– December 2, 2018 – A Pelletier/Desjardins Collaboration.
We all knew and dreaded that it was going to be rainy the whole race; but we hoped the predicted downpours wouldn’t materialize. Fortunately…it was just plain old nonstop rain which had started in the wee hours and made lots of puddles along the route. We navigated them as best we could, sometimes having to run in the mud and weeds alongside the course. It wasn’t the best of conditions nor was it the worse. We were spared wind. Yes, talk after the race involved comparing wetness – how many layers we had soaked through.
The North Shore Striders entered five teams. Two ran all five legs for the 27 mile distance and three were “Sunshine” starters running the last three legs. It would’ve been an easy day to sleep in; but those of us who signed up honored our commitment. Our teams and our transition area coordinators were:
| Division | Flotsam & Jetsam on the Merrimack | ||
| Coed Sub-Masters | 23/28 teams in Division | 1 Pt | |
| 5.6 | Siobhan Stoney | ||
| 4.75 | Rosie Kyes | Captain | |
| 2.5 | Terry Smith | ||
| 9.5 | Bryan Cunningham | ||
| 4.75 | Sally Fowler |
| Division | Kevin | ||
| Coed Seniors | 10/17 teams in Division | 3 pts | |
| 5.6 | Gary Freedman | ||
| 4.75 | Jay Kumar | ||
| 2.5 | Mary Stevens | Captain | |
| 9.5 | Sal Genovese | ||
| 4.75 | Lauren Hamilton |
| Division | The Incredibles | ||
| Coed Veterans | 6/9 teams in Division | 3 pts | |
| 2.5 | Mariellen Hayward | ||
| 9.5 | Dave Jefska | ||
| 4.75 | Bill Kobus | Captain |
| Division | Decades of Decadence | ||
| Women Veterans | 5/6 teams in Division | 2 pts | |
| 2.5 | Cheryl Welsh | ||
| 9.5 | Annajean McMahon | Captain | |
| 4.75 | Betsy O’Brien |
| Division | WTF!! Where’s The Finish? | ||
| Coed Super Veterans | 1/2 teams in Division | 2 pts | |
| 2.5 | George Geis | ||
| 9.5 | Linda Desjardins | Captain | |
| 4.75 | Adrienne Gordon |
| Coordinator | Anne Pelletier | Sunshine Start & Exchange |
| Armand Claveau | Sunshine Start & Exchange | |
| Jenny Reynolds | Sunshine Start & Exchange | |
| Tom Maloney | Sunshine Start & Exchange | |
| Maureen Kelly, dns sick | Sunshine Start & Exchange | |
| Michael Pelletier | Sunshine Start & Exchange | |
| Dave Newhall | 60+ teams Race-day Support |
One team, the Co-ed Super Veterans team of George Geis, Linda Desjardins and Adrienne Gordon made the medal stand as they won their division and received a prized Mill Cities Relay Brick Award. They edged out the second place CSV team by a brag-worthy 23 minutes.
It’s always nice to run Mill Cities. It is not a cut-throat race per se. There are teams for whom this seems to be an extremely competitive venture, but most of us just enjoy the gathering of all the local clubs. When people pass others on the road, there is ALWAYS encouragement, like “good job,” or “keep it up.” It feels nice to hear that. Of course that person is running faster, so the praise is a little tainted. Nevertheless, it’s an enjoyable race and fun to be with the team and the competition.
Because Mill Cities is a point-to-point relay, runners don’t all start and finish in the same place, creating a logistics nightmare to figure out who is going to drive with whom, who is going to shuttle a runner’s car to the next transition area, who is going to manage and not run, or who will shuttle AND run, and who is going to rush to the Claddagh to reserve a Strider table. Mike and Anne and all the other volunteers at the Voc Transition area, Jenny, Dave, Tom and Armand, deserve major kudos for tending to all those needs as well as seeing that the numbers and race mementos get distributed to the runners. We’d be like chickens with our heads cut off without the organizational skills that Mike brings to the table. Thanks, Mike and Anne and all the folks who might not have run a race but did, indeed, run their asses off to facilitate this race.
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