Boston Buildup 20K - February 8, 2009

What a perfect day for running! The temperature had been in the teens and twenties for several days, but on Sunday it was in the low 50s for the 20k race. It was a little windy at times and we did have a brief rain shower, but I found the rain to be quite refreshing. The sun came out on several occassions also, but the best part about it was being able to ditch the leggings in favor of a running skirt for the day. I met up with many of the usual gang before the race and mostly discussed what to wear on this unseasonably warm February day. Due to the construction at the Southport station we started the race in a different location, but the rest of the course was the same as in prior years. I have run this course 3 times before, but never seem to remember the details and am always amazed by the number of hills. The first half is mostly uphill and the second half has some nice downhill stretches, but the downhills never seem to match up to the uphills. I ran the entire race with Jill and found myself constantly asking her where all these hills kept coming from. The hill between mile 3 and 4 from Bronson Road to Greenfield Hill seemed to be never ending. I also thought that I remembered Mill Hill between mile 10 and 11 to be short and steep, but it ended up being pretty long. However, I did enjoy the challenge and was happy to run the entire race with no knee pain and only slight hip discomfort in the last few miles.

Brian

Ikuko

Sean

Steve

Frank

Jeanette

Jill and Joe pretending to be the front and back of a horse, but they forgot to bring the costume.

Steve

Petra and Maria

Don, Ikuko, Sean, Roy and Kate

Don, Ikuko, Sean, Roy and Frank

Don, Ikuko, Sean and Kate

Big Bad Bob, Jim and Brian

Rob, Karl and Geoff

Rob, Karl, Geoff and Roy

Maria

Sean

Jeanette

Ikuko and Sean

Tony

Jeanette, Jill and Kate

Mike

Roy, Dan and Ronnie

Petra

Frank, Joe, Jill, Jason and Kate

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