A Souper Start to the New Year

January 1, that means a time of rebirth, renewal, recommitment to running, and the gathering of the Fellowship.  And of course, soup.

Once again, Karen, the Founder of the Feast, outdid herself, with her staple pasta fagioli, complemented this year by a black bean and ham offering that stole the show.

As reliable as the crystall ball falling in Times Square, you can count of Karen coming through with a pair of winners.

Speaking of a pair of winners, it's always troublesome when Barry shows up for the Soup Run in his pajamas.  You just know he's planning on staying for a long time.

Or at least until the soup runs out.

And as for running out, here we go, departing for our 6.6 mile over-hill-and-over-dale run along virtually every hill to be found in Tyngsboro, which coincidentially, is John's favorite place to run. 

1/1/14, you know that means, right?

Indeed, the inevitable first Town Line race of the year.  Who would claim this hard-fought Clash of the E Streeter Titans?  We'll let the picture paint a thousand words. 

In his defense, Scott had already logged four miles before we arrived, in his 2014 quest for 2,500 miles, so he may have been a bit tuckered out.  Either that or the young stud is assuming the mantle.

Here, Andrew explains to John how he crushed the seasoned veteran in the Town Line face-off. 

19 degree weather in Tyngsboro made for a brisk start to the New Year.  Doesn't mean we run faster, just means we have to dress for the occasion.  We were joined for this year's Soup Run by running legend Scott Graham, who isn't likely to ever return to run with us after we slowed him down off his pace so badly.  (You can tell Scott's running in Tyngsboro, because they don't allow you to run abreast in Westford for fear of a nastygram from the Westford Road Committee.)

Sean, all smiles because he knows he's not giving John his jacket back. 

Watch your back, Tommy. 

Tommy likes to frequently stop and pose in front of phallic symbols when we're running.

One of the many hills along today's course. Entering the Land of the Lost, you can just see three of the varsity team members cresting the peak.

For the second of the Town Line battles, the three stooges decided to embrace a kinder, gentler three-way to claim the victory.  But wait - if they're about to step over the line, and I'm shooting the picture from in front of them, wouldn't that mean the victory goes to the photographer?  It certainly does for the purposes of this blog, that's for sure. 

Deciding to take it for the team and go back early to get the soup queued up, John opted to go in solo for a different finish, but still found a way to pull off a Town Line selfie, the word of the year for 2013.   

Back at Soup Central, Scott is clearly overwhelmed as he checks out some pics of Barry's 2013 running exploits.

And finally, the Soup Crew.  A hearty band of brothers, indeed. 

Here's to a safe, healthy and happy 2014 for all of you out there.  May you keep your family and friends close, find a way to log a few miles in between, and snag an extra bowl of pasta fagioli in the process.  Looking forward to logging the miles with all of you!