Sidehiller snowshoe race

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do any more snowshoe racing as late as last Sunday.  I talked to my PT on Monday and said my goal was to be back running and qualify at Sidehiller.  He was pretty sure that I'd be able to go if my back cooperated.

I headed up on my own, I wanted to take a couple of stretch breaks and also get to Sandwich NH very early in order to keep my back loose.  I was one of the first people to arrive so I got a nice spot in the sun and got in the back seat to stretch out my back.  The sun was nice, but I had to keep the car running to not freeze in the 2 degree temperatures.

The parking lot filled up quickly and it looked like a record field would turn out for the first qualifier in the East region.  Paul K puts on an excellent race but the (relatively) remote location has kept the field small.  Prior to this year the record turnout was 61.  Sidehiller is the only race that is part of both the WMAC and Granite State series, so it looked like there would be a great field on hand.

I was surprised to see my teammate Eric Morse show up, he'd been injured lately and hadn't done snowshoe racing in a number of years.  We gathered up a big CMS crew and some others and headed out for a hilly 3m warm-up.  I changed into my racing snowshoes and helped Dave Q adjust his snowshoes (he wore my Atlas dual-tracs).  Dave was doing his second snowshoe race ever and seemed fired-up.  We headed out with a big group and did another 10 minutes of running on the course to check out a little of the beginning of the loop.  We'd be doing 3 loops of the 1.7 mile course.  It looked to be very fast and very flat, there was only one little hill when you climbed up onto the leach field.   The surface was solidly packed and icy in spots.  This was not my type of course, but you gotta go with what nature gives you.

Paul gathered us up and gave some last minute instructions ("keep the flags on the left" was one of the instructions that wasn't entirely followed, by the last loop many of the flags had been trampled....gotta cut those tangets!).  The leaders shot out and before the first turn at about 200m in, I was in about 15th.  There was a little bit of heel clipping (well, more like a "flat tire" with someone stepping on my shoe) but for the most part it seemed to be a very clean start.  There was plenty of room to pass on 90% of the course and I wasn't in a super-rush as it was over 5m of racing.

Eric Morse blew by me at about 400m in and Jim Pawlicki began to pull away.  I felt like I was moving well and did my best to keep Eric in sight.  The single-track section was my best running and Eric went from 5 seconds up to being a step in front.  He quickly gapped me again when we hit the groomed ski track but I passed another guy (Acidotic?) but could hear footsteps right on my heels.  Eric was 4 seconds up as I passed through lap #1 in 11:07.  I was really surprised at how fast it was.  Before the race I mentioned to Dave Q that my guess was about 6 minute pace for the leaders and around 7's for me.  I figured that to be just under 12 minutes per lap, so I was definitely faster than expected.

I continued to try to keep Eric close and moved into 10th place during lap 2.  Again I closed on him on the single-track but this time I kept even when we hit the groomed.  I snuck a peek behind me at a 90 degree turn and saw Danny Ferreira and Steve Wolfe on my tail.  Damn!  Not only did I have Morse beside me I had Wolfe ready to pounce.  I was not confident in my speed so I pushed ahead of Eric and hit the end of lap 2 in 22:39 (11:32).  I had hoped to run negative splits, but that was already out the window.  Now I knew I'd need to pick it up if I wanted to be tops in the 40+ (and possibly hold on to a top 10 finish).

I tried to relax and work hard at the same time, I kept thinking "get to 4 minutes to go and pick it up".  Steve had other ideas as he passed me on the climb up to the leaching field.  I was pushing just to keep contact and could hear footfalls behind (and thought Eric was still on me...but it was Danny).  I closed on Steve and thought about trying to go around him before the single-track but when I saw the line of people I figured it might be easier to let him lead the way.  The first person we nearly ran down was a girl wearing headphones who didn't hear us call out.  I did no more calling and concentrated on breathing.  Steve would call and most people would move but many got right back on the trail and I nearly fell a couple of times trying to avoid them.  Such are the hazards of loop courses.

