Jim

February 6th, 2005. Narragansett, RI. 24-21, Patriots over Eagles. 5:50s over 6:20s, Hillery over Sosnowski. 4:55s over 5:17s, McAlister over Augelli. This was the day of the first annual Super 5K (185 finishers in its first year). The Super 5K will be flirting with 400 finishers in its 6th year (Feb 7, 2010). This week's picture is a shot from the 2005 race, featuring Jim Cotter who isn't wearing his NRA singlet because they didn't exist at the time.

Claire

January 24, 2010. Derry, NH. The 15th annual Boston Prep 16-miler. This "Boston Prep" race is a classic. Put on by the Derry Track Club to support their youth track series (yes, they have one too), the numbers of this race have grown so much that they now cap registration at about 800, and they fill it up every year. The course is advertised as "moderately challenging" (tounge-in-cheek), and that's no false advertising. Sure, it's no Nooseneck 18K, but it's about 4.8 miles longer, and usually much colder, so we'll it slide. A few of our own made the trip this year, and did quite well. From the top, we have Brian McNeiece who got 9th place overall in a pace of 6:13. Next up was overall female winner Claire Gadrow, who finished up strong at 6:48 pace. Nicole Rattay ran very well, finishing at 7:17 pace, and Kevin Keilty ran in 8:23's. This week's picture is Claire Gadrow and her first place winnings.

group photo with subliminal message

December 24, 2009. Thanks to Ken Abrams for taking this picture and then photoshopping himself into it. This was 12/24/2009 and the morning group run was followed by snacks and hot chocolate, tailgate-style, behind Ellen's SUV. Good times. If you can identify everyone in this photo, as well as a perhaps not-so-subtle subliminal message, then your entry to the NRA winter party is free. One winner only.

Joe and Kara

The Super 5K isn’t the only road race on Superbowl Sunday (February 7th, 2010). There are other races that fall on this day by coincidence, and others that fall on this day because it’s Superbowl Sunday. In the latter category is our own Super 5K, the same-named Super 5K in Lowell MA, the Boston Seaport Super Sunday 5K/10K in Boston MA, and the 4th and 4-miler in Concord NH. Outside of New England there are many more. Though we are not the only Super 5K, we did think of the name independently. In fact, the race director of the Lowell Super 5K brought this to our attention before the inaugural Narragansett Super 5K in 2005. We had no idea. We considered changing the name, but the popular opinion of the board was that Lowell MA was so far away that there would be no confusion. In any case, if there is confusion, each race starts at noon, so no matter where you show up, there’s a race. With this in mind, here is a brief comparison of our Super 5K and the Lowell Super 5K. Shown is the year, number of runners, male winning time, and female winning time. This week’s picture was downloaded from Lowell Super 5K organizer Jim Rhoades’ excellent running photo site: http://jimrhoades.com/services.html Here we have two shots from the 2009 race. On the left is second place finisher Joe O’Leary, who put down the Somerville colors for the day to sport a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey and lived to tell the tale (actually the Steelers and Somerville colors are the same). In the background is Somerville Road Runner and female winner, the lovely and talented Kara Haas. On the right is a closer-up shot of the female winner, seen here well ahead of a less talented pack of male runners.


Lowell Super 5K

2002 (355), M: 15:39 (Casey Carrol), F: 17:49 (Kara Molloy)

2003 (307), M: 15:28 (Eric Beauchesne), F: 17:47 (Kara Haas)

2004 (305), M: 14:59 (Casey Moulton), F: 17:56 (Kara Haas)

2005 (242), M: 16:12 (Eric Beauchesne), F: 20:27 (Kelsey Hunt)

2006 (295), M: 14:49 (Casey Moulton), F: 18:00 (Kara Haas)

2007 (232), M: 15:44 (Dmitry Drozdov), F: 18:19 (Bev Whelan)

2008 (242), M: 16:25 (Stephen Gendron), F: 18:31 (Kelsey Smith)

2009 (249), M: 16:17 (Titus Mutinda), F: 18:12 (Kara Haas)


Narragansett Super 5K

2005 (185), M: 15:14 (Joe McAlister), F: 18:06 (Trish Hillery)

2006 (242), M: 15:30 (Paul Reilly), F: 17:27 (Emer O’Shea)

2007 (284), M: 15:26 (Matt Pelletier), F: 17:11 (Heidi Westerling)

2008 (395), M: 15:12 (Matt Pelletier), F: 19:08 (Trish Hillery)

2009 (342), M: 15:21 (Patrick Tarpy), F: 18:27 (Trish Hillery)

Mile 10 and cows.

