No Day at the Beach

When will we learn? For the second year in a row, the E Streeters were Blowin' in the Wind thanks to the ridiculous winds at the Eastern States 20-miler. A three state run, from Kittery, Maine, through New Hampshire's coastline and down to Salisbury, Mass. The winds weren't as fierce as last year's outing, but they were constant, and coupled with colder temperatures than last year. And let me say this: do NOT be fooled by the beautiful blue skies overhead. It was frickin' freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth, with a wind chill of 14. Today's photos courtesy of E Streeter supporters Ann Scanlon, Misty Scanlon, and Andrew "Holy Cross" Cook. Here, Ryan gets ready to rob a bank, while the rest of us just shiver at the start: Early on (mile 5), people are in pretty good moods, with thumbs up all around:

Trust me, they won't be this cheerful in 15 more miles:

Everybody wants to get on the blog - who is this guy waving to Ann??

Ryan traded Barry in for Sean for a time. This was before he hit the wall. Or laid across it.Here's Barry and I, planning our chaperone trip to Washington, D.C.:

Tommy looking victorious passing the half-marathon mark:

Sean, deep in thought:Believe me, we're no longer happy: Heading into the final mile, Tommy goes solo:

Happy, knowing there's only one mile remaining: Barry, protecting his godson from the rogue massage therapists and pill pushers of New Hampshire's mean streets: (there's two stories there, neither one of which will see print on this blog)

And finally, with the American flag serving as our backdrop, everyone is all smiles, because there's a pasta dinner waiting nearby.

Check back next March to see if we maintain our idiot statuses and run the damn thing again.

Hot Time in the Big Fritty

This morning was the first ever Fritty 5K, in honor of Patrick Frye, killed in October, 2007. The race, which raised a boatload of money for a scholarship fund in his name, was an incredible success, and a real tribute not only to Patrick's memory, but to his friends and family who turned out by the hundreds on a gorgeous Sunday morning! Photos courtesy of http://www.johnpiekos.com/ and his RunCam, MCC's Jonathan Crockett out on the course, and Abby Vergados, Patrick's cousin and official finish-line cheerleader.

The E-Streeters, natch, were there in force. Here's the father-son duo at the start, making their point. Here's Carlos, telling everyone to get behind him, he's ready to race:

After some coaxing, here's me, inducting Tom Hildreth into the E Streeters. Welcome, Tom!

Sean, Pat, and Tom, under blue skies:

This would have been a great pic of Sean and I if someone hadn't gotten his melon in the picture. A melon probably like the one thrown that fateful morning in Tyngsboro.

Keith O'Brien, clearly supporting Governor Deval Patrick's proposed flagmen plan:

Andrew, moments after a series of shoutout to his LHS buddies, staffing spots along the course. Scott had some great running advice for the young lad: "Stop talking to all the girls and run!"

Carlos has ditched the hat, but not the running form:

Thumbs up to Jonathan for coming out to support us:

John, showing Jonathan that he hasn't broken a sweat yet:

Fantastic finish for Andrew (7th overall, first in his age group)

John finishes fierce (must be the encouragement from the sidelines)

The obligatory post-race shot, sans Sean, who couldn't get past being called Barry out on the course by a spectator. Also our only pic of Scott, who was running too fast to be captured on film.

The Twin Towers, ready for their next father-son race:

Big cheers for two of the many who successfully pulled everything together today, one of the funnest sister combos to be found anywhere in the Big Fritty, Abby and Julie!

And finally, a nice tribute to the man everyone pulled it all together for, Patrick Frye. Today, Lowell was definitely P Fritty City!

Hynes Word!

A fine Sunday on the streets of Lowell for a horde of E Streeters taking part in the annual Hynes 5 miler, the final piece of the Wild Rover trifecta. Maintaining a tradition that dates back decades to the days of running in basketball sneakers, the E Streeters held their own, even those coming off an 18.5 miler the previous day on the Boston Marathon course.

Andrew took top E Streeter honors, finishing 19th out of 670 runners. Here's his mugshot. He's got quite a collection of beer glasses, considering he's only 17 years old. The rest of the pics are set up in three packs, with on-course photos courtesy of Barry James as well as Jim Rhoades from over at http://www.jimrhoades.com/

Thumbs up on the way out for Andrew:

Singing to the masses at the halfway point:

And, the muscle shot:

Tommy, refusing to get girled - oh wait, that's Sean...

No brotherly love at 2.5 mark, but a Bowser shoutout

Tommy, clearly distracted by the package store off to his right:

At least someone was wearing the green:

Alas, no one would high-five him:

Not getting girled at the cemetery:

Sean's remembering that Dalton Road party:

Trying to get to other side of street to avoid Barry:
Knows the course so well, he can do it with his eyes closed:

Green Lantern and son make their Hynes' running debut:

Does Mike have the will power to do it? Can he beat Brennan? (Answer: No)

A quick wardrobe change, and Brennan is ready for the final stretch:

Andrew and the LHS cross country team were waiting with medals at the finish:And finally, a sad bunch of shamrocks:

There Arose Such a Claddagh

Week two of the Wild Rover series saw a mix of E Streeters take to the streets of Lawrence for the Claddagh Pub four mile race. Decent conditions - temps in the 50s, strong headwind at the start, insane hill at the midway point, but overall, a great time to be had by all. Most pics by my beautiful wife, with a few added in courtesty of Ted Tyler over on http://www.jimrhoades.com/ Here's Valerie Armbrust, getting ready for the big run: (she ended up finishing first in her age group.) Apparently Tommy cracked the code and has figured out how to secure an award.

Andrew and the LHS track team come out of the gate strong, and he still finds time to pose:

So, funny story: seems that after Saturday's 15-mile run, there were a couple of electronic casualties in the wash, along with the running gear. Can you guess which E Streeter lost a watch, and which one lost an ipod to the washing machine?

Andrew's got the lucky 7s on his side: Jonathan has no idea of the hill that awaits him:Andrew might have been able to win the race, but instead opted to stop and high-five everyone along the race course:

Jonathan, running as fast as he can to get away from Tommy and I:Tommy, milling around in Lawrence:

Seriously, what the hell is the matter with this guy?

Valerie with a strong ipod-less finish:Post race, the L word team makes a fine showing at the finish line, taking 6 of the top 31 spots out of 736 finishers

And the E Streeters, ready for the post-race celebration

Which can be found here:

Next week: the Lowell five miler to finish off the Wild Rover trifecta!