                                       38TH RON HEBERT ROAD RACE
                                                8 MILES
                                              Florence, MA
                                        Sunday, April 2nd, 2006

    Place            Name             Category  Cat/Tot   Ag        Locality         Time    Pace
    =====  =========================  ========  ========  ==  ====================  =======  =====
        1  Rob Landry                 M1939         1/13  37  Ludlow                  47:22   5:56
        2  Todd Walker                M1939         2/13  39  Amherst                 47:57   6:00
        3  Sam Kurtis                 M0118         1/01  18  Florence                48:48   6:06
        4  Jay Kolodzinski            M1939         3/13  26  Florence                49:28   6:11
        5  Ross Krause                M1939         4/13  26  Florence                49:41   6:13
        6  Rodney Furiz               M4049         1/14  42  Florence                49:45   6:14
        7  Paul Bazanchuk             M5059         1/18  51  Amherst                 51:42   6:28
        8  William Rowe               M4049         2/14  44  Longmeadow              51:58   6:30
        9  Richard Clark              M5059         2/18  52  Feedinghills            52:06   6:31
       10  Sheila Osgood              F1939         1/13  24  Granby                  52:35   6:35
       11  Elvin Torres               M4049         3/14  42  Holyoke                 53:10   6:39
       12  Ben Thompson               M5059         3/18  50  Williamsburg            53:31   6:42
       13  Suzy West                  F4049         1/10  42  Putney                  54:36   6:50
       14  Bill Durkee                M4049         4/14  44  Florence                54:47   6:51
       15  Sue Dean                   F4049         2/10  44  Leeds                   54:56   6:52
       16  Ed Buckley                 M4049         5/14  48  Southampton             55:27   6:56
       17  Vincente Rojas             M5059         4/18  52  Holyoke                 56:15   7:02
       18  Paul Vinci                 M5059         5/18  54  Ludlow                  56:31   7:04
       19  Rogina Modestow            F4049         3/10  45  Hampden                 56:59   7:08
       20  Andrew Foster              M1939         5/13  37  Easthampton             57:10   7:09
       21  Jim Plaza                  M5059         6/18  53  Shutesbury              57:26   7:11
       22  Eric Brown                 M1939         6/13  27  Huntington              58:10   7:17
       23  Charles Vanasse            M4049         6/14  44  Feedinghills            58:20   7:18
       24  David Kaynor               M5059         7/18  57  Montague                58:32   7:19
       25  James Farrick              M4049         7/14  42  Northampton             59:03   7:23
       26  Wally Lempart              M6099         1/07  60  Florence                59:08   7:24
       27  Tavis Whalen               M4049         8/14  40  Easthampton           1:00:33   7:35
       28  Ben Bensen                 M5059         8/18  54  Deerfield             1:01:19   7:40
       29  Tom Davidson               M1939         7/13  35  Florence              1:01:45   7:44
       30  Bill Barlew                M5059         9/18  50  Amherst               1:02:08   7:46
       31  Bill Thibault              M4049         9/14  49  Chicopee              1:02:11   7:47
       32  Amy Paquette               F1939         2/13  28  Worcester             1:02:13   7:47
       33  Dan Towle                  M4049        10/14  45  Southwick             1:02:15   7:47
       34  Ted Hale                   M5059        10/18  52  Northampton           1:02:27   7:49
       35  David Adair                M5059        11/18  51  Haydenville           1:02:36   7:50
       36  Debbie Girouard            F4049         4/10  42  Agawam                1:03:45   7:59
       37  Christa Talbot             F1939         3/13  26  Easthampton           1:03:50   7:59
       38  Deborah Williams           F1939         4/13  35  Holland               1:04:09   8:02
       39  Dick Murphy                M6099         2/07  60  Westfield             1:04:11   8:02
       40  Dan Clark                  M5059        12/18  53  Southwick             1:05:15   8:10
       41  Jeff Holmes                M5059        13/18  51  Sunderland            1:05:15   8:10
       42  Mark Dean                  M5059        14/18  53  Florence              1:05:33   8:12
       43  Mike Butler                M1939         8/13  32  Springfield           1:05:40   8:13
       44  Rebecca Clemente           F4049         5/10  42  Greenfield            1:05:43   8:13
       45  Heather Standring          F1939         5/13  25  Easthampton           1:05:43   8:13
       46  Libby Anderson             F4049         6/10  44  Westhampton           1:06:05   8:16
       47  Kim Boas                   F5059         1/02  53  Haydenville           1:07:16   8:25
       48  Peter Jessop               M5059        15/18  55  Amherst               1:08:13   8:32
       49  Sue Slowick                F4049         7/10  47  Westhampton           1:08:16   8:32
       50  Bob Massaro                M6099         3/07  62  Chicopee              1:08:17   8:33
       51  Ed Dean                    M4049        11/14  48  Leeds                 1:08:21   8:33
       52  Raymond Wenninger          M5059        16/18  57  Chicopee              1:08:39   8:35
       53  Amanda Horowitz            F1939         6/13  29  Florence              1:09:37   8:43
       54  Tom Roland                 M6099         4/07  62  Longmeadow            1:10:14   8:47
       55  Kevin Bazan                M1939         9/13  33  Greenfield            1:10:27   8:49
       56  Gene Kostek                M5059        17/18  57  Florence              1:10:38   8:50
       57  Joe Wynn                   M1939        10/13  27  Westfield             1:10:39   8:50
       58  Scott West                 M1939        11/13  33  Leyden                1:11:05   8:54
       59  Christian Chandler         M4049        12/14  43  Florence              1:11:12   8:54
       60  Stephen Richardson         M4049        13/14  45  Holyoke               1:11:20   8:55
       61  Katherine Dean             F4049         8/10  40  Florence              1:12:15   9:02
       62  Cara Kenny                 F1939         7/13  35  Florence              1:13:26   9:11
       63  Dana Caruso                F1939         8/13  33  Easthampton           1:13:26   9:11
       64  Dan Lynes                  M6099         5/07  63  Enfield               1:13:35   9:12
       65  Walter Kolodzinski         M6099         6/07  63  Florence              1:14:11   9:17
       66  Don Grant                  M6099         7/07  63  Northampton           1:15:25   9:26
       67  Nicole St. Lawrence        F1939         9/13  26  Holyoke               1:16:40   9:35
       68  Maureen Scanlin            F1939        10/13  26  Florence              1:17:16   9:40
       69  Danielle Alderman          F1939        11/13  27  Holyoke               1:18:01   9:46
       70  Liz Sullivan               F4049         9/10  40  Easthampton           1:18:20   9:48
       71  Paul Peelle                M5059        18/18  58  Amherst               1:19:21   9:56
       72  Kris Kozuch                F4049        10/10  48  Holyoke               1:20:16  10:02
       73  Stephen O?Neil             M1939        12/13  35  Worcester             1:20:20  10:03
       74  Shannon Chabot             M1939        13/13  32  Greenfield            1:26:39  10:50
       75  Pam Southwell              F1939        12/13  20  Albany                1:30:46  11:21
       76  Julie Southwell            F1939        13/13  22  Albany                1:30:46  11:21
       77  Elaine Buckley             F5059         2/02  53  Southampton           1:32:28  11:34
       78  Pedro Rios                 F6099         1/01  76  Florence              1:45:30  13:12
       79  Jake Santana               M4049        14/14  41  Springfield           1:52:12  14:02

