Applefest Half Marathon - October 6, 2007

Contributed by Gordon Row

For those of you who joined the club run this morning, and said “Hey, where’s _____ this morning?”. The answer is “because we’re exhausted after yesterday” On Saturday, we had a great turnout of Squanners for the 25th running of the Applefest Half Marathon. It was a lovely August day, which was a big problem considering the date of October 6th. By the time we lined up at the start, we were pretty worried about the heat, and race organizers were hustling to get more water out on the course. We spent the next couple of hours churning up and down “rolling hills”, pouring sweat, swigging water and coaching each other along.

In spite of the conditions, there were some great performances in our club. I think Kerri has clearly forgotten that she is a mother of 3, part-time booze clerk and track coach, and put in a very impressive time. (If you go any faster Kerri, you’ll be stuck waiting around for the awards ceremony). My stinky older brother Frank returned for his 4th Hollis to take 13th overall (that’s right) and first in his division. Charles Thaxter has clearly been finding time to run while away on business (oops, did I just spill the beans?). For the rest of us, I am very impressed that we finished and did not win a free ride in an ambulance.

OK, I don’t mean to sound so dire. It is a seamlessly organized race, the course is stunning, the food is unequalled, the live entertainment was worthy of a cover charge, the shirts are beautiful and useful, the water stops were great fun (I voted for Josie and the Pussycats), it’s nearby, and it’s a great thing to train for over the summer. Let’s all run it again next year. Unless, of course, global warming persists, in which case let’s put together some relay times.

Here are the club results. Did I miss anyone? Ursula? Special thanks to Chris Russell for pitching in as a desperately-needed water-shuttle pilot. We’d all have died without you.

Club Members' Results:

1:26:08 6:35 Frank Row 46 M 500 North Reading
1:41:06 7:43 Gordon Row 44 M 851 Groton
1:41:39 7:46 Kerri Strauss 33 F 909 West Groton
1:43:58 7:56 Brian Irwin 32 M 779 Shirley
1:53:41 8:41 Charles Thaxter 47 M 79 Pepperell
2:00:11 9:11 Amy Schilp 38 F 882 Groton
2:01:00 9:14 Tracy Shea 40 F 908 Groton
2:03:43 9:27 Maria Noya 47 F 877 Groton
2:05:22 9:34 Chayanin Thaxter 46 F 80 Pepperell
2:16:50 10:27 Lysa Mosca 38 F 888 Groton