Week in Review- March 19th

This past week was full of racing opportunities. The big "team" event was the Ras na hEireann U.S.A. 5Km....affectionately known as the "Ras". The "Ras", a big St. Paddy's weekend race, is part of the tent series, and BTTers were out in force to race and volunteer. The racers were led by Lauren O'Cullings on the women's side and Jay O'Higginbottom on the men's side. Steve Sian, Brett Johnson and Sasha Dass all put in solid performances. Lauren actually placed 4th in the ever competitive W30-35 divison. She gives us the take on her day:

We couldn't have had a better day for the 7th Annual Ras na hEireann U.S.A. 5Km. The 4000+ runners and walkers were all abuzz with St. Patty's cheer many dressed head to toe in green and with the sunny and 50 degree weather we couldn't have asked for a more perfect setting for a race.Personally, I had a great race. I had a 5K PR and much to my surprise came in 2nd in my age group missing #1 by 1 second. Really?? ONE second!?!?!? But, the highlight of the race was when I was pushing for the green, white and orange balloon arch and Higginbottom blew by my @ss with a "keep it up Cullings!" and left me in his dust. Hey, at least he didn't smack me in the butt on his way by . . .Thanks to all of the volunteers and congrats to all of the BTTers who ran!! It was great to see everyone out there!

On the volunteer's were really out in force. However, based on the picture, when someone told Brady the Ras was held in the 'Ville....he must have thought it was Waterville!

New member, Mike Williams, tells us about his day:

The Irish and Irish wannabes came out strong for the Ras 5K. Having been to Southie festivities a couple years ago, I was impressed to see such a green showing north of the Charles. The runners, spectators and volunteers enjoyed beautiful weather -- 50s and sunny. I arrived just before the race start and joined the BTT volunteer effort in the post-finish line chute. We had a large group of BTT-clad volunteers passing out medals, claiming timing chips, and packing up barricades. Several BTTers crossed the line and immediately jumped into volunteer mode -- making me feel a little lazy in my jeans and dry sweatshirt. Grace and Dave ran a smooth operation. The only problem was a shortage of medals for the slower finishers. This was disappointing for a couple reasons: 1) it was a cool medal, doubling as a bottle opener; and 2) those folks seemed to seek the "finish" recognition perhaps more than the earlier ones. All in all, a great day.

The Ras, however, was not the only race in town. Our favorite Prez, Meredith, snuck over to Southie to do the Boys and Girls Club 5k (there's no truth to the rumors she was "cherry picking"!). And, we had several people head down to New Bedford for the half marathon, which, as usual, had a stacked field. Nicole Richer smoked the course in a blazing 1:29 and change. If she keeps this up...having a kid could soon be considered a performance enhancer! BPQ, Michele, and Letia all ventured down to the whaling town. Chris Lawton, however, led all BTTers with a solid 1:28.

Great job to everyone who raced!

In other news....our own, Doreen "Dori" Miller, was honored over the weekend.

The English Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation held its annual awards dinner this week to honor the following individuals: The Eurotunnel Award for the fastest CS&PF English Channel Swim of 2008: Doreen Miller (USA) from her England-to-France 10 hour 17 minute crossing.

You can read more about the awards HERE.

This weekend is the New England Multisport Conference at MIT. Let's see some BTT colors there!