in the woods to the side of the finish as racers tried to catch their breath and settle their stomachs after battling the hill, aptly labeled "The Last Gasp of 2000." John and Connie handed out New Years party favors at the start, in part to celebrate the season and in part to scare away the harassing spectator of last year's event. But the old man refused to show and runners ran unhindered except for the occasional dog out for a walk or jogger on the bike trail. While John tried to claim that the course was both the same as the previous year and 0.4 mile shorter, course times seemed to suggest that the previous measurement of 4.5 miles was accurate.

Jeremy Dodds, cross-country and track coach at Yarmouth-Dennis High School, got off to a quick start closely trailed by Skip Michaelson and John Martin. John Martin, recovered from the load of building material that had been dropped on his calf two weeks prior (we suspect Skip had something to do with this but have yet to positively tie him to the perpetrators), went on to finish third overall, just 19 seconds ahead of Skip. Jeremy finished second overall as webmaster Geof Newton passed him at about 1½ miles to win the race overall in 26:47. The women's overall race was won by Kathleen Thomas in 33:25 followed by Kate Naples and Janet Jordan. Seasonal illnesses affected racers as George Gomes, who still managed to capture 1st in his age group, and Joe Weinberger ran more slowly than usual.

In the Grand Prix points race, this race saw the clinching of the M30-34 age group by webmaster Geof Newton. New member Stephanie Michienzi has taken control of the F35-39 division and looks to remain unchallenged as Janet Radziewicz is out for the rest of the series due to two stress fractures in her left leg. Judy Stacy holds a commanding lead in the F45-49 but could be overtaken by Joanne Corsano in the next three races. Cathy Klim is in position to clinch the F50-54 division but is currently 2 points behind the leader, Cheryl Falletti. On the men's side, Mike Herlihy continues to hold on to the M35-39 age group lead but is threatened by George Gomes who has been running well in all of his races. Skip Michaelson continues to try to maintain his lead over John Martin and Steve Connors while Mike Sellars and Michael Parker continue to battle in the M40-44 division. Mike and Mike will take this one to the last race, so stay tuned. Dwight Pfundstein continues to lead the Clydesdales but is only 1 point ahead of Brian Kelly who is poised to clinch the division at his next race.

Weird statistical race trivia:

the first 8 overall finishing places were taken in sequence by the age group 1st and 2nd place winners: 1-2 M30-34 3-4 M45-49 5-6 M40-44 7-8 M35-39

Becky Newton's time was a direct transposition of her husband's time: Geof Newton 26:47 Becky Newton 46:27

Tom Radziewicz wins the "Most Evenly Distributed Runner" award for his time of 44:44. Did he run the 4.4 mile course?

The Grand Prix series continues every weekend (except 7 January) until the end of January at various locations across the Cape. Cost is $5 for club members and $10 for non-members. All are invited to attend but only club members are eligible for points and awards to be presented at the annual club banquet in February. For more information, visit the CCAC at http://www.capecodathleticclub.org/.