First Run, First Scandal

Continuing a New Year's Day tradition that dates back decades, the E Streeters took to the streets on Friday for a New Year's Day jaunt, this time around the streets of Pawtucketville with 800 of our friends for the First Annual First Run 5K and 10K road races.

A good time had by all, especially the group that ran together and freaked out many of our fellow runners. Whether panicking them with threats of projectile vomiting, regaling them with screeching choruses of AC/DC songs, or egging on a Presidential candidate to take on a new running mate, there were lots of laughs to be had.

Here's a look at the wild, the not-so-innocent and the E Street shufflers, with photos courtesy of race photog extraordinaire Jim Rhoades. (Check out his website at http://www.jimrhoades.com/)

Here's Andrew, taking 24th place out of 400, third in his age group in the 5K, with a time of 21:14

Scott kicked ass for the 10K stretch, coming in 15th out of 404, at 39:46, second in his age group:

Then there's the group of five (Carlos, Barry, Pat, Tommy and John) that ran the 10K together - well at least four of them did. Here they come on the first pass around:

By the second loop, though, one of them had inexplicably disappeared. Here's four of them coming in to the finish. (You figure out which one was missing.)

So where did that fifth runner disappear to? Here's a clue: take a look at this runner, Tom Hildreth. Note his number, 376, as supported by the race results:

84 TOM HILDRETH 60 M 376 25:35.31 25:44.69 8:19

So then how did John manage to get captured on film a short time later sporting the same number?!?

Put this one down as the first running scandal of the New Year. And John, thanks for the fodder. We'll get a ton of mileage out of this one...........