Mt Washington Road Race Hall of fame - 2015 Nominees

15 people have been nominated for this year’s Mt Washington Road Race Hall of Fame.  The committee and members of the HOF will be choosing this year’s inductees later this year.  Here are the nominees:

 Eric Blake – He is a 3-time winner of the race, taking the top spot in 2006, 2008, and 2013.  He owns the state record for CT (59:57) and NY (61:07) and is one of only 8 people to have ever run under Sixty Minutes.  He has run eight times under 1:02 which ranks first (the next closest has 4).  In 2014 he set the 35-39 AGR with a 60:01.  He also holds the age 35 single age record with that time.  He has four of the top 16 times in the 30-34 AG.  Eric ranks 5^th on the all-time prize money list taking home $7,000.  He has ten top 10 finishes which ranks 7^th and nine top five finishes which ranks 6^th.  His ten sub 1:15’s ranks 11^th, ten sub 1:10’s rank 7^th and nine sub 1:05’s ranks 3^rd (behind only HOF members Dunham and Gutierrez).  In 2005 he scored on the CMS team that set the open team record.  He has run the race 10 times with a PR of 59:57.

Sumner Brown –In 1989 he set the then 45-49 AGR of 1:13:00 and in 1990 he lowered his record to 1:11:41.  He set the 55-59 AGR in 1999 running a 1:17:59.  He set an age group record in 1994 when he placed 18^th overall in 1:12:27 which topped the 50+ age group. That record stood for 15 years.  In 2004 broke into the 60+ age group with the then 2^nd fastest time.  He currently holds the single age records for age 51, 63, 64, and 65 and the AGR for 65-69 with his 1:34:36 from 2009.  He finished the race 25 times from 1984-2010 which ranks tied for 30^th all time.  His PR is 1:10:53.  He has run under 1:20 sixteen times which ranks tied for 9^th and under 1:15 eleven times which ranks tied for 10^th. He ranks 28^th all-time in prize money winnings.

Philip S. Campbell - born November 1, 1917 in Portland, Maine, passed away on July 9, 2008 at the age of 90. He was a long time resident of Lynnfield, Massachusetts. From the age of 48 onwards running became a passion in life. He considered his record in the Mount Washington Road Race the pinnacle achievement of his running career in his eighties.  In 1998, he set the current Mount Washington course record for Men 80-84 with a time of 2:19:48 beating the previous record by almost 17 minutes. This record remains one of the longest-standing, unbeaten marks in any age category. Five years later at the age of 85 he set a new course record for Men 85-89 with a time of 3:03:18. From 1998 to 2003 he ran the Mount Washington Road race four times finishing first in his age category each of those years while setting three course records.  He was an early and passionate advocate for age categories for senior runners in road races and played an integral role in the growth and success of the New England 65 Plus Runners Club serving as club president from 1994 through 1997.

John Cederholm – won the race in 1973 in his first attempt, and went on to finish five times in the top ten from 1973 – 1978 which ranks tied for 14^th.  At age 60 he set a then top ten age group time of 1:31:07.  He has run sixteen times under 1:20 which ranks tied for 9^th and under 1:15 ten times which ranks tied for 11^th.  He has run four times under 1:10.  He has run the race 31 times which ranks 15^th all-time and has a PR of 1:08:26.  In 1973 he set the then AGR for 30-34 (1:08:26).  In 1988 he set the then AGR for 45-49 (1:15:05).  His 1:52:59 in 2013 ranks 6^th fastest person in the 70-74 and his 1:44:55 in 2008 ranks 16^th fastest person in the 65-69.

Francis Darrah – Won the race in the first two years it was held (1936 & 1938).  He broke his own course record in 1938 running a 1:15:28. He is one of only nine people who have ever held the course record at Mt Washington.  He is one of the three people in the history of the race to set the course record multiple times.

Brandy Erholtz – A two time winner of the race, she has raced seven times with a PR of 1:10:53.  She has the single age records for age 30 (1:11:08) and 31 (1:10:53).  She ranks 8^th on the prize money list with $6,000.  She has five of the top 13 times in the 30-34 AG.  Her seven top 10 finishes ranks tied for 3^rd.  She has run under 1:20 six times which is tied for 1^st and seven times under 1:30 ranks 9^th.

George Etzweiler -  If all goes well, he will run the race again, 20 years after he first ran it. He'll be 95. The race means the world to him.  He is the oldest finisher (93 in 2013), and finished seven times between the age of 85 and 93.  All of his times rank between 6^th and 28^th in the 80+ age group.  He is the only runner over age 88 to finish the race.  He currently owns seven single-age records (85,86,87,89,91,92,93) and the 85-89 AGR (2:33:20).

Cathy Hodgdon – Three consecutive wins from 1980-1982.  All three times were under 1:30 averaging 1:24:07.  Kathy holds the single age record for age 22 with her 1:22:57 in 1981.  That record is the second oldest women’s record in existence.

