A Photographer’s Point-of-View on the Bobcat Bolt 5K/10K

I’ve been photographing the Bobcat Bolt since it’s inception in 2009.

Runners ready...

Runners ready...

It is one of the more fun and loving events I cover all year. There’s a special feeling in the air. It’s beautiful to see our community of classmates and their families come together to organize and participate in this great road race. The course takes a gorgeous tour through Durham and out into the countryside as well, with volunteers at the aid stations making sure the tired runners feel supported with water, encouragement and laughter.
Support from the Fire Captain

Support from the Fire Captain

Everyone gathers for the finish line and awards to cheer on their parents and friends.
Finish line fans

Finish line fans


Oyster River Festival
2010 Bobcat Bolt

2010 Bobcat Bolt


At this point the Oyster River Festival is already starting, which is absolutely great.
All Smiles at the Oyster River Festival

All Smiles at the Oyster River Festival

Oyster River Festival

Oyster River Festival

There’s lots of interesting vending and a silent auction, with one lively musical performance after another, from the school orchestra to rock bands to renowned folk trios. There are fun-runs for the children and other games… potato bag races, face painting and story telling by Sean Middleton. The afternoon is relaxed and fun on the grass and in the sun.
Crafts at the Oyster River Festival

Crafts at the Oyster River Festival

Another set at the Oyster River Festival

Another set at the Oyster River Festival

The Bobcat Bolt is not complete until you come for a discounted evening cruise up the Pisquataqua River with the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co. Jim Devlin Band band plays foot-kickin’ hits all night long while a slideshow of the photos from the day play behind them. Take a stroll on the upper decks and watch the sunset and feel great after a long day of healthy exercise, great community and awesome music and entertainment. Last year there was a fire-dance performance on the docks at the end of the cruise!

All of this happens in the celebration for life and to raise funds for local youth initiatives and scholarships in the name of Josh and Nate Hardy. Come join in the fun and bring the family for one of the best community days of the year!

Darren Miller
ORHS ’93

Chief Maloney Honored by Thousands of Runners

More than 2,000 runners showed up yesterday and ran from Portsmouth to the Greenland police station in honor of Chief Maloney yesterday. Great story and video HERE.

Chief Maloney

Oyster River Festival Music Line-Up Announced

Another year of amazing music lined up under the tent for the community!

Mike Merenda and friends at the Oyster River Festival

Mike Merenda and friends at the Oyster River Festival


Oyster River Festival Music Line-Up:
11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. The George Brown Band
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Something With Strings

T-minus Two Weeks!! Time to Register!

Check out the new photos on the Bobcat Bolt Fan page.

Incredible photos from Darren Miller Photography over the last three years.

If you want to help get the word out – please forward and share these links to your friends and family who can help spread the message:
Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/IyUEmQ
Bobcat Bolt Website: http://bit.ly/Uz1Se
Direct link to register: http://bit.ly/IrUkrR

We only have two more weeks! Don’t be shy – forward these links as often as you can – it will really help bring in the people.

Let’s get the word out to register for the race and support the cause of youth initiatives and scholarships in memory of Josh and Nate Hardy!

Oyster River Festival Music Line-Up:
11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. The George Brown Band
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Something With Strings

Chief Michael P. Maloney Tragedy Observed

On Thursday April 16, 2012 Greenland, NH & surrounding communities filled with great sorrow after losing their Police Chief Michael P. Maloney to a senseless tragedy.

Chief Maloney was a 26 year law enforcement professional, very well respected by all in the law enforcement community as well as his local community of 3500.

It is with deep respect and sadness that the Bobcat Bolt Organizing Committee would like to express condolences to the family and friends of tthe late Chief P. Maloney and all of the men and women in uniform involved in last Thursday’s tragic events.

Every year, before the start of the Bobcat Bolt, our runners observe a moment of silence, in honor Josh and Nathan Hardy and for all of our deceased family, friends & loved ones. This year we will all be thinking of Chief Michael Maloney as well.

A wake is scheduled for Wednesday April 18, 2012 at the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home; 811 Lafayette Rd. Hampton, NH.

All are respectfully invited. Family flowers only. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Chief Michael Maloney Trust Fund, c/o Optima Bank, 26 Lafayette Road, North Hampton, NH 03862. Visit www.RemickGendron.com for directions or to sign an online guest book.

Chili’s – Bobcat Bolt Night

chilis

The Bobcat Bolt is proud to announce a partnership with Chili’s restaurant in Dover, NH, which is sponsoring Bobcat Bolt Night on Monday, April 9.  With each Bobcat Bolt flyer presented, Chili’s will donate 10% of the sales to the Bobcat Bolt!  The offer is good on take-out orders as well!  So spread the word, print off the flyer below, and enjoy a meal at Chili’s while helping to promote the 2012 Bobcat Bolt!

Click here to download the flyer, and make sure to bring it with you on April 9!

Thank You to a Special Family

The organizers of the Bobcat Bolt would like to send a huge thank you out to a very special family – The Gaults. Ive been friends with the Gaults my entire life and they never cease to amaze me as individuals and as a great big unit of love and energy.

Andrew and Robyn Gault and their company Gault Builders have been supportive sponsors of the event since our inception. The family has always been in attendance and it is a treat to see many of them at the event each year, running, volunteering, and spending time at the festival.

