CCAC Grand Prix #7 - Cedar Hill Finale (less CH)

Measuring the Marigolds

Well, here we are; at the last race of another exceptional Grand Prix season.  After the past two years, it almost seems pointless to call them "Winter" Grand Prix races.  Perhaps we might amend the name to "Rainy Season" or "Possibly Soggy" or "33º+ Above Zero" or maybe "Sans Ice" Grand Prix?

Be that as it may, it was time for the finale ... actually, the day before ... and since I'd done such a good job measuring the roots of Nickerson (or maybe just because I happened to have a mountain bike with a working odometer on it), Tom Keith enlisted my assistance in measuring and marking the final course.  The course was a corker with twists and turns and hair-raising crossings of 6A and sections of dirt road on Cedar Hill and a fantastic traverse over the remains of a road through the Quivet Neck marsh where the brush and trees arched over your head.  After only falling over once (sometimes clipless pedals are an evil thing), we were satisfied with the course length and layout.  But just in case, we decided to measure another 5K loop should the weather disappoint.  Surely enough, the snow began to fall that afternoon and continued through the early night.  By morning there was about an inch or so of fresh snow but the warm temperatures were melting it off quickly.  Could we use the Cedar Hill course?  Cedar Hill was still unplowed and had turned into a sheet of ice so Tom quickly marked up the alternate course; a tour of Quivet Neck out around by Dennis Harbor and back twice - a mostly flat course with 1 challenging hill and a nice downhill 1/2 mile to the finish.

The usual crew of misfits led the pace off the start and through the first lap, Geof Newton led Mike Herlihy by a few seconds followed by Rich Gori, Mike Sellars, Danny Baker, and Michael Parker.  This was a day to see how much you had left after running a race a weekend for the past 8 weeks, to see how many more points you could cram in to take a last desperate stab at that next slot in the rankings, to see if you could run the second lap faster than the first, to see how quickly you could make the food disappear from the tables afterwards, to see if you really could finish all that beer.  This was not a day for PR's 'though as the icy, wet roads made traction and cornering challenging for most.  Led in by Geof in a time of 17:18, the first seven finishers all claimed first in their respective age groups followed by 2nd and 3rd place finishers in the 50-54 division, Gene Cormier and Tom Nally.  The women were led by Kathleen Thomas in 22:51, Judy Stacy-Johnson, and Janet Jordan who all claimed firsts in their divisions followed by Dot Moran, Pat Nally, and Joanne Corsano who all took the second slots.  John Martin finally managed to join us for a run and finished in a respectable 26:29 which isn't bad for a guy without any knees, a back, or any other joints left to speak of.  Stay away from biking - it's bad for you!  On this bright and sunny morning, we were also joined by Nicole Hubler who dad had to outkick by 4 seconds at the finish (but that's ok ... they're in different age groups), Rosie Austin, Laura Hayden, and John Newton who looked almost as bad as John Martin felt.  After the race, the food was consumed rapidly, the TV was rapidly tuned to the football game (do the Patriots really stand a chance?), and Joe Weinberger won what was most certainly a fixed raffle for a massage.

So did anything change in the points standings?  Not really.  In most cases, points won or lost here merely served to solidify the standings from the prior weeks.  So since the Grand Prix standings are iced, we'll have to make do with giving out some awards of our own: presenting the 2001-2002 Grand Prix Webbies!

The Grand Prix series continues every weekend (except 6 January) until the end of January at various locations across the Cape. Cost is $5 for club members and $10 for non-members. All are invited to attend but only club members are eligible for points and awards to be presented at the annual club banquet in February. For more information, visit the CCAC at http://www.capecodathleticclub.org/.