Irish Bananas

Double duty on the running front today, and not all of it in optimal conditions. But that didn't stop at least one member of the Cook clan from racking up some hardware.
First up: the March edition of No Bananas on the Bruce Freeman Trail in Chelmsford, complete with frost, snow, cold, and slick, icy footing.A Fellowship, indeed! Fathers and sons were on hand to represent for the E Streeters, along with John and his RunCam.As you can see, the Freeman Trail was in heavy use, with cyclists, rollerbladers, and recreational walkers clogging the runners' pathIn a scene reminiscent to the battle of Pelennor Fields from Return of the King, out we roared from the starting gate, with Andrew, brandishing the guiding ice scraper, subbing for the banana marker. Unquestionably, the bravest soldier in the battle was the boy in the baby jogger, who shook, rattled, and rolled the entire crunchy pathway.Heading in with a respectable third-place finish was John and his RunCam. And what image awaited him upon his finish?Why, the Two Towers of Course, finishing 1-2 for the first time EVER in a race.The biggest dog on the race course today, Kona was Top Dog in all our books.Making his No Bananas debut, Mike was kept safe in the wilds of Chelmsford by fellow E Streeter and professional escort, Barry.Top Banana herself, Ruth Whalen Crockett maintained her upbeat attitude, while her hubbie, Jonathan, stayed home, tucked warmly in his bed, trying to come up with other 10-letter words to scramble and befuddle his co-workers.But there was no time to bask in his victory. Andrew was off and running, with another road race just two hours away, up the road in Lawrence!So with a quick wardrobe change, Andrew was off again, joining with 925 other runners in the Claddagh Pub 4-miler, one part of the Wild Rovers Irish running trifecta!He was joined in Lawrence by the birthday boy himself, dried out after yesterday's rain-soaked Westford outingTommy thought all the high-fives were for his birthday. We didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise.Apparently, Andrew is preparing for a run for office, courtesy of Ted Tyler at www.jimrhoades.comBest looking girl at the Finish Line? That's an easy one....Inbound to the finish, Andrew would stop to do some high-fiving of his ownThe Irishman in blueComing across in a very respectable time, 30th overall runner, third in his age groupBut the birthday boy was no slouch, either. He's running extra fast so the guy in the scary shorts doesn't catch himAnd waiting at the finish, why fellow E Streeter Tom Hildreth himself, the man of medalsFor his hard-fought victory, Andrew, still 18, was awarded a coveted beer stein. Anyone see anything wrong with this picture? But be careful with that prize Andrew....You never know who'll try to take it from your clutches!Great job all around today, in less-than-perfect running conditions. Thanks as always to the support teams who braved the weather to help chronicle the day's victories!