We hit the groomed section and I checked my watch.  3 minutes to go!  I was hurting pretty badly and just tried to hold on.  Then on one of the little climbs I sensed Steve slowing just a tiny bit.  I decided to go all out and also used a lapped runner to make it harder for Steve to go with me.  As he went around her on the left I hammered as hard as I could on the right and pushed for the top of the hill.  Steve said something like "good job" or some sort of positive note, but I knew he'd also be hanging on for the final kick.  It was then that I realized this wasn't the final little bump before the finish.  I was worried that I'd gone too hard too soon.  I crested the final part and could see the finish clock.  Just then Danny flew by like I was standing still.  I couldn't do anything if I wanted to, but wasn't all that concerned as he wasn't a master.  Then it got ugly as I "went to my arms" and tried my best to kick.  I glanced back and Steve was closing fast (if it were a little longer to the finish I would not have held him off).  I hit the line in 34:04 (11:25 final lap) and then hit the ground.  I was wheezing and couldn't stand up for about a minute (even then I was pretty dizzy).  Steve had definitely pushed me to my limit.  Any race you can walk away from and say "I ran as hard as I could today" is a good race.

Eric came in soon after followed by Jim P and then Dave Q.  CMS had a great day!  The younger CMS guys headed out on snowshoes while us old guys hit the road again for another 3m.  My back felt good but my foot (plantar fascia) was a mess.  If it isn't one thing its the other.  Oh well, no one said it would be easy.

So, now I've qualified for Nationals and the goal will be to get my foot and back to allow me to race about 10 times in the next 5 weeks.  Nationals should be a blast!  There will be a great field, no way I'm going to finish 6th this year!

Place	First	Last	City	State	Age	Team Name	Time	GSS points	WMAC points
1	Kevin	Tilton	Conway	NH	28	CMS/Inov-8	0:31:08	100.00%	100.00
2	Josh	Ferenc	Alstead	NH	28	BAA	0:31:20	99.36%	98.90
3	Jim	Johnson	Salem	NH	32	CMS/Inov-8	0:31:25	99.10%	97.80
4	Peter	Mallett	Manchester	NH	26	CMS	0:31:47	97.95%	96.70
5	Charles	Therriault	Newmarket	NH	24	Acidotic	0:32:12	96.69%	95.60
6	Ben	Nephew	Mansfield	MA	34	CMS/Inov-8	0:32:32	95.70%	94.51
7	Bob	Jackman	Warwick	RI	27	TNT	0:33:25	93.17%	93.41
8	Tim	Cox	Northwood	NH	36	Acidotic	0:33:44	92.29%	92.31
9	Danny	Ferriera	Concord	NH	27	Acidotic	0:34:01	91.52%	91.21
10	Dave	Dunham	Ward Hill	MA	45	CMS/Atlas	0:34:04	91.39%	90.11
11	Steve	Wolfe	Merrimack	NH	45	Acidotic	0:34:05	91.34%	89.01
12	Eric	Morse	Berlin	VT	44	CMS	0:34:44	89.64%	87.91
13	Jim	Pawlicki	Beverly	MA	35	CMS	0:34:51	89.34%	86.81
14	David	Principe	Cranston	RI	43	TNT	0:35:03	88.83%	85.71
15	Stan	Snow	Dunbarton	VT	43	GSRT	0:35:05	88.74%	84.62
16	Dave	Quintal	Salem	NH	46	CMS	0:35:33	87.58%	83.52
17	John	Pajer	Leicester	MA	47		0:36:05	86.28%	82.42
18	Reeder	Fahnestock	Exeter	NH	30	Acidotic	0:36:15	85.89%	81.32
19	Chris	Dunn	Strafford	NH	41	Acidotic	0:36:35	85.10%	80.22
20	Kurt	Gustafson	Shrewsbury	MA	25	Nordica TC	0:36:47	84.64%	79.12

Last chance - Granite State snowshoe series

The Granite state racing series will have it's 4th race this weekend at Sidehiller. In order to be ranked in the series (best 5 count) you need to register (no fee). Info below.....


Series Participation Form (2010)
In order to receive an official series ranking and be eligible for series awards and recognitions, you must submit our series participation form. The deadline for submission is Monday, February 1, 2010. Please click HERE to complete the online form.

This is a great series, don't miss the chance to be eligible.

Me at the start of  Cobble Mountain (the first race put on by GS series guru Chris Dunn).

Mt Washington

The Mt Washington wind speed record has been toppled!  Thanks to DS for forwarding this to me.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_on_sc/us_wind_record_toppled

The Mt W road race (50th!) lottery opens in 32 days.  Don't forget to sign up...

