Eastern New England Trail Race Series

My sincerest apologies to anyone who may have been exposed to the obscene forum topics that were displayed on this website. There are inherent risks with an open forum that anyone with any intent can post what they like. In the past the postings have been commercial solicitations and they were removed. These particular postings have made me aware that I need to monitor the site more closely if not daily. The purpose of the site is for an exchange of information and a resource for what we have in common, namely trail running. Again my deepest apology for any offense anyone may have taken.

Now that the snow and ice has started to recede from the trails what it is revealing is just how severe the December 11th ice storm in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire really was. If you live in these areas or have had the opportunity to drive through you will see tops of trees snapped off, piles of brush and branches like oversized bird nests along the side of the road, as well as once healthy trees uprooted. For the trail runner and in particular the trail race director the challenge now is to make once passable trails clear and safe for our trail races. In Fitchburg where our club, The North Medford Club, holds its 7Mile Overlook Trail Race the trails that run through Audubon, North County Land Trust, and city property are clogged with limbs and tree trunks. Trails that were visible are now almost impossible to follow or navigate. My first run through some of these trails was very discouraging and was thinking the May 3rd race would have to be postponed. Fortunately, runners and local citizens value this resource enough to have taken the initiative to begin clearing trails on their own. Land Trust managers have orgainzed a clearing party and the Audubon has dedicated two days a week to clearing with chainsaws. Smaller groups have gotten together to work stretches of the course. I am much more optimistic that all will be ready for the day of the race. Every trail race presents its own unique challenge and this one will at the very least allow runners to see just what kind of damage ice can cause. I assume other races have had their own clean up needs. If you are a runner in these areas consider contacting your race director and donate a couple of hours to help clean up. I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated.

After a short breather the series will begin posting dates for the upcoming trail race series. Already there are dates for the Middlesex Fells Trail Race scheduled for March 28th and The DAM Trail Race scheduled for August 8th. As applications become available we will post them on the link to applications.

Some of the added links this year will include links to running clubs and sponsors of individual races and supporters of the trail race series. It is not our intention to turn this site into a commercial vehicle. We hope to encourage sponsorship so that races will be able to maximize the use of entry fees that are directed to charitable causes. The series hopes to increase the number of awards given at the end of the series.

With over 2,200 runners and walkers participating in the past series and over 7,000 visits to the series website we recognize that there is great enthusiasm for trail running. With this enthusiasm there is certainly individuals with thoughts and suggestions on how to improve the series and site. If you have an idea or suggestion you can log it onto the site or contact me by email, rainman52@verizon.net.

Happy Trails to all.

The following runners are the series age group winners. Congratulations to all. Although they are recognized for their participation and success in the series each and everyone of the 2,200 runners should be congratulated as well. Their participation confirms what we as trail runners have always believed, that the sport of off-road running and racing is alive and flourishing in eastern New England.

If you see your name on the list below please contact me at rainman52@verizon.net. We are attempting to compile addresses of the winners so that they may receive a year's subscription to Trail Runner Magazine. A modest prize of recognition but a worthy source of information and interest in the sport we participate in.

Recogition should also be noted that there is a husband and wife winner in the female 30-39 age group and the male 40-49 age group. Congratulations to Emily Trespas and Paul Young. Through my correspondence with them you could not find a more enthusiastic couple who participated in many of the series races.

The series plans on returning for another year in 2009. In an effort to improve the series we are encouraging any and all suggestions. You may contact me directly by email or post a comment on the series blog.

Once again, congratulations to all and many thanks to all who made this year's series both possible and a success.

0-19
Kathyn Fetterol
Peggy Lai
Kylie Regan

20-29
Caitlyn Clark
Laura Rudd
Rachael Boudreau

30-39
Emily Trespas
Michele Roy
Brie Berry

40-49
Kris Gleason
Patty Kearnan
Karen Ringheiser

50-59
Sherisa Sterling
Diane Levesque
Karen Oleski

60-69
Dolores McKeogh
Penny Catalano
Elizabeth Riordan

70+
Mary Harada
Nancy Stutzman
Maud Chaplin

0-19
Elijah Bucher
Max LaChance
Ross Mungeam

20-29
John Kinnee
Paul Lahham
Mark Henry

30-39
Dave Hannon
Kevin Zelechooski
Charles Peabody

40-49
Paul Young
Robert Smith
Thomas Parker

50-59
Mark Fontaine
Bob Sharkey
Paul Funch

60-69
Marshall Randolph
Hap Farber
Philip Dunn

70+
Richard Busa
Robert Randell
Dan Coffey

Whew! The standings are final in the sense they are posted for all participants to look over. We would appreciate if you notice any omissions or errors. We will hold off then finalizing the standings until the end of the year and then post the results the first week of January. Many thanks go out to George Corff who had the unenviable job of compiling the results and standings. There were over 2,200 participants in the twenty-three races that were on the schedule.

Once again, thanks to all who participated and especially to the individual race directors who made this all possible.