The road from here
Back in 1989, someone with tongue in cheek
placed an ad in our One-Hour/Two-Hour National
Championship program that said, "World Peace
Through Racewalking."
If only the world were that simple.
In the aftermath of September 11, our
discussions about producing another racewalking
championship may sound dissonant, may feel
trivial. But while we are saddened and shaken by
the tragedies, perhaps we can also be grateful
for all we still have.
Our sense of community and the activities that
we pursue together are part of the fabric of our
lives. And may this aspect of our lives go
on.
Big date is October 7
For the 13th consecutive year, we are playing
host to the National One-Hour and Two-Hour
Racewalking championships. This major event
customarily draws top walkers from around the
country as well as local walkers of all
abilities. This year's races will begin at 9 a.m.
at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute track in
Worcester, MA.
New schedule
In a change from previous championships, we
are providing a more compact schedule of events
this year:
- Men's Two-Hour, 9 a.m.
- Men's One-Hour, 10 a.m. (sharing the track
with the two-hour walkers)
- Women's One-Hour, 11:30 a.m.
- Awards ceremony and post-race buffet, 1:30
p.m.
Help wanted
As always, we urge all club members to attend
this high-spirited event, as competitors,
volunteers, or both. Assistance will be needed
with entry forms, registration, food, judging,
lap-counting and many other aspects of the race.
Please contact Justin Kuo at 617-731-9889 if you
can help.
An entry form is included in this issue. You
can also find a form and further information,
including directions to the race and lists of
hotels, on the Web at
usatfne.org/12hour
You can also call the New England track and
field office for information at 617-566-7600.
Mark these days
October 28
The Connecticut Racewalkers will hold their
10-kilometer championship at 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct.
28, at Connecticut College in New London. This,
like the one-hour/two-hour races, is a New
England Walkers Grand Prix event. We are hoping
for a strong NEW turnout to make this a truly
regionwide race. Further information will be
available at the one-hour/two-hour race in
Worcester.
December 2 December 9
The traditional end of our outdoor season, the
New England Walkers 10K race, potluck lunch and
club meeting, is tentatively scheduled for noon
on Sunday, Dec. 2 Dec. 9, at the
home of club president Tom Knatt at 83 Riverside
Drive in West Concord, MA. Racers and non-racers
alike are urged to attend. Please bring a dish,
hot or cold, to share. And please bring
yourselves; the more club members we hear from at
the meeting, the better we can lay out our plans
for 2002. For further information, call Tom at
978-369-7912.
Volunteers needed
Club members are needed to work as marshals
for the Tufts 10-kilometer road race in Boston on
Monday, Oct. 8. Volunteers help earn money for
the club and will have their membership extended
through 2002. To volunteer or learn more, call
Justin Kuo at 617-731-9889.
Race results
Daney Park developmental 5K - July 14,
Dedham, - Sept. 9, Cambridge, MA. In the
conclusion of Year 3 of the popular monthly
series, Rich McElvery posts the season's fastest
time in the event.
Men |
1. |
Rich McElvery (44) |
Hollis NH |
27:01 |
2. |
John Costello (46) |
Sherborn MA |
30:24 |
3. |
Tom Knatt (61) |
Concord MA |
31:06 |
4. |
Dick Ruquist (63) |
Cambridge MA |
34:14 |
Women |
1. |
Holly Wenninger (37) |
Malden MA |
32:51 |
2. |
Pat Godfrey (54) |
Winthrop MA |
35:24 |
Judges, Joanne and Bill Harriman.
East Region Masters 5K - Aug. 12,
Springfield, MA. Part of the regional masters'
track and field championships at Springfield
College. A good turnout on a damp and humid
morning. Some nice performances, and a successful
reentry for Brian after eight months devoted to
running.