Masters rankings 01-27-10

Minimum of 2 races.
Total Avg Raced
1 --- 597.21 --- 99.54 --- 6 --- Tim Van Orden --- 45 --- CMS
2 --- 487.39 --- 97.48 --- 5 --- Dave Dunham --- 41 --- CMS
3 --- 295.77 --- 98.59 --- 3 --- Chris Dunn --- 41 --- Acidotic
4 --- 567.49 --- 94.58 --- 6 --- Steve Wolfe --- 45 --- Acidotic
5 --- 277.09 --- 92.36 --- 3 --- Jeremiah Fitzgibbon --- 53 --- Acidotic
6 --- 272.20 --- 90.73 --- 3 --- Chrisotpher Smith --- 43 ---Dungeon Rock
7 --- 183.30 --- 91.65 --- 2 --- Mike O'Connor --- 45 --- Acidotic
9 --- 186.54 --- 93.27 --- 2 --- David Principe --- 43 --- TNT
8 --- 184.92 --- 92.46 --- 2 --- Brent Tkaczk --- 40 --- Acidotic
10 --- 267.80 --- 89.27 --- 3 --- Paul Bazanchuk --- 55 --- WMM

More on the top four
Tim has raced six times and won five times and finished second once
Dave has raced five times and won twice and finished second three times
Chris Dunn has one first, one second, and one third
Steve has one first, three seconds and two thirds


These guys would probably finish in the top 10 but only have one finish.
3 --- 100.00 --- 100.00 --- 1 --- Dan Verrington --- 47 --- CMS
7 --- 92.71 --- 92.71 --- 1 --- David Loutzenheiser --- 43 ---

Open snowshoe rankings

Chris Dunn started his rankings this week.  He has a formula to work out who are the top snowshoe runners.  I don't use a formula but try to predict who would beat who were they all to meet in one race. 

Open SS rankings – Through 01-24-10 (two or more finishes)
1. Jim Johnson – Seven 1st place finishes – This weekend two 1st.
2. Kevin Tilton – one 1st place finish, one 4th place – This weekend one 4th.
3. Josh Ferenc – one 1st, and one 7th – This weekend one 1st.
4. Ben Nephew – one 1st, one 2nd, one 3rd, and one 5th place finish – This weekend one 2nd.
5. Tim Van Orden – three 2nd, one 3rd, and two 4th place finishes – this weekend two 2nd.
6. Geoff Cunningham – two 2nd place finishes – This weekend idle.
7. Robert Jackman – two 3rd – This weekend one 3rd.
8. Charles Theriault – one 3rd and one 4th place finish – This weekend idle.
9. Tim Cox – one 2nd place finish and one 7th – This weekend one 7th.
10. Dave Dunham – one 3rd, three 4th, and one 5th – This weekend idle.

Definitely top 10 material but haven’t raced enough…
Mark Miller – one second place finish
Greg Hammett – one third place finish
Corey Watts – one second place finish

Rankings via Acidotic
MEN
1. Jim Johnson
2. Ben Nephew
3. Tim Van Orden
4. Robert Jackman
5. Dave Dunham
6. Tim Mahoney
7. Paul Bazanchuk
8. Jim Pawlicki
9. Chris J. Dunn
10. Matt Westerlund

Red = in my top 10 as well

Most WMAC wins in a season

Jim Johnson won his 5th race of the early season and now is tied with me for the most wins in a season.  It should be very easy for him to get a bunch more before the season is over. 

There were only 6 races in 2001 and I won five of them, most were very close battles with Leigh Schmitt.  In non-WMAC action I won the initial USSSA National championship.  No pressure Jim :-)

1/13/2001 South Pond shuffle Dave Dunham

1/20/2001 Greylock Glen Dave Dunham
1/27/2001 Frostfare Dave Dunham
2/4/2001 Saratoga Winterfest Leigh Schmitt
2/17/2001 Hawley Kiln Dave Dunham
3/3/2001 Moody Springs Dave Dunham

Week ending 01-24-10

Terrible week.  Injured back may mean the end of Snowshoe racing for the year.  Pretty bummed.

M - Ind Pk 8 alone 62:12
T - Lunch run 3 - 21:56 PM - Injured
W - Saw Dr.
Th - Saw orotho and got PT
F - PT
Sat - 3m walk on treadmill
Sun - 3m walk on treadmill

Total for the week = 11 miles (5 days off)
Hoping to get back to running this week, but worried about any bad step putting me back to square one.

All-time milestones at WMAC snowshoe

Weekend of January 16/17 Milestones reached


Jim Johnson tied Richard Bolt for the most consecutive wins in a season with four.

