Marathon Sports Jinglebell 5K: Somerville, MA

A very jolly event for the New England NACHOs (and friends on NACHO!) on a cold and windy morning. A big NACHO welcome to new member Dave Crane who was the first NACHO across the finish line, and a big NACHO welcome-home to Susie who was home visiting from NACHO Midwest! A great race by all, and an awesome post-race party!

Jingle Bell Rock'n 5K/10K: Folsom, CA

Big congrats to Geri, Mike and Anne for representing NACHO at the 1st Annual Jingle Bell Rock'n 5K/10K in Folsom, CA! Mike rocked the 5K, finishing 5th in his age group in an impressive 30:55! Geri and Anne raced the 10K and cleaned up in the awards: Geri winning her age group (49:34), and Anne finishing 2nd woman overall (44:19)!

O'Hagans 5K run, Auckland viaduct, NZ

It was the first run for a new NACHO in sunny New Zealand. And it was sunny; Auckland harbour was resplendent. It was Peter Smith's first 5K race, and his first rocking NACHO orange. The run (as always it seems) is a little chaotic. It takes place at 18:00 amongst the rush hour traffic around the waterfront—but most drivers know to keep out of the way of the runners (and a few walkers). Peter started out too too fast, but settled into a steady pace and finished with a PR of 20:10 (official), which nearly two minutes faster than his previous PB. He was 19 out of 77 (and who knows how he did in his age group (M50-59).

Always a keen rabbit chaser, when passed by a runner at the 3Km mark he took the opportunity to wind them in, overtake them, and then to stay ahead of them.

What was the best part of the race? Aside from the a new PR it was the long cold drink at O'Hagans (an Irish Pub) at the end of the run.

Now he is keen to do a sub-20 5k—how hard can a 10 second improvement be—so he plans to be back soon.

NACHO has gone international!!

Yes, we've done it! The power of the NACHO orange has crossed the PACIFIC OCEAN and landed in New Zealand! Welcome to Peter Smith and the newly established NACHO NZ chapter!!

Newport Bridge 4.2M: Jamestown - Newport, RI

Amazing race for the NACHOs, despite only getting 5 hours of sleep the night before (not because they were up late, but because they had to be up SO EARLY - 4:15am!). Anne ran right on Brian's heels and finished 8th, while Jaime battled back from injury to finish 20th (out of 1112 women!). Brian continued his "I'm not really training because of my thesis but I'll "jog" it anyways" routine, finishing an impressive 64th (of 843). The NACHOs were back in the car and on their way back to Charlestown by 7:30am - not bad for a Sunday morning!

Oley Valley Country Classic: Oley, PA

On 11/6/11, Mary and Patrick decided it was a good day to be crazy enough to run 10 miles. Patrick had plenty of training already and was ready to set a new PR. Mary was praying she wouldn’t die on the course. Luckily for both of them, they both exceeded their personal expectations. Patrick set a new personal best of 1:21:33 (over 2 minutes faster than what he ran 2 years ago). Mary survived, running 1:36:57 (and somehow she was still smiling at mile 9.5). Good job Patrick and Mary!

Blues Cruise 50K: Reading, PA

On Sunday, October 2nd, Pennsylvania NACHO Patrick Boggs completed the Blues Cruise 50K in 7hours 27 minutes 32 seconds. This is a personal best for Patrick at this distance. Unfortunately, it is also a personal worst. The course was a complete loop around the Blue Marsh Lake, located just outside of Reading, PA. The course was comprised of: fantastic views, a stream crossing (which came up to the waist), 7 amply stocked aid stations, and a lovely wife timing at the finish line (please refer to Mary Boggs). As of Tuesday, October 4th, Mr. Boggs was able to walk again.