Getting Our Irish On

Sunday was the 32nd running of the Hynes 5 mile road race, and yes, some of us have been there since the beginning! This race is one of Greater Lowell's best, and served as part 3 of the Wild Rover racing series, capping off a terrific trilogy of weekend runs! Here, the Return of the Fellowship of the Two Towers greets runners at the start.The inspirational Hoyts were on hand to help charge up the crowd. Alas, John was not available to take photos at the start. (He'll be there later, though, silently watching the aerobars roll past him.)Two thumbs up, two fingers up, it's all good. Two titans, nonetheless.Our tribute to Springsteen while awaiting the starting gunHundreds showed up to run under cloudless skies in warm temperaturesAndrew always knows where the cameras are waiting. In this case, John, not with his RunCam, but his tripodHe makes a point of giving John the shoutoutCourtesy of Ted Tyler at http://www.jimrhoades.com/ Barry bites down and forges aheadHalf a mile later, and he's still got the thumbs up, this time for JohnApparently, I don't have the energy for a thumbs up, just a fist pumpTom Hildreth just looks pissed off that John is shooting pics and not running the raceInbound at the cemeteries, Andrew is ready to make his final kickBut not before asking "why me" to the running godsAfter a quick wardrobe change, Barry is about to head past George's Deli without stopping, if you can believe thatAt this point, my ipod was playing less-than-inspirational running songs for me. The Moody Blues? Seriously?!?Second time around, Tom can muster a smile for Piekos.Into the finish gate, Andrew's eyes are on his timeBarry's got his victory cap on, and rightly so, posting his best five-mile race time ever!And I'm giving an accidental thumbs up. It wasn't intentional.Two of Andrew's favorite girls are waiting for him at the finishSame goes for meAndrew and Mary get a medal for being the cutest couple at the raceWe couldn't do the runs and races without our fabulous support staffAnd once again, placing in his age group (27th overall runner out of 917 runners) my 18-year-old son captures YET ANOTHER beer mug. He's got quite the collection, that boy.Great job by race organizers, and congratulations on yet another successful Wild Rover series!

Heartbreakers

Another weekend, another long training run for this year's Boston Marathon. It was time for an 18-mile workout, so for this weekend, we made the trek down to the vaunted Marathon course itself. Here's this year's legends, posing alongside the statue of Boston Marathon great Johnny Kelly himself at the foot of Heartbreak Hill.To get ready for such a daunting leg of mileage, the Scanlon men show why it's always advised to prep your body with some nutrient-replenishing Gu, used by runners worldwide as a means to give your body the extra boost it needs to get through the long runs.That is, if you can keep it down without throwing it up all over yourselfSure, ANYONE can run up Heartbreak Hill, but how about running down it? Barry and Tommy make it look easy. The truth is, it was too damn much effort to try to take pictures while running up the hill, and a lot easier to take the camera out on the downside.The course was bustling with literally hundreds of people doing training runs for Boston, including a local legend we usually meet out at Westford's East Boston Camps, Scott Graham. Here, we ran down the hills with Scott for about a mile in search of the Greater Lowell Road Runners water station. Apparently Scott was running too fast, because he ran right past it.On the other side of Heartbreak Hill awaits Boston College. Tommy and I took a moment to pause and take in the sights, because when we get there at mile 21 on April 16, we'll be too bleary-eyed to really focus on anything except the solid yellow line going down the middle of the street.A great day on the course, made even better by great weather, great company, and great Gu! For most of us, that is.

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!

Rain Men

Let me say right at the outset: after the winter we've just had, we really can't complain about running in bad weather.

That being said, running for more than two hours in today's cold temperatures, with a constant, driving rain, and inches of slush and deep puddles along the roads of Westford and Chelmsford sucked.Okay, now that that's out of the way. Let's get to today's drama.

With varying loops added in to today's mix, it was hard to keep all of the E Streeters together for the entire 13 miles. But we're nothing if not accommodating. And sympathetic. Like, say someone's been sick all week, or injured, or has doctor's orders to lay off all - yes ALL - physical activity. There's no chance we'll be merciless in our ribbing of that person.

And sometimes, even the elite just can't run with the big dogs. Here, we say a sad farewell to today's cartographer, Scott Spence.

But the run must go on. And so, too, must the quest for town line victories. And as you can see here, Andrew, home on loan from Holy Cross for a Spring Break, claims the victory.

Or does he? John, after dodging raging gunfire in Westford, dashes further ahead to a stone pillar to claim what HE claims is the real town line. Apparently he plays by Colonial rules, not modern day signage. Long may he rain.

Somewhere in his haze, Barry tries his best to prevent Sean from claiming the next town line.

Needless to say, he wouldn't be succesful in his quest, as Sean claimed a thriller, pulling off a 400-yard dash that will go down in the books of legend.

Gorillas in the mist

This runner went off the rails a long time ago

Back at East Boston Camps, a father can only wonder how his son might possibly lose a town line to John. Think of the embarrassment if it were true!

And in the end, even the prospect of potentially having lost one to John proves too much for Andrew, and all the frustration just explodes. And of course, his fellow runners showed him nothing but sympathy.He's young and resilient. He should be able to recoverSo another run in the books, but admittedly, not a fun one. Soaked to the bone, and faced with the potential of listening to John gloat about an alleged town line victory combined to make this a run to forget.