(Newburyport MA) Sometimes it’s your parents who set the boundaries: “Leave your sister alone!”
For runners the boundary-setter comes from their bodies.
Eric Ashe finished second to Ruben Sanca in the 63rd annual Yankee Homecoming 10-mile road race.
“My legs didn’t have it today, I knew right off the bat,” said Eric afterwards.
“I took a couple of easy days after working hard training thinking it would be enough (for this race) but it wasn’t,” he added.
It was hard to tell that anything was wrong with Eric’s legs in the early going.
Eric and Ruben Sanca were flying together at the first-mile marker seeming destined for a close, fast matchup.
But that togetherness ended over the next two miles.
“I wasn’t aware of what kind of pace we were running at,” recalled Ruben after winning the race for the fourth time. “I was just trying to stay relaxed and maintain my effort.”
Ruben said that he thought that he gained separation from Eric “on the other side of Hanover Street.”
“Ruben pulled away in Miles 3-5 and put a big gap on me,” said Eric. “After that I was trying to not give up.”
Ruben came in at 51:48 while Eric settled for 53:24.
Jackie Solimine-Fazioli was pleased with her win: “I’ve come in second and third. It was nice to get a win.”
Like Ruben, Jackie’s competition didn’t last too long.
I was surprised when Jackie told me the specifics of how her breaking away from her nearest competitor happened.
“There was another woman nearby for a mile or two,” said Jackie. “We were chatting, and I looked at my watch and said that ‘I should probably pick it up.’”
And pick it up she did.
You know that conversations go on among the casual runners. Who knew that the top runners do it too during a race!
Jackie (1:00:19) won the race and Beth Dollas (1:04) finished second.
“I was trying to break an hour,” said Jackie. “Maybe next time.”
Maybe if Jackie could cut down her chatting time…….?
Beautiful weather, close to seventy degrees.
Over 600 runners finished the 10-mile race. There were 114 runners from Newburyport who completed the course.
The course was changed a bit this year because going over Route 95 and blocking the exits and entrances to the highway were no longer allowed. The major adjustment to compensate was continuing down High Street/High Road to Rolfe’s Landing instead of Federal Street before taking the left toward the Merrimack River.
“The crowd was great and there was plenty of support,” said Jackie.
McClelland Miscellanea 