New England Walkers Newsletter
July 2002

Mark your calendar

Two major events for masters (age 30 and above, which means most of us) are nearly upon us. The Eastern Masters Regional Track and Field championships will include separate 5K racewalks for men and women beginning at 10:25 a.m. Saturday, July 27, at Springfield College in Springfield, MA. Two weeks later, the National Masters Track and Field championships will be held at the University of Maine at Orono, with 5K racewalks on Friday, August 9, and 10K walks on Sunday, August 11. We've had strong turnouts at both events in the past and are hoping for a repeat this year. For further information on both events, call the New England track and field office at 617-566-7600.

Another title for Dow

Joanne Dow of Manchester, NH, captured the 20K racewalk crown at the National Track and Field Championships in Palo Alto, CA, on June 22. Dow, reports Steve Vaitones," made up a significant gap after the halfway mark and moved the to the lead on the 48th of 50 laps to win with a time of recent previous championship was the national 1:34:46.52, a new US record." Joanne's most indoor 3K race in March.

1	Joanne Dow	1:34:46.52
2	Teresa Vaill	1:34:53.46
3	Amber Antonia	1:35:59.44
4	Jill Cobb	1:39:45.60
5	Susan Armenta	1:40:56.07
6	Michelle Rohl	1:44:27.40
7	Bobbi Chapman	1:45:57.46
8	Jolene Moore	1:46:53.44
9	Sam Cohen	1:49:51.16
10	Deborah Huberty	1:52:51.09

Other race results

Massachusetts Senior Games - Springfield College, June 14-15. The usual mixed field, especially for the track races, of racewalking regulars and people who had never racewalked before (and in a few cases may not even have heard of racewalking before). Judging is customarily lenient here; Tom Knatt said that if he had been strict, he would have eliminated everyone after the first two walkers in the women's 1500-meter race. The top two finishers in each age bracket earned the right to compete in the national games next year in Virginia.

Women's 1500 meters (50-54)
1.	Rosalind Clark, Hampden	11:55
Women's 1500 meters (55-59)
1.	Ann Montgomery, Concord	10:19
2.	Anita Sperber, Boston	12:12
3.	Linda Fitzgerald	15:56
Women's 1500 meters (60-64)
1.	Sandra Shaw, Lexington	11:50
2.	Mary Ann Pappanikou	12:24
3.	Judy Scott, Hyannis	12:56
Women's 1500 meters (65-69)
1.	Frances O'Brien, Longmeadow	10:26
2.	Monica Donegan,	12:03
Women's 1500 meters (75-79)
1.	Florence Dagata, Pawtucket, R.I.	12:26
2.	Minna Charles, New York City	14:19
3.	Jean Marra, North Adams	15:35
Women's 5K (50-54)
1.	Rosalind Clark, Hampden	41:56
Women's 5K (60-64)
1.	Joanne Harriman, Tewksbury	33:16
2.	Pauline Sullivan	38:44
Women's 5K (65-69)
1.	Frances O'Brien, Longmeadow	36:13
Women's 5K (70-74)
1.	Rosemary Rimkus	53:16
Women's 5K (75-79)
1.	Florence Dagata, Pawtucket, R.I.	43:17
2.	Minna Charles, New York City	44:33
Men's 1500 meters (55-59)
1.	Charles Mansbach, Newton	8:49
2.	Paul Scopetski, Marlboro	9:56
dq.	Peter Eberlin
Men's 1500 meters (60-64)
1.	Thomas Knatt, Concord	8:18
2.	Dennis Becker, Brookline	9:22
3.	Thomas Conlin, Agawam	9:40
dq.	Terrence Coyne, North Adams
Men's 1500 meters (65-69)
1.	Bob Beaudet, East Longmeadow	8:28
2.	Don Murray, Dorchester	9:19
3.	Mike Grady	10:33
4.	Robert Donegan, Ludlow	11:36
Men's 1500 meters (70-74)
1.	Louis Free, Uncasville, Ct.	10:06
2.	Charles (Chuck) Dolecki, Wilbraham	10:07
3.	George Freeman, Cobleskill, N.Y.	10:08
4.	Valio Liedes, Ashby	10:29
Men's 1500 meters (75-79)
1.	Ben Lezon, Enfield	10:23
2.	Horst Langer, Wayland	10:30
3.	William O'Leary, Westwood	11:17
Men's 1500 meters (80-84)
1.	Jacob Robinson, Longmeadow	11:25
Men's 1500 meters (85-89)
1.	David Ward, Fairhaven	13:45
Men's 5K (55-59)
1.	Bill Harriman, Tewksbury	27:52
2.	Charles Mansbach, Newton	31:00
Men's 5K (60-64)
1.	Tom Knatt, Concord	29:33
Men's 5K (65-69)
1.	Bob Beaudet, East Longmeadow	31:15
2.	Don Murray, Dorchester	32:45
3.	Russell Laste	33:14
4.	Mike Grady	35:30
5.	Robert Donegan	42:50.
Men's 5K (70-74)
1.	Louis Free, Uncasville, Ct.	34:03
2.	William McCann, Longmeadow	41:56
Men's 5K (75-79)
1.	Ben Lezon,Enfield	36:19
2.	William O'Leary, Westwood	38:26

New England 15k Championships - June 8, Ninigret Park, Charlestown, RI. A nice clear, dry day on the perfectly flat Ningret course as the 15K returned to our schedule after an absence of five years. Thanks go to the judges and helpers, and especially to Joe Light for making all the arrangements.

