2018 GCS  Awards

Newbie Award - goes to a new, or fairly new, Strider who has had a significant impact on the Team this year.

Male: Colin Smith
Colin joined the Striders in May 2018 and his impact was felt immediately as Colin helped secure our NHGP title with 20 points in the men's open division. He was also an active GCS member in the XC circuit helping complete the men's roster and consistently finishing as our second place GCS member behind only Jacob Wormald. He was the overall winner at the Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day 5K and also ran on the Co-ed Open team at the Mill City Relay and helped bring his team to a first place finish!

Female: Kate Estep
Kate Estep has had a huge impact as a new GCS member helping the team out 18 points and podium finishes in two of the NHGP races. In addition to racing in the NHGP circuit she won the overall individual title for the Women's XC circuit this year and played a key role in leading the women to a team 3rd place finish in the series. Kate ran on the Women’s Open Team -Scrambled Legs and helped bring her team to a second place finish in that division!

Bounce Back Award - goes to the Strider who had to overcome significant adversity in order to contribute to the Team this year.

Male: Hein van den Heuvel
In October of 2017 Hein was having a triple bypass heart surgery that took him off the roads for a while. Most people would likely go through such a surgery and just hang up the shoes afterwards but Hein worked his way back into race shape and came out to race the CHaD 1/2 marathon in the NHGP series, finishing the race in under 2 hrs! He also ran with the team at the Mill Cities Relay.

Female:Adriana Tyers
Adrianna had been injured and came back in 2018 to PR in 8 different distances (5/10/15K, 4/5/10 miler, half marathon and marathon! She finished the Baystate Marathon, her second marathon, one hour faster than her first qualifying her for the 2019 Chicago Marathon. She ran all the NHGP and NEGP races earning both Granite Runner and Iron Runner!

Leaps and Bounds Award - goes to the Strider who has improved immensely over the year and really stepped up their contribution to the Team.

Male: Paul Donovan
Paul set PRs in every distance he ran this year! He ran all the NEGP races and earned Iron Runner status. He ran 6 of the 8 NHGP races and earned 40 pts helping the team to NHGP win! He ran 3 hrs 18 mins at the Baystate Marathon qualifying him for the 2020 Boston Marathon. Paul also ran a Co-ed Seniors team at the Mill Cities Relay that earned 6 points towards the GCS victory.

Female: Suzanne Barker
Suzanne is a strong runner who became even stronger this year! She raised the bar on herself and set whole bunch of new PRs including a 9 minute marathon PR at the Baystate Marathon – qualifying her for the 2020 Boston Marathon! She also ran all the NEGP, earning Iron Runner status once again. She earned 38 points in the NEGP race series, scoring in all but 1 race and finishing in 2nd place in the Women’s 45-49 division. In the NHGP race series, she earned 11 points to help the team to victory!

Ubiquitous Award - goes to the Strider who ran the most number of Team races during the course of the year

Male: Brandyn Naro
Brandyn ran a total of 25 club races including all of the NHGP & NEGP races earning both Granite Runner and Iron Runner status. He ran 6 of the 8 Mountain Races, earning Mountain Goat status. He also ran 4 of the 5 XC Grand Prix races.

Female: Amanda Naro
Amanda ran a total of 16 races including all the NHGP races earning Granite Runner status. She also ran 5 of the NEGP races, 2 of the XC races and 1 Mountain series race!

Heart and Soul Award - goes to the Strider who exhibited the best Team spirit throughout the year.

Male: Phil Petschek
When you can’t run, you can walk and when you can’t walk, you can use a wheelchair! Phil ran, walked and even propelled himself in a borrowed wheelchair at the Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day 5K to complete the entire NHGP race series. He never stopped cheering and encouraging everyone else on the team throughout the year. His spirit is infectious! He also earned Mountain Goat status by completing 6 of the Mountain Series races.

Female: Yuki Chorney

What CAN’T you say about Yuki?! She's an amazing & talented runner and an even more amazing supporter of the team! Her positive spirit and vibes are contagious! She is the head GCS Unicorn and spreads happiness and sunshine to all those around her.

Breadwinner Award - goes to the Strider who had the biggest overall racing contribution during the course of the year. The Team MVP.

Male: Brandyn Naro
Brandyn ran all 7 NEGP races to earn Iron Runner status. He also ran all 8 NHGP races scoring 73 points for the team and getting him to a 1st place age group finish in the 30-39 division. He also ran 6 of the 8 Mountain Series to earn Mountain Goat status and he ran 4 of the Grand Prix XC races! In the Mountain series, he placed 6th overall in the men’s division! And he was on the 4th place open men’s XC team! Brandyn had some additional responsibilities too as the NEGP & Mountain Series coordinator as well as the GCS Marathon & Half Marathon committee.

Female: Karen Long
Karen ran all 8 NEGP races to earn Granite Runner status and earned 69 points & was key in GCS winning the NHGP title! She was first in her division, female 50-59. She ran 1 NEGP race, the Lone Gull 10k and placed 3rd in her division earning 8 points for GCS. Karen ran the long leg on the Mill Cities Relay on the first place women’s senior team, the Quick Quintastics.