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Home & Current News   Old News (pre 2008)

Wanderers Hit the Beach

Event name:

Reach the Beach

Date:

October 3, 2001

Location:

New Hampshire

Distance:

200 miles

Visit the Reach the Beach Photo Gallery here.


The Wanderers knew that the Reach the Beach Relay was going to be tough. 200 miles of rolling New Hampshire hills to be run in the early autumn chill and gathering darkness. Race captain Tad Sperry very craftily reached out as far as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Syracuse, N.Y., and grafted on some local New Hampshire talent to mould a team which could handle these demanding conditions. Although he decided to sacrifice some speed, he wanted a team which was experienced enough not to crack during the race. The strategy worked beautifully.

The Wanderers finished an incredible 51st out of 98 teams in a time of 28 hours, 10 minutes and 47 seconds. Heroes abounded in the race for the Wanderers. Leading the charge was Bob Zock who for a few brief heady moments placed the Wanderers in the lead when he won the opening leg which was a grueling climb up the Bretton Woods ski mountain. Susan Branson, who is quietly becoming a backbone of the Wanderers team, quickly settled down to a steady Wanderers pace in the second leg.

Scott Quitel, as usual, drew the longest legs along with Tad Sperry, and as usual was up to the task. Ruth Yanai blistered three fast legs for the Wanderers and turned into the team's good will ambassador as well talking and making friends with many other runners en route. All the preparation on hand-offs paid off for Richard Gardner who produced a number of exceptionally smooth baton exchanges during the race as well. By the way, he produced 19 quality miles on the road as well.

Michelle Tulino was a revelation for the Wanderers. Her excellent form and speed sent onlookers scurrying to their programs to check if she was indeed a Wanderer.

Wayne Hamilton converted his unique running style into three fast runs including an epic performance on the grueling and hilly 9th leg.

Nick Sullivan shook off 20 years of cobwebs to produce three excellent runs. Hometown favorite Peg Gaillard came up big in her debut competitive performance and was immediately signed to a long-term Wanderers contract.

All the hard work by the Wanderers came down to Duncan MacGuigan running the anchor legs for the team. He did not let the Wanderers down with three gritty runs including his 7.1 mile ramble through the early, early morning darkness on leg 24.

The Wanderers hung tough during the race battling vaunted teams such as Toe Jam and Two-One-Two for leg after leg before finally succumbing in the final stages of the race. With the team's strong policy against slackers, it was a disappointment for the Wanderers to finish one place behind the Granite State Slackers. Nonetheless, the Wanderers finished well ahead of their arch rivals, the Bull Moose team.

Despite the excellent performance, the reaction of Wanderer followers was less than overwhelming. When informed of the 51st place finish, instead of offering congratulations, the universal response from Wanderer supporters was, "Out of how many?"

"I guess you learn to live with this lack of respect when you become a Wissahickon Wanderer," said team manager Dan Gordon.

Although finishing 51st, the team was listed as 66th without the handicap of the staggered start. "Still very respectable," commented race captain Sperry.

For full results, check the Reach the Beach web page at www.rtbrelay.com.

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© Copyright 2001-2008
wissahickon wanderers
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