December 24, 1997| 23rd (or so) Christmas Eve 7.9M |
December 24, 1997Maybe, just maybe, this is the way it should be. A race with no entry fee, no entry forms and (gasp) no T-shirts. However, all runners and volunteers were treated to a free post-race buffet at O'Connor's Restaurant in Worcester and were eligible for random draw prizes of gift certificates to O'Connors - the best Irish restaurant in the central part of Massachusetts.
The history of the run extends back to the mid-70's when the Coggins and Sands families of the Burncoat Street area of Worcester began a family run when members would return home for the holidays. Those whose running "career" extends back into time for at least two decades may remember the course as being originally closer to ten miles in length, finishing at the former Slattery's Spa on Burncoat Street in Worcester.
Due to the lack of any kind of facilities at the old finish, Stu Thurston (yes, the Stu of Stu's 30K fame) got involved in 1988 and moved the finish line to its current location at O'Connor's.
Several of those who ran this year's race actually started at O'Connor's about an hour before the race, ran the course in reverse to the start of the Town Common in Sterling, and then ran back to O'Connor's. While the temperature was in the upper 30's and the skies clear for the 12 Noon start, the course was treacherous in parts thanks to the 14 inches of snow which were were deposited the day previous.
1 46:22 Rich Ovian 40-49M Worcester, MA CMS 2 46:58 Peter Blomquist 40-49M Worcester, MA CMS 3 47:34 Rich Craigen 30-39M Fitchburg, MA NMC 4 51:52 Peter Orni 50-59M Fitchburg, MA CMS/NMC 5 51:58 Jeff Gould 30-39M Westminster, MA CMS/NMC 6 52:34 Neal Leibowitz 20-29M Vernon, CT 7 53:09 Kevin Moroz 40-49M Southbridge, MA CMS 8 53:25 Deb Spencer 30-39F Fitchburg, MA NMC/CMS 9 55:56 Barbara McManus 20-29F Worcester, MA CMS 10 55:57 Joanne Lachapelle 40-49F Worcester, MA CMS 11 57:23 Ray Boutotte 50-59M Pepperell, MA CMS/NMC 12 57:46 Gavin Reardon 30-39M Shrewsbury, MA CMS 13 57:47 Ken Lemerise 40-49M Charlton, MA CMS 14 57:48 Bob Tanski 30-39M Worcester, MA CMS 15 57:57 Vin Ricciardi 40-49M Bolton, MA CMS 16 59:18 Kim Dooley 20-29F Irvine, CA Snail's Pace 17 59:23 Bill Ferrara 50-59M Milford, MA CMS 18 60:53 Jerry DeZutter 30-39M Worcester, MA CMS 19 61:09 Deb Fontaine 30-39F Leominster, MA NMC 20 61:10 Karma Tousignant 20-29F Fitchburg, MA NMC/CMS 21 61:11 Marc Pilon 30-39M Lunenburg, MA CMS/NMC 22 61:12 Mark Fontaine 40-49M Leominster, MA NMC 23 61:48 Dick Hunt 50-59M Auburn, MA CMS 24 61:59 Lisa Mentzer 20-29F Millbury, MA CMS 25 62:53 Diana Kershaw 20-29F W. Boylston, MA 26 62:59 Russell Carroll 30-39M Wayland, MA 27 64:16 David Colburn 30-39M Worcester, MA CMS 28 65:09 Linda Usher 40-49F Upton, MA CMS 29 65:56 Bill Haskell 40-49M Sterling, MA CMS 30 66:05 Patrick Carroll 40-49M Worcester, MA 31 66:06 Jerry Creen 40-49M Worcester, MA 32 67:48 Bruce Gobi 40-49M Charlton, MA 33 70:49 Diane Von Voorhis 50-59F Ashby, MA CMS 34 70:53 Sam Fitzwater 30-39F Oxford, MA CMS 35 70:55 Dolores Drewniak 50-59F Princeton, MA CMS 36 74:47 Sarah Leonard 20-29F Ashby, MA 37 79:37 Pam Rossetti 40-49F Worcester, MA CMS 38 79:48 Carol Goodrow 40-49F Fiskdale, MA CMS 39 80:48 Alice Eriksen 40-49F Shrewsbury, MA CMS 40 82:32 Megan Manktelow 30-39F Gardner, MA 41 87:55 Dale Ames 50-59M Worcester, MA CMS 42 88:00 Ed Sato 60-69M Worcester, MA CMS
Organized by Ric Buxton (Sterling) & Stu Thurston (Boylston). Timing & scoring: Don Drewniak (Princeton); Brenda Leibowitz (Vernon, CT); Jan McNamara (Princeton).
