Ray's 10K Race Results

This past Sunday, in the rainy wet weather, the first full weekend of fall, a hearty bunch of New Englanders took to the waters of Johnson's Pond (Flat River Reservoir) in Coventry, RI for one final open water race. And boy, were there some fast kids at this race. Two new records were set and I got left in the dust, bringing up the rear in 3 hours 20 minutes. But a good time was had by all. Below is Ray's synopsis of the race.Thanks for another great race, Ray! See you next September!

Johnson’s Pond in Coventry, RI was the site for the 3^rd annual Flat River Reservoir Champion’s Challenge. The event was held despite cool air temperatures, cold water (65 degrees), and an ongoing light rain. The weather didn’t dampen the competition as new records were set in both premier events. The smell of burgers and hot dogs, along with laughter and smiles were the staple for a fun and hearty event! Applause, yells and whistles could be heard down the lake as each contestant neared the finish buoys.

In the 10K event (6.2 miles), Seb Neumayer of MA defended the title the he won last year with a new course record of 2:31:25. Liz Mancuso, 2^nd overall bested the previous women’s record with a 2:33:36 finish. Ray Gandy of RI and Marcy MacDonald of CT came in the 3^rd and 4^th overall positions. Special recognition goes out to Becky Gagnon as she completed her longest swim to date and captured the hearts of the crowd with her determined efforts.

The 2 mile event was added this year by popular demand. Josh Sroka established the overall course record with a 50:51 time, while Lori Pugh set the women’s standard at 54:57. Al Hollenbeck came in 2^nd overall with John Dumas, Greg Hindle and Mary Phelan finishing behind Lori, to round out the top 6.

A 1 mile and 3 mile option was provided with Tom Craig and Lou Sardelli finishing 1^st in those swims.

The event raised close to $500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of RI.

A special thank you to Al Hollenbeck and Rene Gaudet for co-hosting the event. Thanks also for support from the Wood Estates Resident’s Association, the Johnson’s Pond Civic Association and the Coventry Fire Department. Also a big thanks to all the volunteers, kayakers, timers, etc. for making this year’s event truly special.

Final results for each event are posted below:

1 Seb Neumayer *2:31:25
2 Liz Mancuso *2:33:36
3 Ray Gandy 2:35:01
4 Marcy MacDonald 2:47:39
5 Tim Morse 2:49:10
6 Kate Radville 2:55:36
7 Greg O'Connor 2:59:37
8 Elaine Kornbau Howley 3:20:07
9 Becky Gagnon 4:15:05
10 Dane Kwiatkowski 5K (3.1 miles) 1:34:00

Ray's Radio Interview

Ray Gandy gets interviewed by Rhode Island's Radio Station of Record, 99.7 FM, 630 AM, interviewed by Dan Yorke. He's a superstar! http://630wpro.com/Article.asp?id=1496598&spid=18040

Here and Now Interview

http://www.hereandnow.org/stand-alone-player/?fileUrl=http://www.bu.edu/wbur/storage/2009/09/hereandnow_0911.mp3&fileTitle=Full%20broadcast

Here's the link to my interview with Robin Young of NPR's Here and Now. It's a great show, but if you want to just hear me, skip to 30:25 on the time counter to listen to my very stuffy self. Enjoy!

Quick Friday post

I am feeling a little under the weather today (the allergies seem to be back with a vengeance) so am taking it easy and neti potting like crazy, but wanted to put up a quick post. On Wednesday, Mark emailed me a link from the NPR radio show "Here and Now" hosted by Robin Young. She had interviewed Glenn Stout who has just released a book titled Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World. Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to ever swim the English Channel (in 1926) and a personal hero of mine who helped pave the way for what I do. I was so impressed with the interview that I emailed through the program's feedback web link and lo and behold I got an email back (that turned out to be from Robin herself!) asking if I would be willing to talk to her for the "Letters" segment at the end of the show. She called yesterday, and I had a quick 5 minute interview which was pretty exciting. The program will air on Friday at noon in the Boston area. How exciting is that? If you're outside of WBUR's range, check your local NPR station's schedule for the program's airtimes, and there will likely be a link posted to the program's web site here: http://www.hereandnow.org/ I just hope I don't sound as stuffy and breathless as I felt!

http://www.hereandnow.org/2009/09/young-woman-the-sea/ (Here's an excerpt from the book and a link to the Amazon page for it. http://www.amazon.com/Young-Woman-Sea-Conquered-Inspired/dp/0618858687

Get your EKH Triple Crown commemorative t-shirts today!

On the right hand side of this blog, you'll notice a panel that connects to Zazzle, an online t-shirt and gift shop where you can make and sell your own shirts and gifts. Andrea, my awesome step-sis, decided to set up shop and sell t-shirts to commemorate my English Channel crossing and successful completion of the Triple Crown of open water swimming by designing some t-shirts and other tchotchkes and putting them up for sale for charity. (The image on the front of the shirt is a cleaned up version of the plaque Mark designed and we transferred to the ceiling of the White Horse Tavern in Dover after my swim.) If you want to show off that you know me, (and really, why wouldn't you?? ;-) ) then click on over and get yourself one of these fun tees or mugs right now! The proceeds of all sales will go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, so you can be sure that the profits are going to a worthy cause. Thanks for showing off my colors and for your support! And thanks Andrea for a great idea and the where-with-all to make it happen!

(In case the panel isn't working, you can always go to the online store through this link instead:
http://www.zazzle.com/whrath)