1	Brian Savilonis	53	MA	1:21:50
2	Marcia Gutsche	40	MA	1:22:02
3	Joe Light	54	RI	1:27:11
4	John Costello	46	MA	1:30:49
5	Bill Harriman	55	MA	1:32:32
6	Charlie Mansbach	57	MA	1:39:24
7	Lou Free	72	CT	1:47:06
8	Joanne Harriman	59	MA	1:49:49
9	Gus Davis	64	CT	1:53:30

Judges: Justin Kuo (chief); Bill Banks; Ross Dagata
Helpers: Flo Dagata, Genya Kuo, Yuri Kuo

Danehy developmental 5K - Cambridge, MA, May 12 and June 9. Bill Harriman reports: "The May edition of the Danehy Park 5k series featured the deepest field we have ever had here, with both course record holders as well as a number of New England's swiftest walkers in the field. Joanne Dow tied her own course record in the women's division, while Brian Savilonis prevailed in a tight battle with Marcia Gutsche and Rich McElvery to lower his men's course record to 25:20. Both Marcia and Rich had PR's, and Holly Wenninger and Pat Godfrey had their fastest Danehy times."

1.	Joanne Dow	23:02
2.	Brian Savilonis	25:20
3.	Marcia Gutsche	25:22
4.	Rich McElvery	25:52
5.	Bob Ullman	28:57
6.	Steve Vaitones	29:41
7.	Dick Ruquist	30:10
8.	Tom Knatt	30:24
9.	Holly Wenninger	31:03
10.	Justin Kuo	33:15
11.	Pat Godfrey	33:55
12.	Paul Schell	34:08

Judges: Bill Harriman, Ken Mattsson, Tim Dow and Tolya Kuo.

"A day after racing 15 kilometers in the New England Championships at Ninigret Park in Rhode Island, Brian Savilonis and I participated in the Danehy Park 5K. I will not go so far as to say we raced. Survived may be a better word. The race was officiated by Charlie Mansbach and Joanne Harriman, and the results are:"

1.	Brian Savilonis	52	Princeton MA	29:44
2.	Tom Knatt	61	Concord MA	30:34
3.	Holly Wenninger	37	Malden MA	31:07
4.	Laurel Ginder	44	Hudson MA	35:44
5.	Bill Harriman	55	Tewksbury MA	35:56

New England outdoor 3K championship - June 15, Massachusetts Institute of Technology track, Cambridge MA. Justin Kuo reports: "I don't know if the steady drizzle kept the numbers down, but four souls completed the 3K walk" at the USATF outdoor meet. "The third and fourth place finishers were new to racewalking -- this was their first competition. Maybe we can encourage more clubs to try the racewalk?"

1	Richard McElvery	New England Walkers	14:53.65
2	Stephen Peckikonis	Cambridge Sports Union	15:55.47
3	Patrick Collier	Athletics East	17:58.94
4	Harris Hardy	Athletics East	22:12.15

On The Road to 50K, Part One
By Bill Harriman

My former life as a runner lasted almost 30 years, from my junior high days in Chelsea MA in the early 1960s until my last race at the Milk Run 10k in April 1990, after which I finally but reluctantly had to give up competitive running and triathlons because of lingering pain from a herniated disc in my lower back. During all those years I managed to run 24 marathons and hundreds of shorter races but was never tempted to try anything longer than 26.2 miles, although I did once run 30 miles two weeks before my PR 2:45 marathon at Boston in 1981. Now I find myself training for a 50k walk. The question is why.

Good question. I guess I'm just a sucker for a challenge, and it will be a challenge to racewalk 31 miles without keeling over from exhaustion or losing legal form. I have toyed with the idea of walking a 50, but the few 50s on the race calendar have all been in California, or somewhere else far away, until this year. I had the misfortune of spotting the Eastern Regional 50k listed in the final issue of the NARF newsletter this January, with a race date of Nov. 10 in Hauppauge NY. I started thinking, which usually leads to trouble. Good time of year, driveable distance, etc. Before I knew it I was hooked. I went in to have my head examined and they didn't find anything, so I was cleared to train for the 50. So now the entry blank has been mailed in and the hotel reservations made. I will go through with it, if my back tolerates the training mileage I'll have to do. This is the first edition of a series I'll write about the road to and the results of my first and quite possibly last 50k. After a fairly successful and injury-free season in 2001, I took my usual break from training in November and December, with less than 100k of training mileage for each month. Then around the middle of January I spotted the 50k listing and also decided it was time to sharpen up for the indoor 3k circuit and beyond, so I went from 29 and 16 kilometers for the first two weeks in January to 48 and 50 the next two weeks, with long walks of 20k both Sundays, then a 38k week topped off by a 24k Sunday walk. Too abrupt a jump but I got through it fairly well, with a moderately high fatigue level in the last few miles of those long ones but not too bad. I also switched back to morning workouts, which are better for me because I tend to miss fewer workouts that way, so now I do my 5 at 5, which is 5 miles at 5 AM, every weekday morning.

