Fox 25 news on the scene in Foxboro yesterday for the Old Fashioned races. With cameras rolling, they still couldn’t give people the obvious: race results. WTF, Fox? They were there to cover the charity angle of the race so that was the focus of the segment. But why must they overlook the fact that it was a race and not a fundraising parade? When it comes to the subject of racing, isn’t the most obvious question ‘who won‘? It’s almost as if they think that their viewers would rather not hear about the competitive angle of it.
It’s a little sad that they would be on the scene and not pay any attention to the race itself. I guess that’s where we come into play. If the mainstream media reported on local races then there wouldn’t be a need for us. So we’ll pick up their slack.
The race is called the Old Fashioned Ten Miler and Flat 5K. But, in the results there is only a ~5 miler and a 5k. After doing a little investigation, the course was altered due to Saturday’s snowstorm. No, an old fashioned 10 mile race isn’t actually only 5 miles, although people did seem to run faster in the good ole days. You really have to feel for the race directors on this one as this is the second year in a row that the race has been severely impacted by a winter storm. This classic New England race deserves better luck than that.
In the 5 mile race, it was the Moultons sweeping the top spots. Pat and his wife Katie both won. Pat ran a 27:59 and Katie ran a 31:43, both winning easily. Katie actually finished 6th overall, too. That is one fast couple. There were over 400 people in the race too, so it wasn’t exactly a small field.
In the 5k race, David Seybert ran an 18:28 and effectively ran away with the race. Elizabeth Edwards was the women’s winner and she impressively came in 4th overall. That was also a decent sized field (170+ runners).
Maybe if the Moulton’s were wearing cupid underwear they would’ve earned the right to be on the Fox broadcast. I guess that’s what it takes these days for a running event to get any attention.
Maybe we’ll start an all naked road racing grand prix soon. That’ll really put running in the spotlight.
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Due to conditions related to the storm on Saturday night, the race was pushed back from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Upon arrival at registration, it was announced that the 10 miler would be modified to be a “short 10k”, the course being 2 loops of the 5k course (although not 2 complete loops). The actual distance seems to be closer to 5.2 miles (even though the results list it as a 5 miler). The 5k remained unscathed. A tough decision for race organizers, and while not a perfect solution, in the end it was probably the best solution available.
Yes, certainly a tough situation for the race directors. I couldn’t imagine having to deal with the all headaches of having to deal with the unpredictability of the winter weather on top of all of the other race day duties.
Race was a disaster. Race director emailed at 5:30 AM that the course was clear but slick so they would push it back 2 hours. I arrived at the course an hour and a half early and drove it. The course was mostly packed snow and not clear at all (what does Foxboro use all their Patriots money for anyway?) . When we finally got to the registration we found out that they had cancelled the 10 miler and changed it to two laps of the 5k course. They had not sent out any updates after the one at 5:30 AM explaining the change. They have still not offered an explanation. To make matters worse they had a “snow” date listed for next Sunday. It seems like it would have been appropriate to use the “snow” date if they had to cancel the ten miler. The fleece blanket they gave out was pretty soft.
The explanation should have been as evident as the snow on the ground. Great job by the race director’s. Maybe next year if it’s perfect conditions they can make it a 20 miler at the last minute. Every run is a good run!
Directors of winter races have tough calls to make. Sunday was another case for the RD of the OFTM. Often the RD’s hands are tied as local officials dictate how the race will be run due to the use of public roads. Sometimes those decisions don’t occur to the 11th hour. Here’s to hoping that next year the weather will be unseasonably warm and sunny the day before and the day of the race!
I don’t know if it’s hit Foxboro yet, but there is also a salt shortage-we had plowing but no salt, which results in roads that are passable for cars but not runners.
I know the weather makes February road races tough but communication is so easy these days. It takes a minute to send out an email and 30 seconds to post a Facebook update. The last communication we had from the RD came at 5:30 AM and told us the roads had been cleared and that the race would be moved to 1 PM.
Also, why was the advertised snow date not used?