Comrades, Team results from the Shamrock 5K are in, and I'm delighted to report that NHRR started the year off strong with a double win for both our men and women's open teams! We also managed to put together a full team of masters women, which is rare for us! They also placed well coming in third, behind Manchester (boooo) and Milford (s'up). (For the uninitiated, NHRR have a long, somewhat-friendly-somewhat-bitter rivalry with Manchester RC 👿, but we are big fans of our homies at Milford 😎) As a reminder, the open team races are scored by collecting the times from the top five runners; masters teams are scored with the top three. At Shamrock, our men collectively ran 1:19:10, two minutes ahead of Manchester's 1:21:12; meanwhile our women ran 1:30:39, well over five minutes ahead of Manchester, who scored 1:36:05. Our masters women ran 1:05:15, placing third in what ended up being quite a close race against Manchester's 1:00:31 and Milford's 1:03:28. I'm thrilled with these results, and so proud of all our brilliant individual performances as well--some very shiny PRs, and some gutsy PR attempts (which we love to see just as much!). Just great running all round. Next up on the NHRR racing calendar is the Middletown 10k on April 7th-- sign up here: https://www.hartfordmarathon.com/middletown-10k-5k-run-walk/ This one unfortunately falls the week before the Boston marathon, Jersey City Marathon, and Newport, which various of our usual racing crew will be tapering for. I'm anticipating that it might be tough getting feet on the ground for this race, so an extra plea for those not racing the following week to show up and lend us your all-out efforts! To newer club members--if you'd like to become a member of the racing team, all you need to do is join USATF and affiliate with the club (input code 304 into the 'USATF registered club' box when prompted). There is a $55 fee to join, but you also get a free racing singlet (and eternal glory when we win the circuit) so things even out in the end. Sign up here: https://www.usatf.org/home/top-utility-nav-content/membership, any questions about racing feel free to shoot me an email! lizziemundellperkins@gmail.com. Catch you at the next one, Lizzie (Racing Team Captain)

Comrades, We are one week out from our first circuit race of the year--the New Haven Shamrock 5k, which sets off at 9am next Sunday (03/03) outside Toads Place on York St. As per usual, I've left it until the last minute to sign up... consider this your nudge to if you haven't yet either! Register here: https://www.jbsports.com/991-plr-shamrock-roll Also a reminder that to score for us you need to have a current USATF membership, so make sure you've renewed yours for 2024 (put code 304 into the 'USATF registered club' when prompted, to ensure you're affiliated with NHRR): https://www.usatf.org/home/top-utility-nav-content/membership Comment below if you're racing, and let us know if you don't yet have a racing singlet! We'll make sure there's a supply in a range of sizes for you to grab on race day. Be in touch if you have any questions! Full speed ahead and let's continue to crush Manchester alright? Cheers, Lizzie (Racing Team Captain)

Comrades, As you may be aware, this past weekend saw our final race on the 2023 Connecticut USATF circuit--the Norfolk Pub 10 miler! 164 racers descended upon the tiny town (population 553) to tear up the infamously hilly course, and the eponymous pub for lunch afterwards. Conditions were perfect--crisp, clear, and sunny--and I am delighted to report that New Haven Road Runners' open teams both came out victorious! In the men's division, our five scorers collectively ran 4:56:12, gaining over 4 minutes on our nemesis Manchester RC. Meanwhile our women/non-binary scorers ran a total of 5:35:04, beating the second place team (also Manchester) by over 41 minutes 😎. These results are all the more impressive when we take into account that several of our scorers were running on tired legs after epic performances at the California International Marathon two weeks ago (shout out to Miche, Josie, and Jake!), while another scorer was running in the wake of a bout of Covid (Tim the TANK!). Big congratulations to all who raced. I am also now able to reveal the team's final standings in the circuit. To (http://circuit.To)no-one's surprise, having won 7/8 of the circuit races, our women's open team emerged as the definitive 2023 champions, scoring 85 points (out of a possible 88) to Manchester RC's 66. Things were a little tighter on the men's side, but after this weekend, I'm excited to share that NHRR took an overall win as well, with 82 points to Manchester's 78. Big up the boys!! I believe this is the first time in the history of the club that NHRR have won the circuit, so our performance this year is particularly special. It was also, truly, a team effort. Here is a great fact that coach Jake unearthed this weekend: "while winning the circuit means that on average, our top 5 were better than the other teams' top 5s - we actually never had the same top 5 at any of the races this year for either our men or our women! In total, 14 different athletes scored for our men's team this year and 13 different athletes scored for our women's team this year, with a different combination at every race!" I'm grateful for everyone who contributed to this result: those who ran, those who scored, those who cheered, took pictures, helped with transport, or quietly administrated the club behind the scenes. It's been so exciting to see NHRR grow this past year! Looking ahead: If you're inspired by our success in 2023 and are interested in joining our racing team for the next circuit, don't hesitate to reach out and I'll walk you through the process (lizziemundellperkins@gmail.com)(mailto:lizziemundellperkins@gmail.com). We'll be having a meeting sometime in the new year to discuss racing plans for 2024--I'll be in touch with a date for that soon! In the meantime, I hope you all have happy and restful holidays with loved ones. Over and out! Lizzie (Racing Team Captain)

