Summer “Ends” With a Classic

by EJN August 29, 2015 Comments (0) Articles, Racing Like

The runners gathered in Bare Cove Park in Hingham, MA on a beautiful Friday evening for what was called the End of Summer Classic. If it was truly the end of summer then it was a heck of a way to go out.

It was easy to spot the contenders on the starting line, and those assumptions were proved correct shortly after the gun went off.

And they're off at the @Marathon_Sports #EndofSummerClassic! @elliptigo pic.twitter.com/2uBiwF9riz

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

For the men, it was down to Jonathan Joyce (WMDP) and Jordan Donnelly (Puma). The two of them had faced off at the Falmouth Road Race earlier in the month, but on that day it was Donnelly and his 38:03 who had finished up amidst the Western WMDP Wolf Pack (right in between Jason Ayr and Kevin Quadrozzi) while Joyce was further back in 39:48.

When the runners came into view again, it was Joyce who had control of the race:

Just after 14:00, , 2.6ish in. @WMDistProject @jordanddonnelly pic.twitter.com/SnaTguWKJf

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

Joyce had won last year’s edition in 26:36 and it was clear that winner was going to have to run faster than this time around. Jon was running in the 5:10 range had a little gap on Donnelly, who was looking to run a controlled effort more than an all-out race.

Shortly after the lead men came through, the top women made an appearance. Here was Biliana Mihaylova (CMS):

Lead woman, 16:xx at 2.6ish. #EndofSummerClassic pic.twitter.com/VRJEU8hsAe

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

Next in was Jose van der Veen (GBTC). Same as with the men, the gap here wasn’t large and at this point the race was just over halfway through so anything could happen in the last 2+ miles.

And it's @joseagneta in 2nd! #EndofSummerClassic #ForeverFaster pic.twitter.com/zTx8C0G3t1

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

Joyce ended up holding onto his lead and crossed the line in 25:50.

Joyce @WMDistProject in 25:51! #EndofSummerClassic pic.twitter.com/21teYY1NL1

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

Donnelly came through next in 26:36:

It's @jordanddonnelly #fluglife'n his way through in 26:36 for 2nd. #EndofSummerClassic #ForeverFaster pic.twitter.com/DOHmda1roj

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

Ladies ended up holding their positions as well. Here’s Biliana Mihaylova winning in 31:24:

Biliana Mihaylova wins in 31:24! #EndofSummerClassic pic.twitter.com/lfNRzLgcZv

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

Jose van der Veen next in 32:56:

And @joseagneta gets 2nd woman in 32:58! #EndofSummerClassic pic.twitter.com/M8JUcuYAqt

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 28, 2015

Didn’t have time for proper post race interviews as we had to scramble to get back to the boat (which we missed), but we did get this with the winners:

Jon Joyce & Biliana Mihaylova make it rain @Marathon_Sports gift cards at the #EndofSummerClassic: pic.twitter.com/oquZUmUQTF

— Level Renner (@levelrenner) August 29, 2015

That’s arguably even better than an interview.

This is a very well run event, with great amenities, a nice course and an all-around great race day atmosphere. Even the post-race reception was held at a country club. It was beautiful. If you do make the trek, might we suggest taking the boat from Boston Harbor?