JOE VAILONIS 10-K ROAD RACE

January 1, 1997, West Hartford, CT

USATF Certified Course CT84010DR

The paved course used for this race is in the MDC West Hartford, Farmington Avenue reservoir complex. During the race, in the neighborhood of 99% of the course was covered with about one inch of snow. The footing was reasonably stable, but the lessened traction significantly slowed the runners.

We have used this course every New Year's Day since New Year's, 1985 with the exception of 1990. In that year, several inches of icy snow forced us to move to a loop around Duffy School in West Hartford.

These are the winners on the reservoir course in past years:

1985: 34:10 Mark Hixson 	39:18 Jane Arnold
1986: 36:14 Edward Gorecki	39:40 Jane Arnold
1987: 33:57 Peter Pazik	42:45 Cathi Koehler
1988: 35:05 Peter Carnes	47:57 Gale Lee Jones
1989: 35:13 Edward Gorecki	41:43 Jo Marchetti
1991: 34:46 Albin Swenson	40:44 Carol Conlon
1992: 33:53 Albin Swenson and	40:35 Donna Smyers
                    Edward Sparkowski 
1993: 33:20 L.J. Briggs	45:22 Gale Balavender
1994: 36:20 Ken Clark	41:18 Donna Smyers
1995: 36:22 Blob Bonadies	44:00 Barbara Carpenter
1996: 37:11 Tom Hixson and	43:36 Carmen Yiamouyiannis
                     Mark Hixson

On the seven-plus-loop, wheel-measured course used in 1990, the winners were George Kominos in 33:43, and Carol Conlon in 40:55.

The 1997 race honored beloved Hartford Track Club member Joe Vailonis, who died in 1979. The best quote I could find about Joe Vailonis in old HTC newsletters appeared in the April, 1982 issue. The description, written by an unknown author, reads:

"Joe was a kind, gentle man of smiles. He took runners to races. He encouraged runners during races. He helped runners enjoy races or workouts. He praised runners for their effort. All HTC Winter Series runners carry fond memories of Joe's uniqueness."

Tom Finan was the race director for this, the first race of the 1997 HTC Winter Series. I, David Reik, was the technical director. Nancy Chevrette put water out for the runners which, despite the temperatures in the teens, many runners drank.

A technical innovation I pioneered at this year's race was directional arrows made by shoveling away the snow to expose arrow-shaped areas of asphalt. George Brown suggested that it might have been nice if I had made one, course-length arrow so that runners would have had a path to run in where there was more traction.

	Time, Sex, Age, Name, Town, Club
	38:52	M36	Bill Thramann, Collinsville, HTC
	41:20	M39	Douglas Day, New Britain, HTC
	42:12	M44	Steve Morse, Bloomfield, HTC
	42:23	M43	Dean Bolt, West Hartford, HTC
	42:24	M52	Larry Chaves, West Hartford, HTC
	44:47	M43	Ed Gorecki, Farmington, HTC
	47:27	M35	Christopher Reese, Newington, HTC
	47:47	M38	Paul Guimont, Glastonbury, BCBSCT
	48:07	M32	Todd Brown, Rocky Hill, HTC
	49:38	M27	Rich Seethaler, West Hartford, HTC
	49:51	M59	Jon Sonstroem, Bristol, HTC
	51:03	M46	Craig Saxer, West Hartford, HTC
	51:46	F34	Jennifer Girouard, New Britain, HTC
	51:46	M35	Curt Pandiscio, Simsbury, HTC
	51:46	M40	Steve Schiller,  New Britain, HTC
	51:59	M41	Bob Tumiski, Middletown, HTC
	51:59	M45	Keith Middlesworth, Wallingford, HTC
	54:32	M51	Norman Holland, New Britain, HTC
	55:14	M50	James Thompson, Hartford
	55:14	M52	John Brittain, Hartford, HTC
	55:15	M62	Charles Dyson, Storrs, HTC
	55:29	M52	Robert Najarian, Meriden, HTC
`	56:06	M41	Rick Carter, Collinsville
	56:24	F56	Carolyn Sunderman, Farmington, HTC
	56:29	F40	Sue Day, New Britain, HTC
	59:14	M58	Tom DeMonte, Bloomfield, HTC
	1:00:37	M39	Chester Lau, West Hartford
	1:00:37	F44	Maggie Blackmore, Plainville, HTC
	1:00:40	M30	Tom Duggan, Wethersfield, HTC
	1:01:15	F46	Donna Eriksen, Bristol, HTC
	1:01:58	F55	Annmarie DeMonte, Bloomfield
	1:03:16	M71	George S. Brown, West Hartford, HTC
	1:03:20	F67	Doris Beland, Meriden, HTC
	1:03:37	F48	Judith Lohman, West Hartford, HTC
	1:03:37	M41	Michael Herwood, West Hartford
	1:08:12	F38	Francine Yonkunas, Manchester, HTC
	1:08:12	F38	Leonora Kellerman, Collinsville, HTC
	1:11:05	F55	Barbara Peterson, North Canton, HTC
	1:11:26	F61	Diane Stuart, West Hartford, HTC
	1:12:40	M70	Pat Riera, Plainville
	1:14:22	F55	Kathleen Scotti, West Hartford