Doyle's Emerald Necklace 5 Mile Road Race Jamaica Plain

Jamaica Plain, MA, April 9, 2017

I have always wanted to race the Doyle’s Emerald Necklace 5 mile road race. I seem to always have a conflict and sometimes it is the day after the Merrimack River Trail Run. I rolled into Jamaica Plain, passing the usual fall racing scene of Franklin Park. I met up and warmed up with the TNT/CMS/RI crew of Robert Jackman, David Principe, and Michael Daniels for a warm up which gave me a good look at the first and last miles of the race. After the warm up, I threw on the Somerville Road Runner singlet to support their critical mass in the Pub Series. Robert and David wore their TNT gear. We ran back over to the start which was ¾ of a mile away.

We had 20 minute delay (sounds like this happened last year too), standing on the starting line with no movement wondering what was going on. Nothing big but the starting line crew made us wait it out for the official word to go. The extra time allowed me to catch up with Greg Picklesimer (one of his first road races back I the day) and Joe Navas who seems to have settled on a marathon in Quebec in August.

Finally, the race took off and rolled along the edge of the Franklin Park golf course.  I had a 5:41ish mile and was strides away from the Level singlet of Kevin Gorman, Army singlet of John Page, and CSU’s Kevin Delaney. This was right where I wanted to set myself up to run 28:59 (my race goal). We ran over to Franklin Park and did a 180 at the base of Bear Cage hill. Those guys put some distance on me but I was rolling well with Mike Slinsky who was an absolute stud in the late 90’s when I hit the road race scene. He would tear up the Yankee Homecoming 10 mile race in Newburyport like no one’s business. His name is on his singlet these days and no longer lives in Fishkill, NY – but that is OK ‘cause he is still rocking Oakley’s. Still got respect for the man at 47.

I passed Mike more than half way through the course. I now ran back past the start line and had about a mile back to the finish at Doyle’s Café where I was running up the back of Robert Jackman and John Page. I yelled to Page and told him he’d better get moving. We had one more hill to climb out of the golf course and then it was all downhill into a nice flat finish. I managed to pass John 100 yards from the line. I finished 21^st and timed out for a 29:04, two ticks behind Robert and 6 up on John. 

Check out the results.  

You can learn from the best. I walked over to the tent where the TNT boys and I had our gear. I watched Robert and David closely relaying beers back and forth, laying them out on the table in the tent for which we seemed to own. It was hilarious. In a blink of an eye, the table was full with beers. Like I said, you got to learn from the best. They were content so I scrapped in a few more miles so I did John Page and Kevin Gorman. Let’s just say I did not have to wait in any lines for a beer when I returned.

Trailing John Page
Photo by Pensri Pilotte

Mill Cities Relay

This past Sunday was my 5th consecutive Mill Cities Relay with the Somerville Road Runners. I ran on the coed open team in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Last year, I got bumped onto the masters team. I ran the long leg (#4) in 2011. Since then, I have been fortunate lead off the relay for the teams. I like the first leg for a few reasons. It has a wide downhill start and I can see all competition around me. I can time my warm up appropriately so I am at the starting line for the 8:00. It was a cold morning with a frost on the grass but the sun was rising and sure to warm up into the 50’s by 1:00.

With the drop of the brick, the race sprinted out. I chose my position carefully and scanned ahead for any master runners. David Long (Wicked Running Club) and Doug Martyn (Whirlaway) were just ahead. I passed Doug before the first bridge and got in behind David. We passed the mile in 5:31. David said that was pretty quick and I shrugged while mentioning to just keep it going. We slowed to a 5:40 into mile two and he was now behind me. We would occasionally run past his relay car of Wicked mates who would cheer for us. The rolling hills slowed me down to a 5:50 through 3 miles but I bounced back with a 5:43 and 5:46 that had a little downhill in them. I passed no one and no one passed me since I broke away from David before mile 2. I did have SRR’s Sean McDonough (his first race since exactly one year ago) in front of me battling someone else along the way. I rolled into the relay exchange, hearing David behind me (see video below). My time was 30:46 for the 5.4 mile leg handing off to Sanjay D’Souza. I traded the slap band for his keys. I had the masters team in the lead by less than five seconds.



I got in the car after a quick photo with Krissy (she ran leg #4 later in the morning) and drove off along the leg 2 course following along into relay exchange zone #2. Sanjay held his own giving up a few seconds to Chris Nolin from Wicked. John Wichers took over for the 3rd leg running 2.5 miles before passing the reigns over to Greg Pickelsimer who got the lead back and extended it for our masters team. Sanjay and I drove into relay exchange zone #4 to give Joe O’Leary a heads up and to support teams along the way by shouting out the window at anyone we knew. At the last exchange zone, I caught up with the teamates and watched Greg come in and hand off to Joe who was the last leg runner for our team. Out team, SRR - Joe O'Leary and the Heartbreakers would win 1st place in our master category with a time of 2:34:46, just about three minutes ahead of 2nd place Wicked Persistent, and 3rd place, Brick Chasers (GDTC).