Laurel Shortell passed 100 finishes
Laura Clark 90 finishes
Mike Lahey 60 finishes
Jeff Clark (age 63) 55 finishes
Jamie Howard and Wayne Stocker 30 finishes
Paul Bazanchuk, Ellen Mach, and Claudine Preite 20 finishes
Holly Atkinson, Jodie Lahey, Bill Ross, and Richard Teal 15 finishes
Steve Banatoski, Kathy Furlani, Douglas McBournie, Ed Myers, David Shumpert, and Glen Tryson 10 finishes

Ken Clark 7,000 points (7,081.56)
Dave Dunham 6,000 points (6,072.44)
David Boles 3,000 points (3,017.22)
Alan Bates 2,000 points (2018.97)
500 Points for London Niles (542.48), Steven Legnard (540.48), Rich Godin (530.28), John Carey (529.32), and Juergen Reher (507.98)

All-time WMAC snowshoe

I’m not sure what (if anything) this might mean, but here is a list of everyone with 6 or more WMAC races run and their Average points scored. Obviously if you race over many years your total will go down, but other factors also play into the average. Some races have historically had small fields, if the field is small enough (20 people) you could finish in the top 5 and only get 75 points. Another way of messing up your total would be to run a trail race that was counted as part of the series. Those were scored as ½ point races (first place = 50 points). Finally you could get lost (most of the top 10 at Woodford a few years ago) and get very few points in that race.

Rank	Avg		Name		Total run	Total points	Club
1	99.31	---	Jim	Johnson	8	794.50	CMS
2	99.29	---	Paul	Low	23	2,283.77	CMS
3	98.27	---	Leigh	Schmitt	35	3,439.53
4	96.26	---	Tim	Van Orden	19	1,828.87	CMS
5	96.00	---	Ethan	Nedeau	10	959.96
6	95.76	---	Mike	Cohen	6	574.55
7	95.53	---	John	Noonan	8	764.24
8	95.43	---	Mathew	Cartier	18	1,717.74
9	95.20	---	Mathew	Westerlund	8	761.63
10	95.07	---	Tim	Mahoney	17	1,616.15	CMS
11	94.41	---	Richard	Bolt	26	2,454.67	CMS
12	94.16	---	Keith	Schmitt	6	564.96
13	93.64	---	Kevin	Tilton	7	655.47	CMS
14	93.42	---	Dave	Dunham	65	6,072.44	CMS
15	93.19	---	Jason	Clark	8	745.53
16	92.67	---	Ben	Nephew	34	3,150.71	CMS
17	91.53	---	Greg	Hammett	16	1,464.47	CMS
18	90.17	---	Brian	Northan	9	811.55
19	89.96	---	Elijah	Barrett	12	1,079.51
20	89.64	---	Ken	Clark	79	7,081.56	HTC
21	89.49	---	Mark	Guilliaume	8	715.94
22	89.24	---	Abby	Mahoney	14	1,249.32	CMS
23	88.01	---	Alan	Bernier	7	616.07	CMS
24	87.87	---	Josh	Merlis	16	1,405.86	ARE
25	87.56	---	Jim	Schultz	15	1,313.33

Injured

I'm out injured again.  This time it is a lumbar strain.  Probably from shovelling on Monday.  I was fine running after and also had no problem running on Tuesday at lunch.  Later on Tuesday I went to tie my shoes and my back went into spasm.  It looks like nothing bone related, just muscular.  Basically the entire left side of my back and my hip are hurting.  I got x-rays today and started physical therapy.  I'm hoping for a quick turn-around but may have run my last snowshoe race of this season. 

I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing....nearly 800 injuries and they don't get easier.

2010 New England snowshoe rankings - Open

Here is my first attempt at ranking the top snowshoe runners in New England

1 Jim Johnson – five first place finishes

2 Kevin Tilton – one first place finish
3 Mark Miller – one second place finish
4 Greg Hammett – one third place finish
5 Corey Watts – one second place finish
6 Tim Van Orden – one second, one third, and two fourth place finishes
7 Tim Cox – one second place finish
8 Geoff Cunningham – two second place finishes
9 Ben Nephew – one first, one third, and one fifth place finish
10 Charles Theriault – one third and one fourth place finish

New England 40+ snowshoe rankings

Here is my take on the New England snowshoe racing scene for masters
Total Avg Raced


