Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Yes/No: How many under Bill Andberg's mark at Grey Ghost 5K?


The 28th annual Anoka Halloween Grey Ghost 5k will take place in the "Halloween Capital of the World"on Saturday.  The Grey Ghost race has something for everyone; some will appreciate the flat, fast course as an opportunity for a personal best.  Others will relish the chance to wear a Halloween costume in a road race.  Even if you simply want to get your run in before the Grand Day Parade in Anoka, this is the race for you.

Before creating this long-time Anoka road race, Bill Andberg made his mark as a world class age-group runner.  He took over 30 years off from competitive running before rejoining the fray at age 55.  During the next 30+ years, he set more than 30 national and world records for his age categories.  Andberg won a gold medal in the first USA Nationals in 1968 (marathon) and in the first World Masters Championships in 1975 (3K and 1500).

We will use one of Andberg's great records as the standard for this week's question..

Yes/No: Will 18 or more runners at the Anoka Grey Ghost run faster than Bill Andberg's (at the time) world age-best 18:33 5k as a 65 year old?

Make sure to play the Photo ID contest this week as we will be giving an extra point to anyone that answers correctly.

To check out previous years Grey Ghost results go to the Appleraceberryjam Road Results Archives page HERE.  Then click on Anoka Grey Ghost 5k Run and All Available (years).

Or if you would rather I do the work for you, here are the number of runners that ran faster than 18:33:
2012 - 23, 2011 - 15, 2010 - 11, 2009 - 13, 2008 - 14, 2007 - 33, 2006 - 25, 2005 - 24, 2004 - 29, 2003 - 34, 2002 - 28, 2001 - 24, 2000 - 47, 1999 - 48.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 12:50 P.M. CDT, Saturday, October 26th.  Please put your answers in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail.  We will offer a bonus for participants making their 2013 debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for anyone who has not played yet this year.

My Answer:  Yes

The question in last week's Yes/No Contest was: Will more women than men qualify for the 2015 Boston Marathon at the Mankato Marathon on Sunday?  The answer was no -- by my count, 35 men ran a Boston qualifier while 21 women achieved that goal.  The men's winner was Eric Thies and the women's race was won by Amy Halseth.   Nine players answered correctly this week and Dimitri Drekonja tied Lori Anne Schwiesow in first place with 22 points.  Mary Varney has 21 points and Pat Foley is at 20 points.

Photo ID

This week's "mystery man" getting an award
from a "mystery woman." If you can identify
one, you'll probably know them both.
Photo by Jim Ferstle

Showing his sense of humor.  The button
reads: "I did it in Gottenburg," a reference to the
location of one of the Masters Championships
in which he competed.  Photo by Jim Ferstle

This running legend was something of a triple threat in his youth.  He snow shoed, he ran, and he bowled.  He was a champion in all three.  Part of his legend was training in a cemetary during his senior years because back then because running around in shorts and a singlet was not a common site, especially for the "senior" population.  One of his compatriots, Dr. Alex Ratelle used to run at night because he didn't want to be seen in the daylight for fear of what the neighbors would think. Who is this unmasked man?  Who is the woman in the top photo presenting him with an award?

Last week's Photo ID answer:  Dennis Barker

After two weeks of introduction to our new contest, this time we will increase the stakes.  Anyone who answers the photo ID correctly this week will receive an extra point in the Yes/No contest.

Nine individuals answered correctly in last week's photo ID contest:  Mike Henderson, Rich Cowles, Toby Hatlevig, Andrew Bolland, Daniel Gerber, Jim Glazer, Kevin Ueland, Pat Foley and Patrick Eastman.  Andrew Bolland came through with the first correct answer.

For all the results, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner, HERE.

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