Ellenora Mendonca – had three consecutive wins from 1976-1978.  She set the course record twice with her 1:30:05 in 1977 and her 1:28:39 in 1978.  She and Hall of Famer Chris Maisto are the only women to have set course records multiple times.  She led her CSU team to a women’s team record running 4:54:21, knocking a record 31:55 off the old record.

Vickie Miller – ranks tied for 57^th (4^th woman) on the “all-time finishes” list with 21 finishes and tied for 25^th (2^nd woman) on the “active streak list” with 21 consecutive finishes.

Eric Morse – Is possibly the most prolific runner to not have an overall win at Mt Washington.  He has the Vermont state record with his 1:01:09 from 1999.   He is tied for 3^rd most top 10 finishes with fourteen (only HOF members Dunham and Woodward have more top 10’s with 15).  He ranks 3^rd in sub 1:10 finishes with fifteen (trailing Dunham and Woodward).  He ranks tied for fourth (tied with Hall of Famer Bob Hodge) with ten top five finishes, trailing only Hall of Famers Dunham, Gutierrez and Woodward.  He ranks 5^th in sub 1:05 finishes with seven.  He owns five of the top 25 times in the 40-44 including the 8^th fastest time ever with his 1:04:38 from 2006.  He ranks 14^th all-time earnings at Mt Washington ($4,200).  He scored on record setting teams (CMS) an amazing 9 times, setting course records 5 times on the open squad and 4 times on the masters.  He has finished the race sixteen times, including 3 times as runner-up, with a PR of 1:01:09.  The three times as a second place finisher were all to HOF members (Fram, Carpenter, Gutierrez).

Barbara Robinson - She currently holds two 5-year age-group records (65-69 & 70-74).  She set the 70-74 age group record with a 2:00:42 at age 70.  She has the single age records for age 65,70, 71, 76, and 78.  She has two times in the top 10 for the 65-69 and four in the 70-74 age groups.  Her 2:11:11 at age 75 is the second fastest in the 75-59 AGR and her 1:46:03 from 1999 is the 65-69 AGR. 

Donna Smyers – Has 20 finishes from 1993-2014 which ties her for 63^rd most (5^th most for women).  She has taken the senior title four times and was runner-up twice.  She has run seventeen sub 1:30 times which ranks first and has eight top 10 finishes which ranks 2^nd.    She hold four single age records, 50 (1:28:19), 51 (1:28:01), 53 (1:29:25), and 56 (1:27:59).  She has three of the top 30 times in the 35-39, five of the top 28 times in the 45-49, five of the top 11 in the 50-54, and the 2^nd fastest 55-59 (trailing only HOF member Jacqueline Gareau – by 1 second).  She was on the record setting Central Vermont 50+ team in 2008.  Her PR is 1:22:37.

 
Peter Watson - Peter, who died in 2012, was the supreme organizer of Team Gloucester, which annually accounts for an impressive number of runners in the field.  He invented the Mt. Washington Practice Run in Rockport, where he lived, and he organized it year after year. He publicized the race every way possible, from the newspapers he published to the word-of-mouth network that extended from him to thousands of people in many directions, but especially around Cape Ann, Mass.  His pre-race and post-race comments about Mt. Washington were a combination of high intellect, passion and rich good humor, and they are valuable as a way to put what we all do in greater perspective. Many, many community-oriented people have dedicated a lot of time and energy to giving the race the ambiance that makes it so appealing; I see Peter as the epitome of them all.  He ran the race 23 times between 1988-2011 with a personal best of 1:46:19.  No one loved or respected the Mount Washington race more than Peter.  He inspired, encouraged and led Team Gloucester to form as an official club.  Each year he would email every runner he knew when the lottery would open.  There were several reminders counting down to the close of the lottery.  Most of what Peter did was about getting TG to do well at Mt Washington each year.  To get more runners past the lottery he offered to provide volunteers.  TG began running chick-in on Friday nights and have at least once manned a water stop.  Peter always organized and planned who would volunteer and supervised to make sure it was done well.  He kept detailed records of each TG members races up the Mountain and compared times to previous year.  He cajoled runners into competing on behalf of TG and generally orchestrated everything they did relative to the Mountain race.  He is the reason for the strong TG women’s presence at the mountain.  He created an entire lore about the mountain that resonated far and wide…but it’s hard to quantify. 

Suzie West – She leads the top 10 finish list with nine all-time and ranks 2^nd all-time with fourteen sub 1:30 finishes.  She has the age 48 single-age record with her 1:23:19 from 2011.  She was top master once and runner-up three times and was senior champion once.  She was part of the record setting CSU team in 2013 setting the 50+ CR, and was also on the CSU masters team that set the CR three times (2003, 2007, and 2008).  She has three of the top 45 times in the F35-39 including the 17^th fastest ever with her 1:20:40 from 1999. She has three of the top 22 times in the F40-44 including the 15^th fastest all-time with 1:20:18 from 2003.  She has five of the top 22 times for F45-49 including the 5^th fastest all-time with her 1:23:19 from 2011.  She ran the 6^th fastest all-time for F50-54 with her 1:28:22 in 2013.  She ranks 35^th in all-time earnings at Mt Washington.