1 --- 397.21 --- 99.30 --- 4 --- Tim Van Orden --- 45 --- CMS
2 --- 487.39 --- 97.48 --- 5 --- Dave Dunham --- 41 --- CMS
3 --- 100.00 --- 100.00 -- 1 --- Dan Verrington --- 47 --- CMS
4 --- 295.77 --- 98.59 --- 3 --- Chris Dunn --- 41 --- Acidotic
5 --- 377.60 --- 94.40 --- 4 --- Steve Wolfe --- 45 --- Acidotic
6 --- 272.20 --- 90.73 --- 3 --- Chrisotpher Smith --- 43 --- Dungeon Rock
7 --- 92.71 --- 92.71 --- 1 --- David Loutzenheiser --- 43 ---
8 --- 277.09 --- 92.36 --- 3 --- Jeremiah Fitzgibbon --- 53 --- Acidotic
9 --- 183.30 --- 91.65 --- 2 --- Mike O'Connor --- 45 --- Acidotic
10 --- 184.92 --- 92.46 --- 2 --- Brent Tkaczk --- 40 --- Acidotic

More on the top five
Tim has raced four times and won three times and finished second once
Dave has raced five times and won twice and finished second three times
Dan has won the only race he has run in
Chris Dunn has one first, one second, and one third
Steve has two seconds and two thirds

Week ending 01-17-10

Biggest week of the year (laugh) with 76 miles.  Had my first double-snowshoe race weekend and came out feeling pretty beat.  Maybe next week's double will go better?

M - Lunch 3 - 21:21, PM Ind Pk 4x2 with Dan and JJ - 58:02
T - Lunch 3 - 20:56, PM Ind Pk 4x2 with Dan and JJ - 56:17
W - Lunch 3 - 20:34, PM Ind Pk 4x2 with Dan and JJ - 55:35 (note it takes me about 3 days to recover from racing).
Th - Lunch 3 20:38, PM out/back at Salem Massage 7 mile 49:59
F - 5:30 AM Ind Pk 5 x 2 alone (36:40/36:00) 1:12:40
Sat - Greylock Glen race (5th pl).  3 warm-up, 3.5 race, 3 warm-down, then 2.5 up/down Berlin Mountain.
Sun - Brave the Blizzard race (4th pl). 3 warm-up, 3.4 race, 3 warm-down, then 3.5 hour drive home *ugh*

Totals
Week 76
Month 176
Year 176

Life 107, 547

Greylock covered in clouds, view from the Glen

Two snowshoe races

This was the first double snowshoe race of the weekend and it will also be the longest drive for a WMAC race (that I'll do).  JJ and I were among the first ones to get to Greylock on Saturday.  We met up with a bunch of guys (Mark Miller, Greg Hammett, Tim Mahoney, Pavel Bazanchuck) and headed out on the roads and snowmobile trails for a 3 mile warm-up.  I then headed out on my own to check out the bridge crossing that I heard would be tricky.  I did a couple of test runs across to get a feel for how it would be done at full speed.  I wasn't too worried about the missing first plank but was anxious about tripping on the way over.

Ed gave us some final instructions and a big congratulations to Laurel Shortell who was running her 100th consecutive WMAC snowshoe race.  Ed noted that the side trails were blocked off with yellow tape and noted that people have gone under before and "someone will today".  I hoped it wouldn't be me.  With that over 100 including some fast road runners, took off for the 3.5 miles of racing.  Ed had to re-route the course due to construction in the Glen, but most of the course was the same as last year.

We hit the bridge about 2 minutes into the race with JJ leading and Miller, Hammett, and Tim Van Orden, trailing closely.  Miller moved into the lead for part of teh climb with JJ taking over about 1 mile into the race.  JJ took over for good and Miller, Hammett, and TiVo had some back and forth (but leg speed prevailed over the steady downhill).

As far as my race went....I felt like I was sprinting all-out to the bridge.  I was in 6th as we started the climb but was passed almost immediately by Ross Krause (Wildman race winner).  I closed the gap as the climb continued and passed him back along with Tim Mahoney.  I could see TiVo close and pass Miller (who was power-walking) and I was able to get within a couple of steps of them as we crested the climb.  That was it for me as we began to drop like mad on the fast snowmobile trails.  For some reason I thought htere was one more climb, but I must have been thinking of another version of the course.  I had a brief flashback as I passed the spot where Matt Cartier and JJ had passed me last year, but no one closed on me today.

I did make a brief detour off course with less than 1/2 mile to go.  Bombing down the last descent, I was the tape blocking the trail and saw the bridge we had to cross but thought we had at least another 1/2 mile or so before we'd cross it.  I scanned left and saw red flags, so I took a sharp left and began climbing.  I didn't realize this was the way we'd headed out at the start!  Fortunately someone at the bridge yelled for me to come back and I only lost about 15 seconds.  I really worked the last climb as Krause had closed on me during my move off course.  I didn't want to lose my hard earned position.  I ended up holding on but got schooled by TiVo in the 40+ category.  JJ took his third consecutive win (in WMAC races) and Greg had a solid 2010 showing.  Mark alos had a very strong second half in his first snowshoe race and sounded like he'd give it a go again some time.  120 finishers was a great showing for a race at the very edge of MA.  :-)
We headed out for another 3 miles warm-down then moved on.

