2009 Champs
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2009 Champs |
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RUNNER'S OF THE YEAR, 2009 STONED ELEPHANT STAMPEDE It started in a full blown nor' Easter in Raynham, Massachusetts. The race was cancelled, but those who could prove they were there, and were pre-entered received bonus points. This was not to be a typical running exercise where the glory in the end belonged to the swift. It was to belong to a runner. A runner committed to their sport. A runner who knew about the history of the sport. They ran, they read, they volunteered. The last element was how their peers saw them. The same ones they competed against, talked running with, and stood side by side to help out at a race. So it was not surprising that I would get an email from a runner in Plymouth, MA. She wanted to help out at a race. Could she help out at Louie's Run? She was going to be running Boston the next day. I'm thinking who is this person that is going to drive from Plymouth to New Bedford, help out at the race, and then run Boston the next day. She did. Her name was Nancy Dorn. She is our overall Stoned Elephant Stampede Runner of the Year. Nancy ran in just about every race that was listed on the schedule. She ran Boston, New Bedford, and the rain drenched Bay State Marathon. She helped out at a number of races. She had to go head to head with Tina Marie Varzeas. She came up second a couple of times, and first a number of times. When a race offered a 5K and a 10K, she would run the 10K. She submitted interesting running tid- bits to this site, and she showed her knowledge of the sport when answering the bonus questions. She has the grace and toughness of a Joan Benoit Samuelson. The speed and tenacity of a Julie Spolidoro. She is truly the Runner of The Year. JEFF REED started out a little slow in the first of the year. Then the wheels started to role, the fire started to burn, and he climbed the standing by leaps and bounds. Jeff was not selective in the races that he would run. He took them all on. He relished the opportunity to run against the competitions at the Run For Dave and the Acushnet Road Race. He is fast, tough, and talented. He is also a student of the sport, and a keeper of its history. He is the 2009 Stoned Elephant Male Runner of the year. His dedication to the sport reaches from assisting at the Dartmouth Parks Triathlon to coaching at Dartmouth High School. Weather is not an obstacle. From the heat of the summer races like the Feast and the Day of Portugal to the rain of Reader's, and the cold of NOLA. He shows up, and he competes. What is most noticeable is the admiration that he has from his friends and competitors. The likes of Sal Corrao and Eric Worsley. Both took the time to make sure that this writer was aware of their support for him. It was Jeff who informed us what a runner of the year should be. It was he that reminded us of the dedication that is needed to help keep our sport alive and well. Very quietly he arrives at a race. He pins on his number, says hello to his friends, and then puts on the game face that says if you want me, come and get me. Most don't come close. JB’s Runner’s of the Year, 2009 and Why: Let’s Start with the Grand Masters first, because they always have to wait at the awards. So. Grand Masters: Your top three here were Ed Sinkevich from Fall River, Fred Zulleger III from Coventry RI, and Joe Fernandez from Fairhaven. Now, on any given day Fred and Joe are going to beat Ed. Ed came on strong towards the end, and did some amazing stuff. He did the famous back to back at the Dartmouth Y choosing the 10K, then the next day headed to Wareham and did the 5K in that NO NAME STORM of 2009. He finished strong at the Taunton Y 5 miler. Freddie Z is upwards of 2003 races. He gave Joe fits at a couple of races, but didn’t pile up the race distance points that Ed did. This means Ed ran more of the races. The same went for Joe. So my choice for Grand Master of the year is Fall River’s Iron Man, Ed Sinkevich. In the ladies division the numbers of racers were just not there, but I don’t think any one was going to beat Fairhaven’s Barbara Bellanger Barbara is big into the rowing scene, and doing very well there. VETERANS: Your top three here are Woody Wilson of Westport, MA, Jack Daniels, New Bedford, and John Anjos from Taunton, MA. This year my choice is Woody Wilson. In the point totals he is sixth overall. He was the poster boy for what this craziness was all about. He volunteered, ran just about every race, provided interesting comments to the web site, and submitted pictures along with getting all of those foolish questions I asked right. Woody’s total would have been higher, but the dude had to sit out the last couple of races due to an injury. Woody was also the little guy sitting on my right shoulder making me think things through. Jack Daniels can beat the socks off Woody on any given day. Jack also got the volunteer