Lake Winnipesaukee Celebrates Ten Years!

Complete Results

CMS Wins Again! - Rod Viens of CMS Approaches the Finish Line photo Ken Robichaud

Weirs Beach, NH - It's hard to believe that it has been ten years since the inaugural Lake Winnipesaukee Relay. I remember the day of the first race very well. The weather was very similar to the start of this year's race - cool with a little fog. As we arrived, we were ushered into a small area at the Gunstock Ski Resort to pick up our number, baton and t-shirt. The shirts were about two sizes too small, but no one seemed to mind.

I also remember the pre-race number pickup, presided over by the legendary Fred Brown, seemed a bit disorganized, but again who cared? We all knew that Fred would get us to the starting line on time. A few moments before the start, an official from the host North Medford Club welcomed us and spoke of how the local chamber of commerce was happy to welcome us. We all applauded.

Today we should applaud the North Medford Club for the outstanding job they have done in keeping the spirit of Fred Brown alive. The race has become much more professional since Fred's day. The t-shirts now fit and are nicely designed, the pre-race number pickup is smooth and efficient and traffic and course control is outstanding. Most importantly, the essence of competition is the same as it was when Fred ran the show.

Ken Robichaud is now responsible for filling Fred's running shoes as race director. From all accounts the shoes fit quite nicely. To no one's surprise, this year's race was again won by the Central Mass Striders. The swift CMS team was comprised of eight alumni of the Keene State College cross-country team. As was the case last year, CMS fell behind on the first leg as the team from Finish Lynx took an early lead. CMS team manager Don Drewniak spent a few uncomfortable moments not realizing that the Finish Lynx team was in the coed division. [Don, the clue is to check out the color of the baton.]

Ann Marie Rhoades of the Finish Lynx team was in the dubious position of leading for the first part of leg two as Scott Clark was barreling down on the lead. By the end of leg, Clark had amassed a five minute lead over the next team. CMS would stretch that lead to over twenty minutes before the day was over. This was CMS's ninth win in nine attempts at the Lake.

This year's relay featured a rarity as no club had multiple team winners. The Ghost of Pease team (Maine) captured the women's title in 7:16:55. The male master team winner was the Raritan Valley Road Runners (6:58:42). As was the case last year, none of New England's big three (GLRR, TVFR, CMS) was in attendance.

The open and master mixed team titles were won by the Hartford Track Club (6:58:46) and the Greater Lowell Road Runners (7:14:45) respectively. The Nifty Fifties (7:00:51) again captured the men's senior's title, while the Concord (MA) Runners (9:32:52) won the female title. The over sixty set was well represented by the Sub Sevens in the male division. This was their second consecutive victory. This year, however, they just missed sub-seven mark averaging 7:02 pace. The Greater Framingham Track Club made it to the winners' circle again in the mixed 50+ division with a 8:46:10.