The Hungry Gamers

Another year, another 20 miler along the eastern seaboard with the Eastern States 20-mile race, this year with an alteration for the start, cutting out the Maine portion and adding a loop through Portsmouth, N.H.
Here's some of the E Streeters, three shirts to the windMaking his return to the E Streeter running fold, and carrying the weight of the team at the front of the pack was Mike GilmoreRyan, lost in deep thought, as he eyes up his competition in the high school auditoriumHere, Ryan shows everyone what the ultra marathoners use for a pre-race regimen. Gatorade should endorse this guy, because he used just about all of their products for this race.At the starting line, a woman stepped forward, eager to take the picture of the four horsemen. More on her later.Barry gives me a thumbs-up, but that's because it was still early onTommy was a monster out on the course, which thankfully, this year, was devoid of the wind that has made it so miserable in past years.Barry and I ran most of the race together, wise-cracking and trying to keep things light. Not everyone seemed to understand our humor, though. Some of the women tended to run faster as we came along, so they should thank us for their fast times. By the way, speaking to one of the billboards along the course - how can there possibly be 78 flavors of fried clams?Running through a painful foot injury, Ryan managed to trudge forward and finish strong.No competition for me taking this state line. Probably because there was no one else nearby at the time.And Ryan takes his own state line in the process, again, uncontested. Sadly, this year would not include a stop at Christy's pizza for Ryan for his shot of Coke.Post-race, as we scraped the salt from our faces and froze in the now-chilling temperatures, suddenly we heard a squeal as the woman who took our picture at the start saw us all together and remarked how impressed she was by our finishes! And to cap it, she recalled that one of the four of us was a smart-ass. Any bets on which of the four she was referring to?All in all, a pretty good prep run for Boston. But we can't let this blog pass without recognizing the true star of the day, Tommy's wife, Anne. She was a rock star out on the course, leapfrogging all along, waiting at key point with drinks, oranges, changes of clothes and words of encouragement.

Hysterically, at race's end, several other runners saw her - known to them only as the woman in the Irish knit sweater - and labeled her the best fan out on the course, and a welcome sight to all of them as they trudged along! Thanks again, Anne, proof positive that we couldn't do these insane runs without the support of our loved ones and the extended E Streeter family!

Three weeks to the Boston Marathon!