A number of us will be gathering at 8:30am on Sunday to run the most beautiful route in New Haven! We'll meet at the Lake Wintergreen car park (in Google maps, it's 'West Rock State Park--Lake Wintergreen), and run the following 11 mile loop (map below) with some of us adding on extra afterwards to total 13-17 miles. Pace around 7:30-8 min/mile (but other pace groups are welcome to assemble too!). Anyone who needs a lift drop a comment below--I'll be driving from East Rock and can pick up comrades as needed.

Comrades, The team results for the New Haven 20K have been officially scored, and I'm delighted to report that it was not just a double, but a TRIPLE win for the New Haven Road Runners! Not only did our men's and women's open teams absolutely dominate, but we also had a full set of master's women and non-binary scorers, who pulled us to first place in that category as well. Huge congratulations to everyone who ran--the conditions were brutal, and these results are excellent. For those unfamiliar with the scoring system, open team scores are reached by adding together the times of the five fastest runners from each club. On the men's side, our scorers collectively ran 5:58:15, taking a commanding lead over the next fastest team, Manchester Road Runners, who ran 6:08:33. Meanwhile, our open women and nonbinary scorers ran 6:46:22, putting almost 50 minutes (!) between NHRR and the Manchester women, who ran 7:56:05. Finally, our masters women and nonbinary scorers (in this category, three runners score instead of five) together ran 4:41:51, beating the Mohegan Striders masters women, who ran 4:43:23. Unstoppable! (I wonder if we can one day persuade some of our exceptional men's masters runners to come out and race... you know who you are 👀) An update on our overall standings: both our men and women's open teams are now leading the circuit! But things are pretty tight on the men's side in particular--we'll need to pull off another win at our final circuit race if we want to beat Manchester in the circuit as a whole. The race in question is the Norfolk pub 10 miler, on Saturday December 16th, and you can sign up for it here: https://runsignup.com/Race/CT/Norfolk/NorfolkPub10MileRoadRace (https://runsignup.com/Race/CT/Norfolk/NorfolkPub10MileRoadRace). The course is reputed to be very scenic and very hilly--should be fun! Somewhat unfortunately, it falls two weeks after the California International Marathon, which many members of the racing team are running. We'll need as many pairs of fresh legs on the ground as we can get, so please consider signing up. Anyone who's new to the club and interested in joining the racing team, shoot me an email at lizziemundellperkins@gmail.com (mailto:lizziemundellperkins@gmail.com)and I'll walk you through the process! We'd love to have you on board. See you at the next one, Lizzie Racing Team Captain

Thanks and congratulations once again to everyone who showed up to the Groton 4miler yesterday! A disgustingly hot day and surprisingly hilly course made for really tough conditions but some thrilling racing, and I'm excited to share that it was a double win for both our men and women's open teams! On the men's side, the final scores were nail-bitingly close between NHRR and our nemesis Manchester (boooo hssssss), with just two seconds in the margin between first and second place. The team scoring for circuit races is reached by adding together the times for the top five runners on each team, and our scorers on the men's side collectively ran 1:50:43 to Manchester's 1:50:45. Incredible work! Meanwhile, our women and nonbinary runners continue to dominate the circuit, placing a whopping 9mins 44 seconds between NHRR and the second place team yesterday (also Manchester). Our scorers ran a total of 2:03:35 to Manchester's 2:13:19. Amazing! These results more or less underline our pre-existing standing in the circuit overall: the men's open team are tied for first place with Manchester, both teams having won three races (for NHRR: the Middletown 10K, Spring St Mile, and Groton 4M) and placed second in three (New Haven 5K, Fairfield Half, and Branford 5M). Meanwhile our women's team shore up their commanding lead, with 5/6 races won (we placed third at Middletown, which I like to think makes us seem down-to-earth and relatable). Next up on the circuit is the New Haven 20K on the 4th of September (Labour day). It's the highest profile race on the circuit, and it's happening on home turf, so let's put up a strong showing! Sign up for the race here: https://runsignup.com/Race/CT/NewHaven/NewHavenRoadRace(https://runsignup.com/Race/CT/NewHaven/NewHavenRoadRace) See you there! Lizzie (Racing Team Captain)