Since January 15th I have logged 7 16ks, 6 20s, 2 24s, a 25, and a 28, with most weeks totaling around 45-55k. Race weeks are always lower mileage because I like to taper for a few days before a race, and rest completely the day before. My back has been ok, with a few minor flare-ups. I also started speedwork late in April with Ken Mattsson's group at the Harvard outdoor track on Tuesday evenings. The track work on top of the distance base has resulted in some success at the races, including a near-PR 27:52 in the Mass. Senior Games 5k on June 15. I will continue to keep the weekly mileage over 60k whenever possible, and increase to 70-80k after the Orono 10k in August. I also plan on gradually adding a kilometer or two to the long walks until I reach 40k in training. If I can't do 40 in training, I will not attempt the 50. I may be crazy but I'm not stupid, although others may disagree! Another installment of this ongoing saga will follow in the next newsletter, if I live that long.

Grand Prix standings

Record-keeper Bill Harriman reports: "Marcia Gutsche and Joe Light jumped into the lead in the 2002 Racewalk Grand Prix series with strong performances in the New England 15K. They each made it a total of 4 GP races for the season, for a full point total. Scoring is based on the best 4 performances throughout the year. The next races in the series are the Bay State Games 3K on 7/13 and the Eastern Regional 5K on 7/27.

Men
4 Races
Joe Light	319.03
Tom Knatt	312.64
Bill Harriman	299.19
Charlie Mansbach	280.24
3 Races
Brian Savilonis	242.54
John Costello	215.94
Gus Davis	207.84
2 Races
Bob Keating	174.43
Adam Staier	164.18
Dave Baldwin	154.72
Lou Free	151.31
Bob Beaudet	149.41
Mark Dennett	146.51
Bill McCann	145.65
Jeremy Martin	144.3
1 Race
Kevin Eastler	83.09
Richard Ruquist	77.8
Rich McElvery	77.56
Jon Chasse	73.56
Bob Ullman	73.25
Geoff Bye	70.53
Andy Cable	66.36
George Curti	66.16
Spencer Parrish	65.31
Keith Rowlett	65.13
Stephen McCullough	62.04
Justin Kuo	60.91
Yuri Kuo	59.06
Women
4 Races
Marcia Gutsche	343.38
Maryanne Torrellas	340.12
Lee Chase	334.66
Joanne Harriman	302.66
3 Races
Chris Anderson	225.27
2 Races
Joanne Dow	184.22
Jasmine Brooks	159.69
Jean Tenan	147.39
1 Race
Cathy Orr	74.84
Ann Percival	73.5
Lynda Beckett	70.7
Florence Dagata	70.42
Ginger Armstrong	69.93
Carol Kuo	64.09
Nectar Babeghian	61.21
Maddy O'Brien	60.23

Outdoor workouts

Ken Mattsson is conducting racewalking sessions at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Harvard University track in Allston, MA in conjunction with the Cambridge Sports Union. Walkers at all levels of ability and experience are welcome.

For information, call Ken at 617-576-9331.

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

2002 race calendar

As always, our listing of racewalking events is not engraved in stone. Some races are added during the season, others are changed or canceled. It's always best to verify the time, date and location with the race director before setting out.

July

13 -Bay State Games 3K. Part of the track and field portion of the statewide athletics festival. 781-932-6555.

26 - Blessing of the Fleet 10-miler, Narragansett, RI. Not judged, not really a racewalk. But great fun.

27 - Eastern Masters 5K championship, Springfield College. USATF-NE office, 617-566-7600.

August

4 (moved to first Sunday in month to avoid conflict) - 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, 9:30 a.m. Contact Bill Harriman at 978-640-9676 (before 9:30 p.m.).

8-11 - National Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Orono, Maine. 5K and 10K racewalks. USATF-NE office, 617-566-7600.

September

8 - 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, 9:30 a.m. (See August listing) Sometime this month - Regional one-hour championship. Many details to come.

October

5 - 5K, Bristol, NH, in conjunction with New Hampshire Marathon. 603-744-3335.

6 -- National Junior 5K championships, plus New England 5K championships, hosted by the New England Association. Location and other details to follow.

? - Connecticut 10K championship.

Phone any time

For up-to-the-minute information on race schedules, clinics and other events, call the New England Walkers hotline at: 781-433-7142

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