1	JIM	JOHNSON	32	Male	CMS Polar Bears	25:31	6:42
2	MARK	MILLER	29	Male	BAA	26:21	6:56
3	GREG	HAMMETT	32	Male	CMS Polar Bears	26:45	7:02
4	TIM	VANORDEN	41	Male	CMS Polar Bears	27:02	7:06
5	DAVE	DUNHAM	45	Male	CMS Polar Bears	27:48	7:18
6	ROSS	KRAUSE	30	Male		28:09	7:24
7	TIM	MAHONEY	30	Male	CMS Polar Bears	28:18	7:26
8	PAUL	BAZANCHUCK	55	Male	WMM	30:33	8:02

After much debate about Brave the Blizzard (Guilderland, NY) having snow, JJ and I headed off with assurances from the race director that there would be a race, it wasn't going to be pretty but it was going to happen.  We headed to the old Williams College ski area on Berlin road for a run/hike up and down Berlin Mountain. This is the sixth highest peak in MA and it is alos the Rensslear NY county high point.  I've also read that there is no higher point on a NY border (go ahead prove me wrong).

We did the 1,200' climb in 31 minutes (including 5 minutes on top and 5 minutes putting on snowshoes), then had a blast coming down in 12 minutes of slidding and running (and taking a couple of massive spills).  After that we drove to Guilderland to see if they really had snow.  There was nothing on the gorund as we drove up so it was a huge surprise to find the field behind the school had snow.  We checked out a little bit of the trail, which had enough snow to hold a race, and then headed to our hotel.  Satisfied that we'd be racing on Sunday we hit the hot tub for a soak and the 99 for some grub.

On race morn we were among the first to arrive.  After checkin in and making sure the race was on we hit the road for a 3 mile warm-up.  I felt okay, nothing any more sore than normal, although it took almost the whole 3 miles for my foot to loosen up.  I got in some strides and bumped into TiVo who mentioned some fast local road runner who would be in the the mix.  I was not worried, my goal was to keep Tim in sight for as long as possible.  I go on snowshoes and checked out the bushwack section (to avoid some bare ground we'd zip through the woods about 200 meters into the race!).

We got warnings  from 4 minutes out, and I got a spot on the inside of the course.  JJ got a lousy start and said "this is my worst start ever" as he blew by me 100m into the race.  We hit the woods with Justin Bishop leading with JJ and TiVo right  on his tail.  I was already off the back and wheezing as I tried to stay on my feet.  After 1/2 mile we turned onto the worst part of the course, it had a couple of 50m patches that were bare, which lasted for about 1/2 mile.  The rest of the course was fine, if you enjoyed fast flat racing (not me).  I'll take a long slow slog over the fast stuff any day.

Justin led for most of the race with JJ and TiVo keeping him moving.  With about 3/4 mile to go JJ made his move and took his fourth consecutive WMAC victory and his second win at the Brave the Blizzard.  Tivo nearly got Justin as they all came in within 13 seconds.  I rolled in later that day to take fourth for the second consecutive year.  I ran as hard as I could but all in all the first double SS weekend of the year was a disappointment.  I think everyone who finished in front of me should finish in front of me but in both races I though I'd be able to maintain a much better percentage behind.

1	Jim	Johnson	M	32	24:44	06:41
2	Justin	Bishop	M	28	24:53	06:44
3	Tim	VanOrden	M	41	24:57	06:45
4	Dave	Dunham	M	45	26:58	07:17
5	Ahmed	Elasser	M	47	27:39	07:28

Next weekend will be an even tougher double with back to back tough courses at Pooh Hill (Granite state series) and Curly's (WMAC series).

Bring it on.....

