Maria, Maria

Here's a photo of Maria Carrara. (I had to pay off TMZ to prevent them from posting before me).

Congrats again to the proud new parents!

It's a girl!

The Carrara's welcomed baby girl Maria Martin Carrara sometime last night.

Maria is 7lbs 9oz. Both mother and daughter are doing well. And the father is excited to watch Maria's first Patriots game with her.

Congrats to the new parents!

XC Club Nationals videos

Watch closely; you may recognize the team that introduces the women's race!




The men's race:



Thanks to Running Network TV for capturing the highlights of NBB's trip to Kentucky!

XC Denouement

It's the morning of USATF Club Cross Country Nationals. A season's worth of cross country grit and prep comes to this final event to show who'll come out on top.

Most of the NBB team arrived Thursday evening and the remainder on Friday.
We previewed the course yesterday and found a good and challenging cross country course. The first half mile is on a bumpy uphill grass field. The rest of the course is a roller coaster of winding loops. The course is wide open with little wind coverage but good for keeping an eye on the competition. The multiple loop (two for women, three for men) will provide for good spectating of the battles to take place.

At race time the weather will be 40*F, partly sunny and winds at 7mph from the SE.
The women's 6k 12:45p start and men's 10k 1:30p start will be full of anticipation.

The women have their goals set high. There are three to five teams that come between what NBB women have wanted for four years. The win.
This is the third year that the NBB men have a scoring team. With every team, the men look to show their continued improvement. The chase for spots is on.

Place Your Bets!

With the newest NBB member set to make his/her debut soon, it's time for you to place your bets.  Post your answers to the following questions - winner gets bragging rights, loser gets diaper duty!

- Will "Peanut" Carrara be a future member of the men's or women's team? 
- Will Peanut false start or will everyone be waiting around on the starting line while he/she does a few more strides?  (In other words, what day will Peanut join us?  Due date is December 19, I believe!)
- Will Peanut qualify for the Clydesdale division?  Or will he/she need to head for seconds in the post-race buffet?  (Weight?)
- Will Peanut be a high jumper or will he/she trip over the steeple barriers?  (How tall?)

Stay tuned for more Peanut updates in the coming weeks!

Boycott Portsmouth?

Here's a delightful article from the Globe about a runner who's been banned from running in Portsmouth, NH.

I'd probably be in jail with this guy, if I was in his situations. I plan to boycott Portsmouth :)

What are your thoughts?

On a side note, here's the latest caption contest. It's an oldy, but a good one.