Savoy Mountain Trail Races, August 17, 2003
This Race is listed in our race calendar.

Wrong turns and muddy quagmires were not enough to dampen spirits at Savoy on Sunday.

Wes Lassen was the top Gloucester finisher, completing the 4.5 mile race in 31:25 to come in 5th overall and 1st in his age group. Despite a pre-race claim that he was “just going to take it easy”, Lassen went out fast and maintained a hard effort until the finish. Dave Geary was well on his way to a probable 7th-8th place finish and age group placing, but a wrong turn took him out of the official results. Shaun Sutliff was the overall 4.5 mile winner in 29:04.

In the 20 mile race, Brian Hamill, Jenn Lassen, and Steve Whittey were also taking wrong turns. Hamill was the top finisher from the 20-mile contingent, finishing 11th in 3:12.37. Lassen was 23rd (4th woman) in 3:27.49, followed closely by Rick Ciolino (25th, 3:27.57). Whittey finished 27th in 3:29.46. David Herr dominated, winning the race in 2:31.39. Ben Nephew finished 2nd in 2:35.22.

Highlights of the day included Lassen sinking up to her hip in mud, Ciolino narrowly avoiding underwater exploration in a particularly deep and slippery puddle, and post-race yodels graciously provided by Geary. (yes, the race-provided food was good, but there’s something about fake chocolate and partially-hydrogenated soybean oil after a long race that really hits the spot).

Despite the overall fun of the day, the navigational snafus, relative inexperience, and close finishes make one think that Team Gloucester’s full potential on this course may not have been realized; we will be sure to return in 2004 to see what we can do.

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