----------- Women 35
------------ |
1 |
Marcia Gutsche |
W39 |
Cambridge Sports Union |
25:27.14 |
2 |
Jean Tenan |
W38 |
Connecticut Race Walkers |
29:13.29 |
3 |
Donna Masters |
W39 |
Unattached |
30:49.97 |
4 |
Ginger Armstrong |
W38 |
Connecticut Race Walkers |
30:56.46 |
5 |
Holly Wenninger |
W36 |
Cambridge Sports Union |
31:18.13 |
----------- Women 55
------------ |
1 |
Joanne Harriman |
W58 |
New England Walkers |
32:17.95 |
----------- Women 65
------------ |
1 |
Jeanne Shepardson |
W67 |
New England Walkers |
36:30.05 |
------------ Men 35
------------- |
1 |
William Masters |
M37 |
Unattached |
33:37.11 |
------------ Men 40
------------- |
1 |
Stephen McCullough |
M40 |
Unattached |
29:50.67 |
------------ Men 45
------------- |
1 |
Jerry Gordon |
M48 |
Unattached |
33:45.07 |
------------ Men 50
------------- |
1 |
Bob Keating |
M54 |
New England Walkers |
24:39.33 |
2 |
Brian Savilonis |
M51 |
New England Walkers |
26:40.45 |
3 |
Stanley Sosnowski |
M51 |
New England Walkers |
27:03.03 |
4 |
Bill Harriman |
M54 |
New England Walkers |
28:44.01 |
------------ Men 55
------------- |
1 |
David Baldwin |
M58 |
Maine Race Walkers |
25:49.46 |
2 |
Charles Mansbach |
M56 |
New England Walkers |
31:30.84 |
------------ Men 60
------------- |
1 |
Gustave Davis |
M63 |
Connecticut Race Walkers |
34:01.32 |
2 |
Spencer Parrish |
M64 |
Unattached |
35:32.05 |
3 |
Thomas Fitzgerald |
M60 |
Capital Walkers |
39:39.90 |
------------ Men 70
------------- |
1 |
Bill McCann |
M71 |
New England Walkers |
34:37.30 |
2 |
Chuck Dolecki |
M70 |
Unattached |
36:08.61 |
Danehy Park 5K - Aug. 5, Cambridge.
Nice turnout, nice performances at the front of
the pack. John confessed afterward that he'd done
a 10-mile workout before the race. "That might
have been a little bit too much of a warmup," Bob
suggested.
1. |
Bob Ullman (52), Nashua NH |
28:36 |
2. |
John Costello (46), Sherborn MA |
29:02 |
3. |
Richard Ruquist (63), Cambridge MA |
31:01 |
4. |
Holly Wenninger (36), Malden MA |
32:55 |
5. |
Justin Kuo (47), Brookline MA |
34:17 |
6. |
Itzi Garcia (38), Jamaica Plain MA |
41:04 |
7. |
Florence Dagata (74), Pawtucket RI |
41:04 |
8. |
Masha Kuo (9), Brookline MA |
48:19 |
9. |
Anna Kuo (12), Brookline MA |
48:19 |
10. |
Carol Kuo (53), Brookline MA |
48:19 |
Judges: Joanne and Bill Harriman, Ken Mattsson
, Charlie Mansbach
Blessing of the Fleet 10-miler - July
27, Narragansett, RI. Not judged, and not really
a racewalk. But what a hoot. Some 430 walkers
take off at 5 p.m., with 2,100 runners following
an hour later. We walk along the ocean road,
through neighborhoods, onto Route 108 with the
inside lane reserved for us with a long line of
orange cones. And spectators are scattered along
the whole course, applauding and calling out
encouragement. At one point, four guys in chairs
serenade us on drums; at another juncture, a
woman plays the banjo for us. Applause gets
downright thunderous at one turn on Mile 8 and
again at the finish. And when we do finish, we
find ourselves in the middle of a big downtown
carnival (with proceeds from everything going to
the Lions Club charities). On the fun meter, this
event ranks quite high. Extremely partial
results:
1. |
Joe Light |
1:33:38 |
2. |
Stan Sosnowski |
1:39:33 |
3. |
Charlie Mansbach |
1:46:05 |
15. |
(eighth woman) Sheila Sosnowski |
2:00:03 |
Eastern Regional 5K - New London, CT.,
July 8. Part of the Eastern Regional Track &
Field Championships at Connecticut College.