West Greenwich, RI. December 26, 2009. Due to popular demand, the Nooseneck 18K will not change format next year. Truly a throwback race, the Nooseneck 18K features free registration, a very challenging course (already renowned for causing extreme discomfort and debilitating injuries), and a post-race celebration at the cozy Big River Inn. A new and more robust mile 10 sign was constructed for the 2009 race -- one which the cows found inedible, unlike the flimsy 2008 sign which was gobbled up before the race even started. Also new this year was official timing, "Nooseneck 18K" stickers, and real bib numbers. If you are not running this race, you are missing something truly unique and very, very fun. Overall winner Keven O'Neil maintained 5:45 pace while holding off youngster Andy Greene, who was nipping at Keven's heels for the first 5 miles. Claire Gadrow took first place on the women's side, snatching (by 3 seconds) the course record from Michaela Driscoll. Too many NRA finishers to mention here, but you can find the full results on coolrunning. This week's picture is the aforementioned mile 10 sign and the disgruntled and hungry cows which, by the way, were unusually lively as the runners passed on the return loop (so much so that there was, after the race, much chatter about whether or not they posed a danger to the runners, being held at bay only by a few thin strands of barbed wire). Thanks to new member Carol Doherty (and friend) for helping with the registration and timing.

Frances

She's a newer member (#134 of 150). She's only been on the e-mail list for 6 months. But it seems like longer because she's very active in the group, and we like that. Fran Vaudreuil is seen here sporting her age-group trophy from the April 2009 5K for MS held in Bristol RI. Since that race, she's made huge progress in her running, and looks to improve even more.

leader during first lap

Since 2002, there have been nine 5K races on Narragansett Beach: Seven in the form of the Jingle Bell Beach Run 5K and two in the form of the (now defunct) Pier Plunge 5K. The NRA has, not surprisingly, had good success at this race, posting six male champions and five female champions. Most recently, "barefoot" Brian McNeiece took top spot at the 2008 race, while our last female champion was 2005 in the form of Claire Gadrow. This week's picture was from 2004 and was taken by Dave Tetreault.

Dave

November 22, 2009. Wakefield RI. The 10th annual Mews "beer and gear" 5K road race. Only a few short years ago this race was a small-time deal. But with improved race organization, the numbers have exploded. Exhibit A (# of finishers, 2002-2009): 127, 164, 84, 392, 634, 802, 800, 1141. Introducing "D chip" timing in 2009, the runners were herded into four "corrals" at the start, and the race got off, and finished up, very smoothly. Look for bigger numbers next year. Too many NRA finishers to list here, but the NRA claimed the majority of age-group awards. Keep your eye out for the November race results for a complete accounting. Don't look for Dave Laroque in the results. He worked the race and -- make no mistake -- it wouldn't have been as good without him. In this week's picture we see Dave energizing before the awards and raffle.

Oak Hill Tavern

Just some guy seen playing guitar at the Oak Hill Tavern. That's a Super 5K race shirt from 2008.

happy halloween

Jamestown, RI, October 25, 2009. The 21st annual Jack O Lantern jog. The NRA had its usual turnout with a mix of costumed and not-costumed runners. In the results, and from the top, we have Mike Tammaro, Ian Kulin, Roberta Fagan, Anrea Brayman, Kate Hoffman, Dave Tetreault, Dave Heskett, and Jennifer Davis. The NRA has taken top spot -- in both male and female categories -- four times in the last five years (spreading it around four different men, but only one woman). This week's photo is a group shot taken after the race. The un-costumed runners took the top two spots and the costumed runners took home a few costume-related awards. Three of those pictured sailed to the race, and four sailed back. "Chamber bucks" won at the race were used to buy beverages for the sail home.