Luckily for all those running, Khoury’s wasn’t quite the ‘Steamuh’ it’s been in the past and consequently there was no meltdown in the standings. By placing second overall, CSU wunderkind Terry McNatt added a single point to his lead while HFC’s Lee Danforth passed John Noland and Mark Reeder starting on Franklin St. to place third overall and 8-points back of the defending and reigning Pub Series champ.
While we welcome Noland back after a one-race hiatus with an ankle injury, we will all be wearing black armbands in Haverhill for the Bobby Bell 5-Miler. http://www.coolrunning.com/major/08/bbell/ Three-time Pub Series champion Paul Hammond – who up until this year had missed only two Pub Series races in 10 years – has been felled by injury and fallen victim to the “miss two and your through” clause in everyone’s Publican contract.
The legend vacates the leaderboard with 32 overall points and 4 masters points.
For his efforts, Noland only picked up one overall position but moved into second among Masters, a division in which both Chris Spinney and Khoury’s Tri-Race Director Jim Sullivan both hit rough patches at the Steamuh. We know Duke Hutchinson is tired of seeing Iron Joe Drugan’s backside (and because Vet’s division leader Gordon McFarland is so far ahead that’s all there is). After trailing the Hopedale HS coach by 37 seconds at Polletta, the Dukester narrowed that margin to 9-seconds at Khoury’s.
Although warm and fairly humid, race day was a far cry from the 90-degree, blazing humidity of an earlier Pub Series’ rendition in which Saucony’s Chris Teague and Eric “The Keg” Beauchesne hammered each other for 4.13 merciless miles.
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Still, the post-race Summer brew seemed just as quenching and in Steamuh tradition, runner’s still dripped-dry long after crossing the finish line.
So it’s on to Haverhill and the 22nd Bobby Bell 5M on Oct. 12 where it’s do-or-die over a course with enough character to make a difference for those having good days and, conversely, for those not having such good days. Enjoy the summer!
Open Men (Top 50 Score)
1. Terry McNatt 188
2. Lee Danforth 180
3. Michael McGrane 170
4. Derek Dorval 161
5. Chris Smith 147
6. Chris Spinney 145
7. John Noland 134
8. Jim Sullivan 117
9. Jimmy Fallon 111
10. Gordon McFarland 103
10. Dave Wessman 103
10. John Tolbert 103
13. Paul Corcoran 77
14. Chris Crema 59
15. Nikhil Jain 49
16. Frank Hope 41
17. John Winters 23
18. Iron Joe Drugan 22
19. Duke Hutchinson 14
20. Jim McLaughlin 7
20. Mit Gnivri 7
22. Ben Nosek 3
23. Dave Pember 2
Masters (Top 10 Score)
1. Terry McNatt 38
2. John Noland 23
3. Chris Spinney 21
3. Chris Smith 21
5. Jimmy Fallon 16
6. Jim Sullivan 8
6. John Tolbert 8
Seniors (Top 8 Score)
1. Dave Wessman 27
2. Paul Corcoran 18
3. John Winters 8
4. Jim McLaughlin 4
5. Tom Foltz 2
Veterans (Top 6 Score)
1. Gordon MacFarland 23
2. Iron Joe Drugan 17
3. Duke Hutchinson 13
4. Dave Pember 9
5. Charlie Farrington 3
5. Joe Brown 3
Super Vets 70+ (Top 4 Score)
1. Bob Hillman 6
2. Tom Wright 4