Codfish Bowl

(9/27/2011 8:58 AM)

The Jumbos stayed close to home this weekend for the 44th annual Codfish Bowl. All week long, rain pelted the course, making for some sloppy conditions. Though most of the varsity surprised on-lookers by running a workout instead of racing, the remainder of the team took advantage of the opportunity to run an early-season race.

Senior Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot lead the Jumbos, finishing 33rd overall. Despite a gutsy 4:50 first mile, Jerzy mitigated his fall through the pack, finishing well in the mixed DI, DII, DIII field. Sophomore Andrew Shapero, hot off his 25:52 PR the week prior, followed right on Jerzy’s heels to finish 35th. Classmate Jake McCauley placed third for the Jumbos, running his first race back from injury since the 2010 NESCAC Championships. Jake’s performance bodes well for his progression back to top form. Mid-D sophomore Bobby McShane got in some great aerobic work and finished 4th for the team.

On the varsity side, the Jumbos split into training groups in order to run a precocious 60/45 fartlek of the entire course. The men ran faster than race-pace for 60 seconds, and then took 45 seconds rest before repeating the cycle. Each runner marked his progression through the course by dropping his flag on the ground after each “on” segment. The groups looked smooth and controlled running at fast speeds.

The theme of this weekend was development: both racers and fartlekers got a great preview of the Franklin Park course. This will serve the Jumbos well in two weeks when they take on all comers at the Open New England Championships. Those who raced on Franklin’s sloppy course at Codfish can look to improve their times by over minute, while the varsity crew is primed to draw from the well for the real thing.