Smart run by Florence winner
By JOHN STIFLER

Hampshire Gazette
Tuesday, April 04, 2006

For a textbook example of an intelligently run race, see how Rob Landry of Ludlow won the Ron Hebert Road Race Sunday in Florence.

Landry, who was running this 8-miler for the first time, moved quickly off the starting line to test the field and found that Amherst ultramarathoner Todd Walker and Williston Northampton School cross-country captain Sam Kurtis of Florence were the only two runners who might stay with him.

Then Landry let Walker and Kurtis take the lead, and it was Walker who led the trio strongly up the long opening hill on Route 9 and then the second uphill into Haydenville, while Landry tucked in behind to avoid facing the afternoon's blustery winds.

The race goes abruptly downhill in the fourth mile, and there Landry made his move to the front. With a faster maximum leg turnover speed than either Walker or Kurtis, he opened a distinct gap and then lengthened his lead the rest of the way, gaining speed all along. Landry's time for the eighth mile, which is all flat, was just six seconds slower than his time for the long, scenic downhill sixth mile of this course. He finished in 47 minutes, 22 seconds, well off the course record but good enough on this sunny, windy day.

''It's a tough course,'' said Landry, 37, who a week earlier clocked a very impressive 1:18 for a half marathon in Westfield. Later this month he will run Boston, where he hopes to do the marathon in 2 hours, 45 minutes or so.

Walker, meanwhile, is getting ready for spring ultra season, with the Bull Run Run, a 50-miler in Manassas, Va., on Sunday, followed by the Masanutten (Virginia) 100 miler in May and the Laurel Highlands 70-miler in Pennsylvania in June.

