Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5K - January 1, 2008

Contributed by Mark Graf

The hardcore types who went to Salisbury, MA this morning to run in the Hangover Classic (Chris Russell, Anthony Mavilia... who else?) had the option to take a plunge in the surf after their race.

All right... I concede. That makes you guys pretty tough. But only in an optional sense.

We slightly-less-than-hardcore types who ventured to Temple, NH for the 30th Annual New Year's Day Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5k Road Race also had a post-race challenge. Ours was of that peculiar New England variety. And it wasn't optional: We had to drive home.

I don't know what it was like here in the flatlands, but in Temple (elevation 1050 ft.), it started snowing an hour before the race, and by the time we finished gorging ourselves on homemade soups and peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies, a good 3-4" had fallen. The roads were almost as challenging to drive on as they were to run on.

Suffice it to say that no one set a personal record (PR) this morning. Even in the absence of snow, the course in Temple is pretty tough. It has three sections: The first mile is uphill. The second mile is downhill. (But it feels like uphill.) The remainder is a mix of uphill and downhill. It is described as "scenic", but with the snow and frost covering everyone's eyebrows, no one was able to confirm that this morning.

Kudos to Razia Shoyeb and the entire Thaxter family (all five!) for bravely venturing out this morning. I hope everyone made it home safely.

View complete race results on CoolRunning