– January 26, 2020 – Writeup by Linda Desjardins.
All week the weather forecasters were warning maybe snow, maybe icing, maybe rain, maybe locusts. How about none of the above? The morning was chilly with a busy wind but that’s perfect running weather for this nifty and historic race. It was the 46th running of the third oldest 15K in the country. It’s not easy and at 15K it’s not short. The challenging course which meanders through the Industrial Park in Peabody, taking in every foot of elevation, never gives in. No one ever said it’d be easy, and it isn’t; but it’s fair.
North Shore Striders abounded. We had a large crew assisting Roger Perham in putting on this race. Striders were all along the course directing and providing encouragement for runners, especially teammates. Volunteers included Mike Pelletier, George Geis, Dave Newhall, Bhavisha Patel, Mariellen Hayward, Maureen Kelly, Cheryl Welsh, Karen Batt, Mary Stevens and Vanessa Diranian (who also drove back to the finish line and cheered everyone along the way from her car, shouting out encouragement). The Striders who competed ran well, and the club was well-represented. There were some very solid runners blazing the course making competition intense.
The Strider order of finish was:
- Gary Freedman, 1:20:02, 9/19 age group
- Jen O’Neil, 1:24:21, 4/10 age group
- Siobhan Stoney, 1:26:53, 5/6 age group
- Rosie Keyes, 1:31:45, 4/7 age group
- Sally Fowler, 1:37:16, 6/10 age group
- Linda Desjardins, 1:45:42, 2/2 age group.
We all did ourselves and Roger proud today. Good going North Shore Striders!
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