Hollis, NH – It may have been Captain Peter Powers who first settled the Great town of Hollis, New Hampshire, but it was the Wolves of Western Massachusetts who had the last Great stand – Run rather – in this original American town, tonight.

On the Men’s side Sean Duncan decided to string out the Powder Blue while the People’s Champion was sidelined. Sean spent 14 minutes and 27 seconds leading his men to their 2^ndPlace overall finish.Following Sean was the wordy co-pilot, Jason Ayr, taking his little legs for the ride of their life in14:34.

The Men talked of Heart leading into this Championship race, but what they saw was so much more.Let us be the first to award the MVPs, or MVWs, Most Valuable Wolves. First to this award was Andrew Messer in a time of 14:45, proving the Gauvin system is a real concern for those not donning the Powder Blue. Do not check your prescription; there was another Messer to follow.That would be John, his brother, his TWIN brother, in a time of 15:05.As the four gathered and anticipated the wait, their breather was stalled as Mathew Weissinger cruised to a 47 second PR in a valiant effort for 15:07.Let’s just say Matthew has been a hungry Wolf and we appreciate his appetite.

Five may have scored, but the story has not been fully told.  Orlando Cordero and Philip Gingras, in their WMDP debut, followed closely in 15:14 and 15:21, respectively, warning the front Pack that the hungriest Wolf gets the Unicorn. There will be more to be told of these newcomers in future hunts.

What the Baby Blue learned tonight, on the Men’s and the Women’s side, is that the Process is a fickle thing; something that only privileges those who desire it’s appreciation. If the hunger fits the bill, the times will surely follow.

Hear that noise? Recognize that reverberation? Why, it’s the sound of the WMDP hammer going down across New England this weekend.

At 2,000 ft, Abby Woods Mahoney reclaimed her dominance in the mountain series, taking the W at the Mt. Waaaah-wa-chusett 10k mountain race. Baby blue jerseys littered the top 10, with Ashley Krause bringing in 6th place and Dawn Roberts in 8th.

Meanwhile in Maine, the Storm raged on at the Pineland Farms Trail Running mudfest as Amy Rusiecki finished the 50 miler as the 2nd place female finisher and 8th overall, and Kelsey Battige was the 6th woman to the beer line in the 50k.

Be on the lookout for packs of wolves roaming the New England trails all spring long, we hear they’re hungry… and the only thing that satiates them is of course, the Process.

“As I hit the kill switch… now that’s how you let the beat build…”

In the birthplace of Volleyball, Holyoke, MA, at the HCC Cougar Crawl, Abby Woods Mahoney and Laura Hutchinson were able to easily serve up a 1-2 sweep. Mahoney displayed pure dominance with a 17:54, good for first, followed shortly by fellow Wolf Hutchinson who cruised into 2nd place with an 18:23.

Meanwhile, over in the wholesome town of Longmeadow, MA, Kim Budri was a lone Wolf, able to secure a 2nd place finish in 20:14 at the 20th Annual Tim Paige 5k.

While her teammates were hunting down fast times on the asphalt, Kelsey Battige took to the trails for the Soapstone 24k. Battige covered the grueling 15 mile trail in 2:41:39.

Out in the far West, where exact records of the state line between New York and Massachusetts have been lost in time, Ivan Omar Cordero was on the hunt for Dead Presidents at the Inaugural Steel Rail Half-Marathon. Sporting a perfectly trimmed beard Cordero cruised to a 2nd place overall finish in a PR of 1:15:56, good for 3 Benjamins. It was reported shortly after the race that Cordero called his employer and submitted his resignation on the grounds that he was “making close to $240 per hour and you guys are no longer worth my time”. The Wolfpack fully supports his position.

Finally, the Wolfpack contracted out one Wolf to a group of runners who borrowed him “for purposes of reaching a beach” as was outlined in the contract. John Messer anchored team “Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner” to a 1st place division and 6th place overall finish at the Reach the Beach Relay.

“I thought I was literally going to the beach with some friends, I had no idea I had to run there”, said Messer of his experience.

But at the end of the weekend, all was well. The Lady Wolves made an assault on the 5k road racing scene in Western Mass, Cordero took home some cash monies for Wing Night at the Whip City Brewery, and the Wolves celebrated their first birthday as a pack.

Total Miles Raced in Blue: 60.08
Total Dollars Earned in Blue: $300.00
Total Podium Positions in Blue: 5
Total Beaches Reached in Blue: 1

“Running is a lot like life. Only 10 percent of it is exciting. 90 percent of it is slog and drudge.” – David Bedford

Boston, MA – The Lady Wolves of the Western Mass Distance Project have understood that slog and drudge. They have endured the long, unforgiving months of winter training with the ultimate challenge playing in the back of their minds – the Marathon.

5am pre-work run? Check.

Lunch hour sweat-a-thon? A co-worker’s dream.

Snowstorm hill repeats? Sounds like a fun Friday night.

Anything to get to the finish line of the Boston Marathon. With the winter behind them and Baby Blue skies ahead, the lady wolves showed up to Hopkinton ready to put on a show.

Due to the increasingly competitive standards for entry, several were pushed to the second wave start. Never to be discouraged, Annie Paredes used this to her advantage, and used the clear roads ahead of her to set her own uncongested pace. “This year I started in the second wave, first corral, which at first I was bummed about but I was wrong. I literally was able to toe the start line of the Boston Marathon. This definitely gave me a shot of adrenaline to start the race”.

Hitting the roads of Hopkinton, baby blue singlets let it all out and set a blistering pace. While most will attest to running the Boston Marathon as a 26.2 mile long dance party, racing it is a sufferfest of speed and strength. As Sarah Romain’s third time entering the Boston Marathon, she prepared herself for the hurt. “Everyone says, don’t go out too fast. That’s the key to the Boston Marathon. Keep it conservative and save it for the hills. I thought… I’ve done this before. I’m not afraid of the hills, this is the year to race this thing. So, of course I went out too fast and wretched on the hills. Finishing hurt, it was painful. But it was a whole new world of digging deep, and I can say that I raced it, I gave it my all”.

With the mantra Right onto Hereford, Left onto Boylston and straight home ‘till morning, WMDP brought in their top three with 3:01, 3:02 and 3:08, good for a 6th place team finish. While there were epic performances from all, PR shoutouts go specifically to: Sarah Romain for 3:01:38, Annie Paredes, 3:02:38, Madeline Weber, 3:08:51, and Vanessa Diana for 3:31:21. On the men’s side, Jason Ayr represented with a 2:27:30, which made him good for a 55th place finish and Mathew Weissinger finished well in 2:46:56.

They followed the lesson plan and basked in the glory. They did as they always do afterall, Respect The Process.