2015 Mill Cities Relay Results

Krissy and I after my finish
Photo by Maryann Kozlosky

Just before the 1st exchange zone
Photo by Krissy Kozlosky

Myself, Joe O'Leary, Greg Pickelsimer, John Wichers, & Sanjay D'Souza
Photo by Chris Klucznik

Lazy Dog Classy 3 mile

The Lazy Dog Classy 3 mile road race in the home town of Lynn was on the SRR Grand Prix. As a result, taking a win like I did the last two years was out of the question. I just wanted to run something respectable and hang on to some of the guys that I train with at the track workouts at Tufts. I ran over to the race changed into some flats and the SRR singlet. I had a few more minutes to jog around with Nakri Dao before getting on the line.

Suffering in the middle on Magnolia Ave

Chris Antunes (SRR) and Steve Gendron took the lead and I was fourth. I moved up to third before the mile in 5:16. Aharon Wright, Bradley Harris, and Andrew Clifford went by on a down hill and I slipped off my pace in an ugly way. Kieran Condon got past me shortly after and I had about enough of the passing. I stayed behind Kieran but he was holding the 15 yard gap into mile two. I started to hear some foot steps before reaching the parking lot through Equitable Bank. I gave up two more places in the next 30 seconds as I ran past Krissy at Magnolia Park. I had to wake up but the legs flat. I turned left on Euclid Ave and kept those two guys close until the last turn onto Broadway. I picked up the pace and charged past them before reached the finish line in 7th place overall - 6th for SRR. GPS got 3.03 miles and mile splits were as follows: 514, 534, 541. Pretty rough. I should have skipped the race in favor of the Ice Fishing Tournement at Flax Pond. Dennis Floyd, Nakri, and I did a slow run back over the course. The next race will be the masters mile at the GBTC Invitational. The race will also serve as the first in the All Terrain Series.

The Lazy Dog Classy 3 mile race results
KrissyK smugmug photos

Mill Cities Relay

Today was the 31st running of the Mill Cities Relay - consisting of 27 miles, 5 legs, two states, and 1 river. Joe and Sandy Armstrong from Wicked Running Club picked Krissy and I up for the ride to Nashua. I met up with Jim Rhoades to give him his number and drop off my running bag before heading out for a 2 mile warm up. I was running leg number one for the Somerville Road Runners Men's Masters team. I went through the mile in 5:26 in about 5 seconds behind Brian Keefe from SRR. My third mile was the slowest (see below) per Garmin. I recall SRR training mate Kieran Condon passing by and I stayed with him for less than 800m before a few more guys went by. We were fortunate to have a tail wind. Mike Paulin from the Wicked Running Club and D5K weekly runs passed me during mile four. Mike and I finished the Vermont City Marathon together back in 2013. I dug down to surge back and pass Mike after mile five and held him off, handing off to Jim Rhoades. I drove his car to the next exchange zone to pick Jim up and watch him hand off to Jesse Morrow. Jim and I then went to the boat house. We missed Jesse finish and hand off to Greg Picklesimer who was taking on the long leg. We drove the back roads over to the fourth exchange zone where Greg was handing off to Joe O'Leary. As we drove past, it was obvious that they were in the midst of the exchange so we drove into Lawrence so Jim could take some photos (see the link in the results below). Joe looked good running past us as did the rest of the SRR folks. We got back in the car to warm up and drive to the finish at the Claddagh Pub in Lawrence. After watching the finish line for a bit, we headed in for some food and drink for a few hours. Team photos were taken and awards were given. Our team got a Mill Cities Brick for the 1st place men's masters team! The post race set up is awesome to catch up with everyone and all things running. There were funny stories all around.........

Dan Vassallo passed 61 runners on leg 4
Festus being Festus
Ask Paul Hammond about the story behind the Cowboy boots
Where was Mike Quintal?

Joe O'Leary, Jim Rhoades, Jim Pawlicki, and Greg Picklesimer

Statistics from the Garmin 220
30:25 overall time (30:01 in 2013 and maybe under 30 in 2012 - stopped at 30:22 after hand off)
5.43 miles
5:36 mile pace

5:26
5:34
5:46
5:34
5:39
2:24 (.43)

Full Results

An Ras Mor 5K

Final turn in Cambridge
Photo by Scott Mason

The Somerville Road Runners and Ras Mor 5K in Cambridge played host to the USATF New England Championship. This was the third race in the Championship series as teams already competed in the Jones Group 10 mile and New Bedford Half Marathon. The rain was coming down as Joe Shairs and I headed into Cambridge. The weather is something we can't control. It is what it is. We spun around the neighborhood that surrounded Massachusetts Avenue and the Asgard seeking a quiet spot but none to be found with my lack of patience. I took to the garage on Green Street which in the end cost $19 for four hours. It was piece of mind and a dry haven. We got our numbers around the corner and then headed out for a warm up with Justin Freeman. I tried to recall the course that I did in 2011 (16:34). However, the course has changed so I really only showed them the first half of the course which was primarily out to Harvard Square and back. The new course took a right hand turn into the residential area of Cambridge and looped back to almost where we started. That made up the 2nd half of the race.