Men |
1 |
Joe Light |
26:41:73 |
2 |
Stan Sosnowski |
27:20.76 |
3 |
Vladimir Telnov |
27:55.43 |
4 |
Andy Cable |
28:30.20 |
5 |
Stephen McCullough |
29:46.92 |
6 |
Gus Davis |
34:23.98 |
7 |
Louis Free |
34:36.3 |
Women |
1 |
Anne Favolise |
27:28.35 |
2 |
Jean Tenan |
28:41.04 |
3 |
Ann Percival |
29:36.05 |
4 |
Judy Ormsby |
35:58.71 |
US Senior Games report By Tom Knatt
The National Senior Games in Baton Rouge LA
were great for meeting new and old friends,
including John Knifton from Texas. In the
1500M, 60-64 age group, Mark Adams was
first in 7:45, Seth Kaminsky was second in
7:52 and I was a distant third in 8:14. We played
musical chairs in the 5K, with Seth winning in
29:23, Tom second in 29:32, and Mark third in
29:59. Dave Baldwin won both events for
the 55-59 age group. The next National Senior
Games will be held in Richmond VA in summer 2003,
and the Massachusetts Senior Games in June 2002
will be the qualifier.
Unfortunately, both the racewalk events
suffered from a lack of organization, although
the table tennis and track and field were much
better. Number pickup for the 1500M consisted of
a fellow calling out your name over a barely
audible megaphone! Because they ran out of
computer chips for the 5K racewalk, although the
road race had them, times were not recorded for
the males in the race. That is why I do not have
a list of results. Ray Funkhouser will be
in charge of the racewalks in Richmond VA, so it
should be much better there. The biggest snafu
was for the many dormitory people who chose no
linen service, finding out that that meant no
linen was provided. People went to Walmart or
bought it from the 'conveniently provided' Senior
Games booth where you picked up your packet. I
stayed in a motel. The biggest scandal was that
apparently an official in the Senior Games head
office, disgruntled over something, allegedly
absconded with a large, almost 6 figure, sum of
money. The National Organization is now
apparently in financial distress.
Nevertheless, I recommend that the people who
might be interested in competing in Richmond VA,
compete in their state's games in 2002.
Massachusetts does a good job, as does New
Hampshire, both of which I have competed in. By
then, many of these difficulties should be ironed
out.
I'll see you all at the fall races.
Grand Prix standings
Six people here have completed four of the
Grand Prix races; everyone else on the list has
done two or one. Two Grand Prix events remain:
the one-hour/two-hour on Oct. 7 and the
Connecticut 10K on Oct. 28.
Men |
|
Women |
Bob Keating |
339.03 |
|
Marcia Gutsche |
331.39 |
Stan Sosnowski |
298.93 |
|
Joanne Harriman |
305.56 |
Bill Harriman |
297.39 |
|
Jeanne Shepardson |
76.12 |
Charlie Mansbach |
276.37 |
|
Chris Anderson |
73.58 |
Dave Baldwin |
165.30 |
|
Florence Dagata |
70.86 |
Lou Free |
147.21 |
|
Pamela Hoss |
69.15 |
Bill McCann |
145.98 |
|
Holly Wenninger |
67.15 |
Bob Ullman |
144.19 |
|
Rachel Beaudet |
67.37 |
Chuck Dolecki |
137.60 |
|
Sheila Sosnowski |
65.74 |
Tom Knatt |
79.39 |
|
Joyce Vandergalien |
65.40 |
Brian Savilonis |
79.01 |
|
Maureen Danahy |
61.29 |
Dick Ruquist |
75.32 |
Bill O'Leary |
71.49 |
Dennis Slattery |
68.41 |
Justin Kuo |
62.22 |
John Costello |
61.96 |
Weekly workouts
Springfield racewalkers train at Forest Park
at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and on Blake Track at
Springfield College at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
For information, contact Bob Beaudet at
413-525-3542.
Ken Mattsson is scheduling racewalking
sessions at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Harvard
University track in Cambridge, MA in conjunction
with the Cambridge Sports Union. For information,
call Ken at 617-576-9331.
The New England Walkers
Send material to:
Charlie Mansbach
25 Larkspur Road
Newton, MA 02468
E-mail address: mansba@nws.globe.com
or cmnsbch@cs.com
For membership information, contact
Justin
Kuo at 617-731-9889