But recently, the entire family pooled their resources to make a financial donation. I received the following note from Mary Ann Gault. It was an incredible show of generosity and support for the vision of the event – and wanted to share it with the community:

Dear Chris,

This Christmas, the Gault family decided to forgo our usual gift exchange and make a donation instead. We chose the Bobcat Bolt to receive the money we would have spent on each other. The choice was a unanimous one because Josh and Nate Hardy have been dear to our family and we want to honor their memory.

Robyn has deposited our check for $1105.00 into the ORAA account. We’re proud to add our support to the efforts Robyn and Andrew have made to build up this fund.

Keep up the good work. Happy New Year.
Ralph and Mary Ann, Ralph, April, Christian, Jaime, Dan, Sarah, Andrew, Robyn, Anne, Catherine, John, Michael, Nicholas, Benjamin and Max

On behalf of the Bobcat Bolt – thank you Mary Ann and all of the Gaults for supporting the event and honoring Josh and Nate. We’ll see you in May!

Thank you!
Christopher Jerard

If you are interested in donating to the event in the honor of Nate and Josh Hardy, please send your donation online HERE or directly to:

ORAA – Bobcat Bolt
PO Box 320
Durham, NH 03824

May 12th, 2012 – 4th Annual Bobcat Bolt Date Set!

The organizers of the 4th Annual Bobcat Bolt are excited to announce that the date is set for May 12, 2012.

Important facts:
Start time will be 9am for both 5K and 10K races.
Total prize purse will be $1150.
The first 200 race entries receive a free t-shirt. REGISTER HERE
Food provided for racers afterward.
KIDS FUN RUN immediately following the race

Preliminary Schedule:

9am: Start
915am: First finishers for 5K
915-10:15am: 5K and 10K finishers

10:00 -10:15am
Awards Ceremony and Prize Money

10:30 -10:50am
Kids Fun Run

11am-1:00pm:
OYSTER RIVER FESTIVAL

Team Results Correction

It seems that the thunder, lighting and torrential rain on Saturday caused the race organizers to get some wires crossed.
The final results are in and below.

Unfortunately, the ORHS BOYS SOCCER team was mistakenly declared the winner of the Team Challenge – when in fact, as clearly seen below, it was the ORHS BBALL team that was victorious. On behalf of the Bobcat Bolt I sincerely apologize for this mix-up as I know it has been a mishap of serious concern among the competitive teams assembled on race day.

ORHS BBALL is the 2011 Team Challenge Champion. My apologies to both teams for the mistake.

MENS TEAM 5K RESULTS:

1. ORHS BBALL
22:03 23:45 25:17 ( 32:04) ( 33:27) = 1:11:05
BRAD TAYLOR, AARON WARD, SHERIF FARAG, ERIC JOHNSON, DAVID JACKSON
2. ORHS BOYS SOCCER
25:32 29:43 31:46 = 1:27:01
JEREMY BEAUDETTE, MICHAEL BELAND, JAMIE RENNER

WOMENS TEAM 5K RESULTS:
1. UNH GYMNASTICS ALUM
23:54 25:14 28:17 30:29 ( 32:27) = 1:47:54
JANA MOWERS, KATY LILLY, JENNIFER GANLY, ROSE WALSH, NICOLE SHAWLEY
2. UNH WOMENS BASKETBALL
29:43 29:44 36:41 37:37 = 2:13:45
MAUREEN MAGARITY, MARGARET CAREY, KRISTEN LINDEROTH, JILLIANE FRIEL

Thank you!

The 2011 Bobcat Bolt and Oyster River Festival are on the books – and a very memorable event at that! The rain came fast and furious, but our runners, volunteers and community stood strong and weathered the storm with nothing but smiles.
That is truly the spirit of this event – inspired by Josh and Nate Hardy.

There are many thank yous in order. First and foremost, thank you to the group of volunteers who work months in advance to bring the event together. Anita Mathur, Jeff Lang, Ben Hardy, Robyn and Andrew Gault, Sarah Cox and Donaldo Trejo all went above and beyond to make this year happen.

We added another event to the roster with the Kids Fun Run and the it was a huge success under Donaldo’s leadership and definitely brought the biggest smiles of the day.

Big thanks to our premiere sponsors:
Gault Builders, Durham Market Place, Sperry Tents, Fosters Daily Democrat,
Minute Men Painters, Bugaboo Creek Steak House

And to our private and corporate donors:

Erl Hardy, Liberty Mutual, Durham Community Church, Direct Capital, Lenk Orthodontics, The Masiello Group, Bluewater Mortgage, Shaheen Gordan, People’s Bank, Clearly Cleaners, Runner’s Alley, The Great Bay Rotary Club, Ricci Lumber, Schoonmaker Architects, Woodbury Family Practice, Wonderlake Media, The Bagelry, Breaking New Grounds, Dr Dugas and Bragdon, Robert Goodhue, Durham Fire Department, Boy Scout Troop #154

The Team Challenge also brought lots of interest – and controversy!
The competitive spirit that burns in these past and present UNH and ORHS athletes never goes away and several of the teams have inquired about the full results for fact checking purposes. There is even an official dispute pending. I am obtaining the details from our timing contractor asap to review.

Thanks to the entire Seacoast running community and the Oyster River community for coming out and supporting this event. I hope everyone had a good race! Please dont hesitate to email me with feedback at cj@bobcatbolt.com. Im sure there are things we can improve on – and I’m very open to suggestions from the community. Thanks!

Race Director
Christopher Jerard