As for Kurtis, he said he was pleased to win the high school age group in the Ron Hebert race for yet another year. Next fall he'll be running cross country at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., whose running alumni have accounted for five victories in the Boston Marathon (four for Bill Rodgers, one for Amby Burfoot).

Top woman in Sunday's race was Sheila Osgood of Granby, who has been running faster and showing up higher in the results list wherever she goes. She was the second woman at this year's D.H. Jones/Town & Country 10-miler in Amherst and the 11th woman in the St. Patrick's 10-kilometer road race in Holyoke. On Sunday she won in 52:35, good for 10th place overall.

Osgood attributes her excellent conditioning this spring to the fact that she spent the winter on the snowshoe racing circuit, such as it was in this horribly snow-free year.

One place that did have snow was Bolton Valley, Vt., site of this year's national snowshoe championships. Osgood competed there and won the gold medal in her age group (20 to 24 years).

How steep is the learning curve in snowshoe racing? Osgood began the sport last December. Her success must be due partly to her running career; she competed for Holyoke Catholic and Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.

Of the transition from being an experienced runner to a novice snowshoe racer, she said, ''In snowshoeing you need stronger legs, and the hills are harder than in regular running.''

She agreed that the stride technique takes some adjustment too. ''My first few races were good, but in the last couple I clipped my ankles quite a bit. You get used to bruised ankles (from one shoe hitting the opposite ankle), and you learn to keep your legs farther apart. And it definitely makes you a stronger runner.''

At the national championships in Vermont, Osgood completed the 10K snowshoe course in 61 minutes, 45 seconds. Jay Kolodzinski of Florence, 26, finished in 53:38, placing 45th overall in the field of 154. His father Walt Kolodzinski, 63, finished in 79:36.

''What a brutal course!'' said the elder Kolodzinski. ''Uphill for a mile and a quarter, then undulating, crossing brooks and gullies. And the downhills. On one section, Jay did a somersault in the air, landed on his shoes and kept going.''

This area was well represented among the top finishers in Vermont, as the Belchertown husband-wife duo of Paul Low and Kelli Lusk were double runners-up, Low placing second in the men's race (43:11) behind winner Greg Hexum of Minnesota (42:42). Lusk was the second woman (54:43), behind Vermonter Kasie Enman (53:07).

''Greg was really strong the whole way,'' said Low. ''Where it was single track and more technical, I would almost catch him, but when we'd hit the flat trails he would just fly. He looked like someone in a road race while I was like someone running in the sand on a beach.''

Low described his and Lusk's approach to snowshoe racing as low-key - I suspect that's how it is for nearly all snowshoe racers - as they both look forward to the summer mountain running season.

Right now plenty of local runners are looking forward to the Boston Marathon April 17. Rob Higley of Amherst, who two years ago won the over-50 division at Boston, says his training is going well, and this year, for a change he'll get to find out how well he can run without a cancerous tumor in his kidney. (It was discovered and removed last year.)

Others in the field include a large portion of the Dean family. Sue and Ed Dean of Leeds and Mark and Kathy Dean of Florence - who finished 16th, 50th, 44th and 66th, respectively, in the Hebert race Sunday - are all training for Patriots Day.

They won't run it together, though. Sue, with her faster qualifying time, will start in the first wave of runners, which this year will begin the race half an hour before the second half of the field, where Ed, Kathy and Mark will start.

''We'll go there together, run our own separate races, and then go home together,'' Sue Dean said.

Donna Utakis of Amherst, who runs a lot of the same ultramarathons as Walker, is on the entry list for Boston this year, as is Michael Murphy of Florence, whom I have seen training by running the Hebert course in reverse - taking the long hill on Mountain Farms Road in the uphill direction. That's not easy.

The Amherst contingent includes perennial Boston runners Nelson Lacey and Nick Hopley, plus several younger runners you'll hear more about after I find them in the finishing chute on Boylston Street. Entrants from Easthampton once again include two Williston coaches, Heather Johnson and Christa Talbot. And the list goes on.

If you're running Boston, try phoning me at 585-0924 or 575-8744 very soon after the race to tell me about it.

Now put this paper down, put on your running shoes, and get over to the Northampton Community Gardens on Burts Pit Road. The 20th season of the weekly Northampton cross-country race series begins there tonight at 6:30. The cost is $3 for the five-kilometer run, great company of all speeds, refreshments and good humor.

John Stifler, who writes a column about running and other sports for the Gazette, can be reached at jstifler@gazettenet.com

38th Ron Hebert Road Race