spin / second sole multisport team

SSSMST had a huge showing at St. Malachi this year for the annual five mile race.   Marty, Aaron, Jen, Scott, Patrick, Brian K, Jim, Leah, Bruce, John, Nacho, Katie, Joe all ran the race and Tim volunteered.  Andy cheered everyone on, probably while enjoying a hot cup of coffee.  (Brandy, Anna and Susan get a pass for being outside the CLE!)

The course was changed a bit this year, but it doesn’t seem to have dampered the fun at all!  (You can even see the typical Cleveland gray sky as the backdrop to the event.)  Although not everyone chooses to provide a race report (ahem), we had some good stories.  I’ll just leave a few for your reading enjoyment.

Marty:

St Malachi had a new course for 2011. It really highlighted the city very well. A chilly wind made the turnaround at the Rock Hall, ah, labored. The climb from Brown’s Stadium to the top of the Detroit-Superior Bridge really was a character builder. Dodging the 2-mile “”walkers”” on the way to the finish reminded me of running through an airport trying to make a flight.

Jen:

What a fun day! I was happy to have run a similar time to what I did in 2009 when I was running well which helped confirm, as the Mill Creek Class half marathon last weekend also did, that my running fitness is back 🙂 It was great to get in a solid run as the sun came out for once over Cleveland. The team had a fantastic showing out there on the course that led to the even more fun part of hanging out with everyone afterwards!

Scott:

Coming into the race I had little expectations. I had been painting my condo for three days and the legs and body were a little tired. After my warmup, I decided just to run hard and see what happened. We were at the starting line and I did a run out. When I turned to walk back up the hill, you could see the green and blue of the team uniforms in the crowd. It was a very cool sight. I think this is the most team members I have seen at a race. Others noticed too! Well race went way better than I thought. I guess when you have no expectations you relax more and run better. I ran stronger and faster than I thought I would. Was a great event with the team running and cheering.

Aaron:

Aaron is dressed just as Patrick described.

Malachi could be the most fun race of the year.

Patrick:

I was expecting to see a lot of blue & green at this race, but when I saw a man named Murphy wearing a kilt…i knew St Pattys Day is nearing!
Weather was decent, great crowd, the new course was ok, somehow they added in a few more hills & wind.  This time of year is always fun to race in, Bruce was dressed for 2 degree weather & Rood was dressed for 92 degree weather.  I was’t sure what to expect going in to this race, I’ve been working on base work for IMLP, so I kept expectations low.  After Jim blew past me at a mile or so in, I settled into a rhythm & had a decent race.  Weaving thru the 2 milers to the finish was fun.  Beverages at McCarthys made for a nice way to wrap up the morning. Cheers.

Bruce:

Always a fun race at Malachi, once it’s over.  The new course was pretty good, aside from a little confusion where my group ran down the wrong street and had to turn back to rejoin the race. I little more scenic than the previous course, and a nice downhill finish.  I will take Marty’s advice in the future and review the course prior to races.

Brian K:

First race of the year…It felt great to get outdoors!  First half of the race felt good and fast; I was later to find out that I was running with the wind and mostly downhill.  The second half was a bit more challenging!  It was great to see a lot of teammates and friends out on the course and in the crowd!  Jen looked like she was clearly kicking some serious tail and it was nice to see Jim out racing again, setting the bar high as usual!  Welcome back!  Great showing by everyone overall!

Leah:

Lots of firsts…..
First race off 2011
First race I have not “raced”

Mark:

The course was new and a bit hillier than usual.  Jen P. has been training (because she beat me ; D) and I look better in a kilt than I thought I would or at least that’s what I am telling myself.  Overall, a fun event with great team turnout, Andy was there cheering us on.  And, did I mention Nacho got beat by some dude wearing a skirt?

Filed under: 2011 |