I started the race about four rows back. I got off the start and in motion with no slips, trips, or falls. The rain backed off and was very light but we had to be conscious of puddles and staying off any painted surfaces on the roads (reduce slipping and waste). I wore my iNov8 233's and stayed out of trouble. The temperature was in the low 40's and we headed into the wind on Massachusetts Avenue. I noticed my legs were tight and never really loosened up. I passed mile one around 5:22 to the left of Joe, not the 5:05 something we heard by a volunteer. Joe passed me shortly thereafter. Eric Narcisci (Whirlaway) was now with Joe and the started to pull away. I eventually caught up to Wayne Levy (BAA) and we went back and forth for the next mile. CMS teammate, Tim Mahoney came by with 800m to go and I got on his heels. I started to rig a bit as SRR's Joe Lauer went by with 400m to go. He has been very timely passing me with force in the closing miles of these USATF races. The 3 mile mark came up quick and so did Jason Porter (CMS). I expected him to be in front of me during the race so really shocked me to come around. We turned right for the last 150 meters and went for it. I crossed the line with a gun time of 16:58 and mat to mat bib time was 16:56. I went into the race with light mileage over the past few days so it was all good. I really expected to be in the 16:5X range. Thus I was content with the effort. Looking back, I would not change anything other than not give in a bit with three minutes to go. 

I connected back up with a bunch of CMS teammates and we headed out for an estimated four mile cool down along the Charles River and back into Cambridge via Mass Ave. CMS had a few athletes run PR's like Morgan Kennedy and Colby Chrusciel today which was awesome. Dave Dunham ran his 100th USATF New England Championship. He and Dave Lapierre ran their first race as Seniors (50+). It was nice to see Tim Van Orden and Al Bernier jump into a team race again after a layoff. Race results via coolrunning are here. Photos by Scott Mason can be found here.

Mill Cities Relay

Jim, Larissa, Elizabeth, and Megan at the finish

The Mill Cities Relay is always a fun event. 27 miles, 5 legs, 2 states, one river and a cold December day sums it up. A post race party at the finish in Lawrence via the Claddagh Pub caps off the day. This was my third year in a row running with SRR and the open coed team. Our team consisted of fast company: Alex White, Elizabeth Jackson, Larissa Park, and Megan Hyland. We secured a team name of SRR - Alex’s Bulk Organic Produce. If you want some organic veggies at a discount and delivered, just let him know. Larissa picked Brett Rickenbach (Winner’s Circle Coed) and I up and got to the Norman Crisp school in Nashua about 55 minutes before the 8:00 start. This gave me ample time to do all the pre-race stuff and safely get to the start line next to SRR’s Greg Picklesimer and Mike Quintal who ended up finishing 1 and 2 for leg one. Larissa drove off to get ready for leg 2. I settled into 10^th place or so about 400m into my 5.4 mile leg. Mike and Greg were up front and the pack was single file. I trailed or led a single file pack about 50m behind James Sullivan from GLRR. I got onto his heels after 3 miles and he would proceed to surge each time. Ryan Hayes from the Shamrock Running Club went ahead of us after 4 miles with a hard surge. I noted passing 5 miles in 27:58 and was pleased with that. I managed to pass Ryan 800m before our entry into the parking lot exchange zone and get a stride behind James before handing off to Larissa around 30:01. I think our team was in 8^th or 9^th place at the time. I collected Brett who also ran leg one and had to find Larissa’s car so we could drive to the next exchange zone for her finish. She picked up some places on her leg which had a few hills and plenty of narrow road. We got into the Greater Lowell High School about five minutes ahead of her exchange with Megan Hyland who was to hand off to Alex White for the long leg along the Merrimac River. Larissa, Brett, and I drove to the last exchange zone to see Elizabeth Jackson take off once Alex came in. She ran the final leg to the pub in Lawrence to a winning coed division time of 2:35:08 and 5^th team overall. Gate City and Whirlaway had coed teams finish 6^th and 7^th overall in the relay for a competitive race in our division. I had a great time hanging out with mates and members of all clubs inside the Claddagh. Huge thanks go out to Brian Cullinane and Brendan Kearney for putting the teams together. Brian would set a marathon PR the same day at the California International Marathon. Furthermore, John Gorvin was relentless for his communication and awareness of the event leading up to race day. In the end, SRR finished 2^nd overall to GCS in the club championship which is quite the accomplishment among so many competitive teams. Full Results