by William D. Porterman

Over the past two seasons, Mud Hens' infielder John Penney has established himself as one of the more reliable base stealers in club history. On Sunday, November 1, however, it wasn't simply opposing teams watching Penney run wild. It was an entire world. 

Competing in is what perhaps the most famous road race in the world this weekend, the second baseman finished the NYC Marathon with a time of 04:08:39, and in the process became the first Mud Hen to ever complete a race that didn't involve a pony keg of Natural Light.

"It feels great," said the BU alumn. "I trained really hard this summer. When the rest of my teammates were out at bars, I'd be with them. But I'd be drinking LIGHT beer."

Penney, an amateur harrier, ran to raise money for The Melikian House, an ambitious Westchester-based charity dedicated to combatting the seemingly unrelated scourges of time travel and gambling addiction. Currently, it is estimated that roughly one out of every 304 million Americans suffer from these two afflictions. 

"It's a charity that's near  to my heart" explains Penney. "I have a dear friend who I'm running for."

Penney isn't the only Hen to try his hand at other athletic endeavors this off-season however. In December, third baseman Greg Basso and outfielder Quinn Duffy are slated to compete in celebrity beach volleyball match against C. Thomas Howell and Peter Horton, in January, shortstop Josh Rubin will appear in a nationally televised pocket pool competition. In early March, manager Mike Smith will take part in an apple-pie eating competition, much to the dismay of the Hens' front office.

"I hope he loses," says Director of Operations Richard Reed. "The kid's diabetic. If he wins, we might have a problem."