| 14 Consecutive Age Records for
Blanchard!
There
was nary a snowflake in sight at this season's first Snowstorm
Classic as temperatures broke the record 65 degrees set way back in
1908. Not many runners were heard to complain, however, as gloves,
hats, and tights were all tossed aside in favor of singlets and
shorts. A nice change for December in New
England. Taking advantage of the
California like weather, Carlos Rivera matched strides with fellow
Harrier Ron Lombardi before pulling away to a 16:35 victory. Ron
took second in 16:44 followed by the come back kid Brent Coon who
crossed in 17:51 with flashes of that familiar smooth stride. Tim
Brown took master honors in 18:43 over Bob Austin (19:23) and Kevin
Leach (19:32), a Red Clover Rover from Vermont. Ramon Alicea was the
first senior in 19:45 edging GSH teammates Art Roberts (19:58) and
Neal Lamberton (21:16). Sue Haryasz
outran the women's field in 19:44, closely followed by Suzanne
Custer (19:54) and Carol L'Esperance (20:33). Sue also garnered
master's honors while Carol was first senior. The two speedsters
jointly hold the overall course record for women of
17:36. Two new age records were set, one
for the men and one for the women. Carol broke the record for 52
year old women of 21:12 held by CMS's Mary Ryczek, while Doug
Blanchard aka "the Champ" ran 25:42 to erase the 28:28 record for 76
year old men set by Robert Knowlton seven years ago. Doug now has an
unprecedented 14 consecutive age records on the 5K course, all the
records from age 63 to age 76!. We don't call him the Champ for
nothing! |