Here are the hardcore runners who did both races

				Greylock	Greylock	Blizzard	Blizzard	Total	Total
				Place	Time	Place	Time	Place	Time
Jim	Johnson	M	32	1	0:25:31	1	0:24:44	2	0:50:15
Tim	VanOrden	M	41	4	0:27:02	3	0:24:57	7	0:51:59
Dave	Dunham	M	45	5	0:27:48	4	0:26:58	9	0:54:46
Brian	Northan	M	34	14	0:32:00	9	0:30:11	23	1:02:11
Rich	Teal	M	31	15	0:34:30	10	0:30:13	25	1:04:43
Glen	Tryson	M	56	39	0:38:06	19	0:34:30	58	1:12:36
Jeff	Clark	M	52	25	0:38:33	43	0:35:07	68	1:13:40
Ian	Hutchinson	M	45	44	0:38:43	29	0:35:44	73	1:14:27
David	Shumpert	M	39	57	0:42:25	33	0:37:06	90	1:19:31
Vincent	Kirby	M	53	75	0:45:06	59	0:42:25	134	1:27:31
Laura	Clark	F	62	81	0:47:01	96	0:50:49	177	1:37:50
Laurel	Shortell	F	43	98	0:51:26	88	0:48:48	186	1:40:14
Jeff	Clark	M	63	114	1:04:30	125	1:06:19	239	2:10:49

Me on the summit of Berlin Mountain

Masters snowshoe rankings - percent back

I took another look at the rankings….Paul Baz had asked about the numbers (and I love numbers). Mostly I just ranked based on how I figure each person would do against everyone else on the list. Using the % behind the top master at each race to build the numbers comes up with a different ranking if you look at just the average % back. Of course since some only raced once or twice it is impossible to compare across the board (example: I ranked Dan 3rd but he got 100% at the one race he ran). If I looked strictly at % back I’d move Chris Dunn ahead of Steve Wolfe which probably doesn’t make sense since the only time they’ve met (Beaver Brook) Steve finished ahead of Chris. I put Dan in third based on his percent behind Ben Nephew who both Tim Van Orden and I both beat at Woodford. I probably should have put Sean Snow in the mix somewhere as he beat some of the guys in the top 10. It is a work in progress and with more data points (race finishes) it will change.


I’ll probably also start an Open ranking as well. We’ll have seven races to pull results from after this weekend!

Rank--- Total ---Avg

1tie--- 197.21 ---98.60 ---Tim Van Orden--- 45 --- CMS
1tie--- 297.63 ---99.21 ---Dave Dunham--- 41 --- CMS
3---- 100.00 ---100.00---Dan Verrington--- 47 --- CMS
4---- 280.54 ---93.51 ---Steve Wolfe--- 45 --- Acidotic
5---- 195.77 ---97.88 ---Chris Dunn--- 41 --- Acidotic
6---- 185.31 ---92.66 ---Chrisotpher Smith--- 43 --- Dungeon Rock
7---- 92.71 ---92.71 ---David Loutzenheiser--- 43 ---
8---- 183.00 ---91.50 ---Jeremiah Fitzgibbon--- 53 --- Acidotic
9---- 90.89 ---90.89 ---Rob Bousquet--- 43 ---
10--- 176.00 ---88.00 ---Ken Clark--- 47 --- HTC

WMAC all-time stats

Here are the top 25 WMAC point total leaders through last weekend.  CMS has four in the top 25.

			Pts	Run
Rank	First Name	Last Name	Tot	Tot	Avg
1	Bob	Dion	7642.46	93	82.18
2	Ken	Clark	6989.75	78	89.66
3	Dave	Dunham	5877.96	63	93.19
4	Edward	Alibozek	5670.32	76	74.61
5	Ed	Alibozek Jr	4474.49	83	53.91
6	Jay	Kolodzinski	4182.29	52	80.43
7	Mike	Lahey	3849.77	59	65.12
8	John	Pelton	3534.36	50	70.69
9	Leigh	Schmitt	3439.53	35	98.27
10	Laura	Clark	3334.39	88	37.84
11	Ben	Nephew	3150.71	34	92.60
12	Laurel	Shortell	3118.33	99	31.89
13	David	Boles	2969.46	54	55.68
14	Bob	Worsham	2931.83	48	61.38
15	Peter	Lipka	2884.51	54	53.42
16	Bill	Morse	2874.73	49	58.51
17	Larry	Dragon	2834.56	49	57.85
18	Paul	Hartwig	2745.17	56	49.02
19	Bob	Massaro	2579.89	76	33.93
20	Richard	Bolt	2454.67	26	94.41
21	Richard	Busa	2350.84	92	25.55
22	Dave	Hannon	2344.19	28	83.72
23	Paul	Low	2283.77	23	99.29
24	Scott	Bradley	2201.62	37	59.56
25	Jack	Casey	2120.39	27	78.53

Zero time

There is nothing worse than finishing and getting a time that ends in :00. It doesn’t matter how hard you kick, the clock always seems to speed up as you approach the line. The dreaded double-zero is the worst possible outcome. Conversely the best outcome would be a :59, then you can say “I ran 25 and change” (when you ran 25:59) or “I ran 2:59 and change” (when you ran 2:59:59) or even better in that case would be “I ran 2:50 something”.