bug and provided some needed veteran help at this year’s OCEAN race. However the point spread between the two just makes me think Woody all the way. John Anjos dropped a good 20 lbs, and it started to show as he began picking up 4th and 5th place points. He is just an old war horse who keeps going and going. The ladies division was an interesting battle. You have likes of Penny Catalano, Mary FitzGibbons, and Ann Bell. Penny can beat the socks off of the other two ladies in speed, but Ann Bell early on just kept piling up those 2nd, 3rd., and 4th place points. Penny kind of disappeared from the scene, as did Ann. Then “Along Comes Mary.” (Associations, early seventies). She caught the bug, and blew by Penny and Ann ending up with more race distance points, meaning more races, and volunteered at a number of races. So it is the Mary FitzGibbons the female Veteran Runner of the year. SENIOR: The male race came down to Carlos Barbeiro, New Bedford, Kevin Mullen, Fairhaven, and Carlos Pimental, Fall River. Either one of these three could have taken the crown. But in the end it was Carlos who piled up the wins in the division, and got the race distance points. So it is that Carlos Barbeiro is the Senior Runner of the Year. After Nancy Dorn, who is our Ladies Runner of the year, the senior ladies got very interesting. There was Cheryl Healy, Acushnet, Tina Marie Varzeas, Mattapoisett, and Kathy Lopes, Fairhaven. Cheryl missed the Century Club by two points. She volunteered, ran distances from a 5K to the end of the earth. Tina Marie is a pedigree. She battled a few injuries, gave Nancy Dorn fits, and could have used some bonus points. Kathy Lopes came on strong towards the end of the year. If I had to give her points for all of the work that she does for the local road racing scene, it would have been a no contest. But, rules are rules. So the Female Runner of the Year in the Senior Division is Cheryl Healy. MASTER: Tom Gelson, Marion, Joe Francisco, Acushnet, and Manny Francisco, Marion, are warriors. This is not your mother’s master division. This is a very tough division. Every possible means to gain points was used. They ran injured until they had to stop. They did doubles. Behind them were runners who if they got serious could sneak up and steal points. In their division there are runners who out flat won the whole race. When Manny races; Manny is a burr under Tom and Joe’s saddle. Joe can beat both of them out flat when healthy. The season took its toll as he limped across the Taunton Y finish line. He was still in the top ten in that race. But it is Tom in this year’s division. He caught the fever of this stuff to the point his wife had to give him medication. He had a flat tire in a bike race, and made it to the start line of the Canton 5K and damned near won the thing. He answered the bonus questions, provided help at races, and finished the NYC Marathon in 3:09. Tom Gelson is the Male Master of the Year. Here’s is all you have to know about the ladies division, if you are a student of running at all; JoAnn Matthews, Christine Anderson, and Maria Servin, and we are not even talking about Joanne Jack, Karen Caddell, or Ann Preisig. JoAnn trained with the sub master guys, and it showed. She was on a roll this year. This was a division that bonus points could have helped, but when you are fast, and just out flat winning races, it is hard to make up those ten points. Head and shoulders with 126 points, it is JoAnn Matthews as the female Runner of the Year in the Ladies Masters. SUB MASTER: If I have to tell you about this division, you need to find another sport. Jeff Reed, Eric Worsley, Sal Corrao, Joe Navas. Then, take a look at the other names in the standings. So we forget Jeff Reed, because he is the overall Male Runner of the Year. Joe Navas is a top notch runner, and had he run a few more of the races on the schedule things might be very different. I struggled here. I know both Eric and Sal. They certainly are Thirsty Elephants. Eric has a one point lead over Sal in the over all. Along with Jeff, JoAnne, and Keith Nadeau they are training partners. They did this sport right. They know the history, they know who runners are. They do not shy away from events with top runners in them, they enter and compete to see how they do against them. Then I get emails from them telling me the other one should be the runner of the year. But in the end I had to look at the whole body of work. Who sent in the pictures? Who send in information? Who had the best year? In the end I decided that it would be Sal Corrao. Sure I could have wimped out and made it a Co-Runner, but they would not have stood for that. I took a close look at Sal. I followed him all year. Through the snow of winter as he trained for Boston, and the progress he made as he used Boston to add the speed to score in his division. He led the overall and battled Nancy Dorn for over half the year. So now I can sleep at nights, because my male Runner