October 22nd, 2005 Little Three’s at home

For the past 17 years Williams has not lost to Amherst or Wesleyan at this traditional meet, but this year, Wesleyan hoped to end a winning streak older than many of our frosh. Their hope sprung from the technical detail that had Franklin Park been scored as a tri-meet, Wesleyan would have beaten Williams by two points. That is, had every non-Little 3 athlete been removed from the results, Wesleyan would have won. Without loss of confidence, this tiny fear put the fire in our bellies well before Saturday’s race.

Over the course of the preceding week speeches from team members (coming in both the verbal and emailed form) emphasized the importance of this tradition, letters from alumni gave us encouragement, and the presence of many runners' parents increased our motivation to run hard.

The rain held off for most of the chilly home meet, but the course was already wet from the past week. The Wesleyan duo of Wes Fuhrman and Owen Kiely shot off the line and held a harsh pace. Steve, Morgan, and I were more than happy to hang on them and draft on the windier stretches.

Leading up to the big hill I tried to sucker them (Wesleyan) into surging. Instead I ended up taking the lead just long enough to spin my wheels through a mud slick. I was still wearing my flats because of blisters, but everyone else was in spikes and it was undoubtedly the more sensible choice. Steve and I tucked in behind the Wes pair and rode them on over the hill. I think Morgan had drifted back by this point. Wes and Owen kept up the blistering pace as we passed through the soccer and football fields. The spectators made our run feel like flight with their cheering. The contingent of parents made the meet feel three times as large as it was.

Soon we slipped back into the silence of a more wooded loop. I put in another surge in an attempt to tire our competitors out. Steve was smart enough to know that he didn't have to match all these pace changes. I wasn't too worried because for the most part I don't think much while racing, but the thought occured to me that these guys could be maintaining this pace AND still saving for a finishing kick. The more safe strategy for me was to make this an endurance race and not a kick race. Steve and I had discussed this beforehand.

We emerged out of the woods, looped the baseball fields a second time, and closed in on the final mile. The Williams spectators were quite agitated at this point. The Wesleyan duo continued to lead and their third through fourth runners were besting Williams' runners. Pete revealed to me afterwards that Wesleyan was dominating at that point. Steve and I didn't intend to make the race so dramatic it just turned out that way. We entered the wooded hill loop one final time. Just out of sight of any spectators I took the lead and began another charge. This time I made it, slipping still, to the hill and maintained the lead. I never saw the Wesleyan guys again. Even though I was relaxed going up the hill, the pace was too much and I dropped them behind. Steve with his phenomenal hill strength also surged past the Wes pair. When we emerged from the trees (and now we were committed to our finishing speed) the relieved spectators said there was a ten second gap between us and the next Wesleyan guy. The final times support this rough estimate.

Just as Steve and I crushed the Wesleyan frontrunners on the hidden hill loop, our teammates emerged victoriously from battle over the same field. Wesleyans third through fifth succumbed to our own scorers.

I crossed the line and passed through the chute quickly so as to watch and cheer on the remaining runners. True to the form of the Little Threes meet every single runner poured their guts out in order to out kick nearby competitors when it came down to the line. As I write this three or so weeks later many of these noble struggles escape my mind. I do remember seeing Corey Levin being passed by a Wesleyan runner with 200 meters to go. Corey turned up the heat in response and kicked once more into the lead as both runners accelerated. With less than 100 to go Corey was passed again and looked defeated. Even with his god-awful fatigue drenched form and lolling head I could see that he was reaching down into the depths of some hidden well and dredging up new energy. Running like a mad man he pushed himself past his opponent at the line.

In the end, Williams beat Wesleyan by ten points, a comfortable margin. The women's team made a mockery of the competition. It might have been possible for our female frosh to win the women's race by themselves, though it would have been close. Caroline beat Amherst's Shauneen Garrahan for the individual win.

The Williams College Record report of this race: Ephs Win 18th Straight Little Three Title.
Photos of the meet.

Watch on Google Video here.

Video of this race can be downloaded here.

The video is dedicated to Adrian Martinez '06. Seeing all those smiling faces is bitter sweet. The camaradarie of this team runs deep. You are missed and remembered.