Granby Charter Day Cross-Country Races

Granby, MA, June 15, 2003

Narrative: Granby Charter Day XC Races

Start of the Granby Charter Day Adult 5K Cross-Country Race

15-Jun-03

No way would there be any records this year at the Granby Charter Day Cross-Country races. Runners had to negotiate a 6-inch deep mini-lake in the field shortly after the 1-mile mark, and a minor swamp just before the 2-mile mark. But then, that’s cross-country for you, and the runners were happy to have the sun shining at all, after torrential rains for the last few days. It actually was quite sunny and hot at 10:00 race time, but no one was complaining.

In the 5K XC, on the men’s side, Ian Lanza’s returned to win for the 2nd time in 18:29. He was muddy but he seemed pleased. He was quickly followed by 2 “old guys,” Joe Berger and John Kelley.

In the 5K XC, on the women’s side, Dawn Roberts won a tough battle with Kelly Heroux, who finished in 22:21 and 22:51. Third place went to an up and coming young runner, Jessica Pikul. These 3 women finished 9th, 10th, and 15th overall in the race.

The Race Director, Bill Dean, was happy to announce that runners this year once again declared the 5K course the “best marked XC course they had ever seen!” and that it was tough but fun. He said that amazingly, only the low spots in the fields were wet. The grass was dry, and the woods were dry.

In the 1-mile XC for kids 12 and under, the boys’ winner was Sean Paterwic, posted a blazing 6:21, breaking the course record by a whopping 9 seconds! Phil Fontaine and Jeffrey Bobowiec cruised up 2nd and 3rd in 7:01 and 7:11.

In the 1-mile XC for kids 12 and under, the first 2 girls’ runners, Olivia Pare and Aislinn Galloway, running together, leading by a large margin, went off and on the trail a couple of times. They recovered without affecting the overall places in the race, so they were still awarded 1st and 2nd places overall, beating all the boys! Rachel Cullington came in 3rd. These girls placed 1st, 2nd, and 7th overall, in 6:12, 6:15, and 7:27.

The runners all enjoyed free pancakes after the races, and the category winners got cash awards at the ending ceremony. The overall male and female runners were double winners, and the fastest male and female runners from Granby also received winners’ cash.

Keep training, and we’ll see you all next year. Bring your running friends. Thanks for your great support – Coach Bill