Author: Kasie Enman

There were some fierce rivalries this year in the GMAA Team Racing Series, but after 8 races the final rankings have been reached. Drum role please… The winners are:

• Women’s <40 – Kasie Enman
• Men’s <40 – Ian McCallum-Cook
• Women’s 40-49 – Tracy Benedict
• Men’s 40-49 – Tim Richmond
• Men’s 50-59 – Binney Mitchell
• Women’s 60-69 – Rose Bergeron
• Men’s 70+ – Gordon McFarland

A few highlights: In the men’s open category, it came down to a final head-to-head battle on the Franklin Park 10k XC course this morning and in the end Ian McCallum-Cook pulled to the narrowest of leads – .03 points ahead of Charlie Schaefer.

Binney Mitchell, Gordon McFarland, and Kasie Enman were all undefeated in their respective age categories, posting 500 out of a possible 500 points in the best 5 out of 8 competition. Kasie, was in the tricky position of aging from open to masters for the final 2 races of the series, but it was determined that she would finish out the year where she began, in the open category.

In all, 109 GMAA members took part in series races over the course of the year, making for a great turnout. Well done to all! We will be soliciting feedback and posting a slate for the 2020 series over the next couple of months.

Final GMAA Team Racing Series Standings can be perused here.

Eight GMAA runners spent the past weekend in Gloucester, MA competing in the Lone Gull 10k. This race served as the USATF-NE 10k Championship, and the second to last race in the USATF-NE Road Grand Prix Series.

Liz Champagne overcame much adversity to get to the finish line – first cracked cheek bones sustained in a race earlier this month threatened to prevent her from racing; not to mention an impending flight to Germany departing just four days post-race for the Berlin Marathon; forgotten socks necessitating her to race in a mid-calf floral patterned pair borrowed from her 84 year old mother (at least they were Darn Tough!); and finally confusion over her entry being listed as Liz Champlain instead of Champagne (the wine not the lake!). Liz persevered valiantly to finish in a level 8 min/mile pace, good for 8th place in the 60-69 age group – and keeping her in the running for the Ironrunner competition. Good luck in Berlin, Liz!

Ian McCallum-Cooke, with far less adversity to overcome, ran the fastest time of the the day amongst his GMAA peers in a ***NEW PR*** of 32:51. Ian has earned himself a spot farther toward the front of the start line for next year. Ian would like to give all the credit for his success to his fantastic BTV training partners and teammates.

Two club members with Septembers birthdays, Nick Persampieri and Kasie Enman, drew the short and long sticks of the age group lottery, respectively. Kasie turned 40 just before the race, so was the youngest Masters age grouper in the field and took full advantage of her comparative youth by winning the Masters title in what is rumored to be a masters record for the course. Nick (pictured above with the nipple bandaids), on the other hand, would be turning 60 the day after the race, so had to battle it out as the very oldest runner in the 50-59 group – as a 59 year 364 day old. Even so, he did manage to finish in the top third of his field besting many young whippersnappers.

Speaking of whippersnappers, Gordon McFarland and Allan Bates represented the GMAA with pride coming in 2nd and 3rd for 70+ age group. This was a rare defeat for Gordon who was playing it conservatively with a nagging achilles.

Other GMAA runners in the mix were Andy Klem and Alex McHenry. Thanks to Alex for driving half the crew down in his Nissan Versa!

A dedicated group attended the USATF-NH 10 mile championship around Lake Massabesic in Auburn, NH over the weekend. Thanks goes to everyone’s alarm clocks for going off reliably so we could pile into the team vans for an on time departure at the 4:00am hour. At least the early start meant we were all back home by early afternoon to enjoy the rest of the day basking in a nice sense of accomplishment!

With lots of our team members stepping across age groups to score for the club in multiple categories, we managed to leave our mark with:

• 1st place in the men’s 70+ Team – with a 1st, 2nd, 4th by Gordon MacFarland, Allan Bates, and Chuck Arnold.
• This same trio doubled up to place 4th in the 60+ team category.
• Our Men’s 50+ team also placed 4th (Binney Mitchell, Allen Mead, Matt Gallagher, Mike Early, and… Gordon again!)
• 5th place Master’s Women (Anne Treadwell, Liz Champagne, Tracy Benedict)
• 6th place Master’s Men (Binney, Allen, Tim Richmond, Matt, Mike)
• 7th 50+ Women (Anne, Liz, Rose)
• 9th Open Women (Kasie Enman, Anne, Liz, Tracy, Rose)
• 10th Open Men, led by Silas Talbot with the fastest GMAA time of the day – 55:56 (plus Charlie Schaefer, Binney, Allen, Tim)

Links: Results & GMAA Team Series Standings after 5 races

Comprehensive Race Recap from USATF:

This past weekend’s Stowe 8 Mile race marked the halfway point of our GMAA Team Racing Performance Series – see updated standings. Although it was one of the cooler mornings of the month so far, things still heated up on the race course making the post-race ice cream and beer much appreciated. Results here.

Award winning club members on the day:

• Charlie Schaefer, 2nd overall
• Kasie Enman, 1st overall female
• Evan Thornton-Sherman, 1st teen male
• Zoraya Hightower, 1st twenties female
• Binney Mitchell, Allen Mead, Alex McHenry 1-2-3 fifties male sweep!
• Gordan MacFarland, 1st seventies male