Innovation has always been the trademark of the Merrimack Valley. Whether it is textiles, computers or road races the Valley has always been on the leading edge of change.

Six years ago the Bobby Bell took an innovative step in becoming the first major road race in the Valley to use a gender grading scoring system. This year the innovations continue as all women will have their finishing times multiplied by a factor of 0.88.

How did it work out?
Last year Pat Fullerton led the way with a terrific time of 25:47. The first women, Laura Rudd, finished first among the women. Her real time of 36:21 and an adjusted time of 33:00 were good enough for placing 6th overall.

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