Celtic Solstice

The tradition continues...

Dave Berdan won his 3rd straight (I think that's right) CS 5 miler on Saturday, narrowly outpacing Kyle. The two were running together pretty well when I saw them, and Dave took the win by about 10 seconds (25:08 to 25:18). Collin Anderson had an amazing race, showing that 100+ mile weeks give you a huge aerobic advantage. He placed 10th in 27:55. Justin and Mike were not too far behind, which was awesome for Justin (first race in 6 months) and Mike (first real competitive race in a while). Tomboy Stott, with what might be close to a PR, if not it's definitely the fastest 5M in a while - 28:46.

Mellow Mike must have had a chip malfunction, because he didn't have a time, but I saw him right behind me so I know he finished! It was also great to see our boys Rodney Taylor, MD, and Tom Stewart, who I haven't seen in quite some time.

On the women's side, Dr. J raced to a great finish, outkicking our girl Pam, 31:53 to 31:58 for 4th and 5th place, respectively. Next up were Kristen Till, Christine Trzcinski and Shari Gorga, all running great times for the end of the season. Then came our girls - Sara Spears and Eve Sweeney. Sara ran an unbelievable 42:28, and Evie ran a stellar 45:05.

So great job everyone, way to end the season on a high note. It's a weird little event because while it's the end of 2008, it's really the beginning of the new season. Everyone's taken their "time off" and is back training again, and it's a good chance to stretch out the legs. Also, a lot of thanks to all the volunteers that showed up to brave the cold - Kip, Jen, Claire, Zero, PB, Ben, Denise, Lee, etc, if I missed any names.

And with that, our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week award goes to the same person who earned the first award - a 28:46 is an amazing time and I'm really glad to see him have such a great year - Tom Stott!