GONADS/RingRun--BackBlast.8/16/11--The Big Cooldown

Aye, we planted a virtual ShovelFlag and 17 of the Faithful emerged from the Gloom for the weekly RingRun:

Six Mike
Dredd
Moniteur
RoboCop
My Little Friend
Tooth On Top
Carl Cooke (FNG, w/dog whose name I've forgotten, but a very pretty springer spaniel)
Hitman (w/ Maizy)
MMOB (w/ Finnegan)
OBT(QIC, w/ Fenway)
Gris
Black Bird
Holtz (Bevrisket + RingRun)
Waco
Iron Mike
Kenyan Slider
Nino (partial)

The Thang:
Out the backside of Christ Church to Malvern, to Sharon, to Queens Road East, to Selwyn, to Tranquil, to Westfield, to Queens Road West, to Hopedale, to Providence, back to the church. I had us at about 38:27 -- an 8:33 pace for the 4.5 miles.

Spreadsheets from the Gloom:
_ The Big Cooldown: It almost felt like September out there this morning. The starting temperature didn't even hit the 70 degree-minimum required for Six Mike to shed his shirt.
_ What Does the Rulebook Say About A Dress Code?: The Faithful encountered the world's angriest runner and BRR Ultra stalwart, Thom "Rulebook" Klingman, running the opposite direction on Westfield Road (part of his "Bug Six" route, according to MMOB). Despite shouted entreaties, he declined to join the Faithful -- thereby avoiding a grilling from Dredd, who found his outfit of no shirt and a hat to be incongruous.
_ The Blame Game: I was part of the peloton that arrived back the CEC parking lot find all sorts of finger-pointing going on among Robo, Moniteur, SixMike and Iron Mike as to who exactly was responsible for this week's breach of the over-8:30-pace rule. But, I have to concede Moniteur's point that, whatever the pace was, they ran, they talked, they had fellowship -- so it was the right pace for them.
_ 3x claps to Holtz for running a sub-8:00 5.5 miles with Nino, then running the full RingRun. Nino started out with the group, then dropped off somewhere before the turn onto QRE.
_ 3x claps also to FNG Carl, who got EHed by Hitman at soccer practice on Monday evening and posted on Tuesday ... with his dog. Impressive debut. Also debuting was Tooth On Top, who has now FNGed at AG, BHM and the RR in succession.
_ Safe travels to Hitman, who heads to my beloved Pelosiland for a long weekend of fun with some buddies that apparently doesn't include golf. Hmm ... 10 men on the loose in San Francisco ... no golf ... nah, nothing could go wrong, could it?

OBT