It’s a pity, really, that the Grand Prix races aren’t held on Saturdays. Or perhaps it’s a blessing; if the last race of the Grand Prix had been held on Saturday the Graebers would still have people hanging around the house come Monday morning! With Michael Jackson on the big screen over the pool table, dancing and live music at the other end of the house, separated by a gauntlet of food and drink, there was no reason to leave … ever. There was even suggestion that we should just hold the Annual Banquet at the Graeber’s house next year after the last Grand Prix race. And much thanks to the Graebers and their helpers who made sure that our sweaty bodies were rejuvenated with sufficient liquid carbohydrates and grape derivatives!

  Even for those familiar with Pochet Neck and Nauset Heights,  this 4.5 mile jaunt is a daunting course [Google Earth flyover] with a challenging climb out of the National Seashore and up the gravel of Pochet Road at the 4 mile mark. Even Joe Navas misplaced 20 seconds from the beach to the finish tape. Leading off from the start, Joe took the individual finale victory in 23:36 tightly trailed by Tom Deeg who posted 23:56 after taking the long away around to the finish. In the women’s race, Katie McCully narrowly gapped teammate Robyn Argo by 5 seconds, 31:28 to 31:33. That 1-2 finish coupled with a strong kick to 4th position by Brandon Bausch over Happy Trails’ new recruit Brian Reske, clinched the Mixed Team division, without question or challenge, for the Nauset Warriors. The overall team win of the day went to Level 5 but even with a couple of last-minute race wins, it wasn’t enough to put down the Old Dogs who held on (with the help of Rick Copley) for the series win in the Men’s division and 2nd team in the overall division. The overall team honors in the series were taken by Happy Trails who reported in with 16 team members, scoring 12 of the top 20 finishers in the finale race! That’s the way to lockout a finishing chute! Sporting chic race kit after the race, Wicked Old Warriors is amped for next year’s series while Happy Trails surreptitiously displayed their new T-shirt design to any passers-by who happened to stand still long enough.

   In the overall series point standings, congratulations are due to Nauset High School runners Brandon Bausch and Robyn Argo who scored convincing wins with 4484 and 3564 points respectively. Without snow days, Brandon would have been easily into the 5000 point range, a score rarely seen in the CCAC Grand Prix.

  Many thanks to all of our hosts, timers, runners and walkers for the 2009-2010 Winter Grand Prix and we’ll see you all again in 11 months!

[Overall Results] [Team Results]
[Photos] [Series Standings]
[Scoreboard] [Men’s Rankings] [Women’s Rankings]