of the Year in the Sub Masters Division, Sal Corrao. So now we come to the Ladies. Like I had enough grief with the guys, take a look at these names: Gretchen Parmentier, DiDi DesRoches, Jennifer Almeida, Jackie Francisco, Sheryl Briggs-Coye just to name a few. This division could have been a real nail bitter, but in the end it came down to a runner who just grinds it out and eventually wore down the whole pack. She balanced a career as a wife and mother, trained for a marathon by getting up at god awful times in the morning. Ran her first marathon in that nor’easter in Lowell, showed up at all of the races, sent in information, was very supportive of this web site, volunteered at races she ran in, and those she did not. She ended up 5th overall in the standing with 146 points. Gretchen Parmentier is this year’s female Runner of the Year in the Sub Master Division. A word about the other ladies; Didi, Jennifer, and Jackie have it. Do you know what it is? It is that thing that exists when you look at them running that says. “They are good!” Keep an eye on them as the season progresses next year. Look for them to improve their times. It will just be a matter of who is going to dedicate themselves to the sport more then they already have. What do they need in my mind? A coach; someone to mentor them to build a base, use speed work, and learn how to peek for races at all distances. Sheryl battled injury and health problems on and off all year, but when able she was at the races helping out. I’m making her the Volunteer of the Year OPEN: Keith Nadeau, Rod Borges, and Maciel Pais are the keepers of the keys to the sport as it progresses through the years. They are the most dedicated in a division that has to be the building blocks. Each of them is a unique person. Keith is one of the Thirsty Elephants that trained together. Of all of them he has the raw talent. Given the right coach he could dominate this sport for years to come. Rod has to be the most improved runner in southeastern Massachusetts. He does not have the talent of Keith, but he has the determination and heart of a warrior. Rod ended up with 96 points overall, and I struggled to see if we could get him into that century club. I decided against it, hoping that it would be another motivating block for him to improve. I’d like to see him, Keith and Maciel research the history of the sport. Do they know who Carlos Lopes is? What did he do, etc. Maciel is a little different. He has a vested interest in the sport as a whole. He understands the work that must be done to help keep the sport alive. He is venturing into becoming a race director. But it is Keith Nadeau as these years Male Open Runner of the Year. Julie Spolidoro, Stephanie Poyant, and Bethany Bertrand are the female face of our sport as it moves forward. One is just out flat fast. One has emerging talent, and one likes to run for as long and often as she can. Julie Spolidoro hands down is this years Female Runner of the Year in the Open division. She compiled 120 point and was 9th overall in the standings. She has national class talent; it will be interesting to watch as she continues her running career. Stephanie is part of the famous Poyant sisters. She also has the genes and talent to take this sport where she wants it to go. With Julie, and Bethany, and the other talent ladies in this division, the sport appears in good hands. HIGH SCHOOL: Jeremy Francisco moved on to become a top notch runner at UMass Dartmouth, Taylor Days-Merrill is building what appears to be a outstanding high school career, and Zack Sinkevich is part of the running Sinkevich’s of Fall River. This division is tough, because it is view only on summer races. Runners in this division are held back from the roads by their coaches. Jeremy dominated the road races that he entered. He placed amongst the top ten in all of them, if not the top five. Taylor Days-Merrill is a true high school runner. So this year in respect to Jeremy who is now in college, and given the fact that Taylor helps his Grandfather, Al Days, with the Fairhaven Road Race. I’m calling Taylor Days-Merrill our High School runner of the Year in the High School male division. The ladies division is similar to the men’s, but the road runner of the year plays another sport, and just likes to run with her Mom. Gabreille McCarthy from Acushnet is this years female Runner of the Year in the High School female division. She amassed 61 points, and all of those were from placing in a division. Her race distance points indicated that she was in at least 7 road races, and this was more then any high school runner, male or female. YOUTH: Austin Borges from Fairhaven is the Runner of the Year in the youth division. Like Gabreille, he ran in at least 4 races. When he did he won the division. He has talent, and we look forward to seeing his name surface as he eventually enters into high school. Sadly there were no young ladies to choose from in the youth division. |