Anyway, out of 1,086 races I’ve only finished at “00” or “59” a grand total of 33 times or just over 3% of the time. For the most part it has worked to my favor. I’ve collected 22 times that were :59 and only 11 that were :00. The most frustrating: 00 for me would be the 1,500 meter time of 4:00. It is my only PR that is a :00 and had I slipped under I could have claimed I was a sub-4 (metric) miler.

Dist --- Time
0.25 --- 01:00
0.93 --- 04:00
2.00 --- 11:00
2.40 --- 12:00
3.15 --- 18:00
3.11 --- 19:00
5.00 --- 24:00
6.21 --- 34:00
14.20 --- 1:12:00
26.22 --- 2:51:00
31.11 --- 4:31:00

Dist --- Time
1.00 --- 04:59
1.00 --- 04:59
2.00 --- 10:59
2.00 --- 10:59
2.85 --- 14:59
3.11 --- 14:59
3.11 --- 14:59
3.11 --- 14:59
3.11 --- 14:59
3.11 --- 15:59
3.11 --- 16:59
3.50 --- 18:59
3.11 --- 18:59
4.96 --- 23:59
5.00 --- 24:59
4.30 --- 24:59
6.21 --- 29:59
6.21 --- 30:59
4.00 --- 32:59
7.05 --- 34:59
7.45 --- 36:59
5.20 --- 46:59

Masters Snowshoe rankings

Here are my snowshoe rankings....

1tie Tim Van Orden 45 - CMS
1tie Dave Dunham 41 - CMS
3 Dan Verrington 47 - CMS
4 Steve Wolfe 45 - Acidotic
5 Chris Dunn 41 - Acidotic
6 Chrisotpher Smith 43 - Dungeon Rock
7 David Loutzenheiser 43
8 Jeremiah Fitzgibbon 53 - Acidotic
9 Rob Bousquet 43
10 Ken Clark 47 - HTC

Biggest "year" ever

In the spirit of Petey's "70 mile week, not 7 consecutive days"....I figured out the most miles I'd run on any given day over the last 31 years then added them up to come up with my "biggest" months and year.  The biggest month was 750 miles in October and the total for the year was 7,432 or just over 20 miles per day.

Jan	17	17	16	17	20	15	22	18	17	17	17	16	15	30	20	20	18	17	20	20	21	17	17	22	17	21	20	21	21	20	23	589
Feb	18	21	20	20	21	17	19	17	30	15	18	22	19	19	21	21	20	24	19	25	20	20	20	18	27	22	19	24	16			592
Mar	30	18	20	20	20	19	20	21	20	20	20	16	17	18	20	17	18	18	23	18	20	18	32	23	23	20	27	17	20	16	21	630
Apr	15	20	20	19	16	17	32	14	28	15	28	18	17	18	19	18	29	18	19	31	16	16	20	22	19	18	18	25	22	17		604
May	18	29	21	18	20	28	17	18	19	17	21	16	19	22	22	18	17	21	19	16	18	17	17	18	17	19	20	16	16	24	21	599
Jun	15	28	17	15	20	16	19	14	18	15	20	19	16	15	18	18	18	18	18	19	37	18	21	16	27	28	17	19	19	31		589
Jul	19	19	16	17	19	17	19	20	24	18	22	20	18	18	18	15	17	18	19	22	17	20	20	20	18	25	18	50	33	22	17	635
Aug	20	15	18	24	21	25	20	17	18	15	20	15	20	21	19	21	20	20	21	15	26	22	20	24	21	42	22	20	21	22	20	645
Sep	22	18	20	19	18	15	20	18	30	18	18	21	20	30	19	32	18	20	18	17	18	28	18	28	20	18	22	19	18	27		627
Oct	20	18	25	21	20	30	26	62	18	18	20	24	19	29	26	17	30	35	17	28	20	19	20	25	22	15	28	27	27	16	28	750
Nov	20	15	27	18	18	15	27	20	27	19	28	17	16	31	17	15	50	20	15	16	18	17	15	16	15	19	17	16	17	16		597
Dec	15	16	15	16	16	18	19	16	28	20	19	28	14	28	14	12	21	33	17	17	16	19	17	15	22	16	17	17	16	20	18	575
																																7432	GT
																																20.31	Avg