Friday, February 20, 2015

Amherst 10 mile

First off...it is a 10 mile, not a 10 "miler".  I hate that term.  If you run a 10 mile then YOU are a 10 miler but the race isn't.

Anyway...
This weekend USATF New England kicks off the 2015 Grand Prix series (a series of 7 road races at various distances, each being the New England championship).  The “Five Colleges” 10 mile in Amherst has served as the 10 mile championship six times.  The 10 mile is not considered a “mandatory” distance so it has only been part of the GP 20 of 30 possible years.

This will be the 210th USATF NE grand prix race.  Here is the breakdown by distance:

Distance
Times in GP
5k
30
10k
30
Mar
30
5m/8k
27
1/2 mar
24
10m
20
30k
12
12k
10
8m
8
15k
8
20k
5
25k
3
6k
2
Total
209

 

Of the 103 GP races I’ve done,  I’ve run the 10 mile distance twelve times.  I picked up one overall win passing Scott Bagley at 9.2 miles and college roommate Denis Simoniatis at 9.9 miles for a 2 second victory in 49:36.  My only other “win” was topping the 45-49 age group in 2013 with a 57:51.

Date
Result
Pl
Name
Location
Notes
05/01/88
DNR
-
CMHC
Worcester
05/07/89
DNR
-
CMHC
Worcester
05/06/90
49:58
3
CMHC
Worcester
1 Schille 49:34
05/05/91
49:36
1
CMHC
Worcester
2 Simoniatis 49:38
07/28/92
50:17
3
NEAC 10M
Newburyport
08/03/93
50:25
3
Yankee Homecoming
Newburyport
1 Karari 48:56
08/02/94
DNR
-
Yankee Homecoming
Newburyport
08/01/95
51:26
5
Yankee Homecoming
Newburyport
1 Cody 51:01 NBTC
07/30/96
50:23
5
Yankee Homecoming
Newburyport
1 Fram 49:57 CMS
07/29/97
DNR
-
Yankee Homecoming
Newburyport
1 Fitzpatrick 49:36
07/28/98
52:39
7
USATF NE 10m
Newburyport
1 Giffen 51:24
02/28/99
52:27
9
USATF NE 10m
Amherst
1 Darley 51:35
10/01/06
DNR
Apple Harvest
Harvard
09/23/07
DNR
Apple Harvest
Harvard
07/29/08
59:29
80
Yankee Homecoming (USATF GP)
Newburyport
14th 40+
02/22/09
59:56
77
DH Jones USATF NE champs
Amherst
16th 40+
02/28/10
DNR
DH Jones
Amherst
02/26/12
57:15
64
DH Jones - USATF NE
Amherst
2nd 45+ (8th 40+)
02/24/13
57:51
47
DH Jones - USATF NE
Amherst
1st 45+ (6th 40+)
02/23/14
DNR
DH Jones - USATF NE
Amherst

 

I’ve had decent luck at Amherst (despite not really enjoying a February 10 mile).  Of the six times I’ve made the trek to Western MA I’ve picked up overall wins twice (1992 & 2001) along with the top 45-49 place in 2013.

 

Date
Time
Place
Field
Name
Notes
02/23/92
50:36
1
476
DH Jones
Outkicked Ed Sheehan (50:40)
02/28/99
52:27
9
940
USATF NE 10m
Drizzle, 30's, icy
02/25/01
55:04
1
355
DH Jones
Very slick snow, ice rain, lousy footing.
02/22/09
59:56
77
596
DH Jones USATF NE champs
02/26/12
57:15
62
607
USATF NE 10 mile
02/24/13
57:51
47
500
USATF NE champs (DH Jones)
1st in the 45-49

 

Good luck to everyone racing at Amherst this weekend.  Be careful out there!

3 comments:

DoubleJ said...

like the 'Old Fashioned 10 Miler' in Foxboro? ;).

But seriously, this is almost as good as your rant against the 'Stowe 8-Miler' from back in 2010: http://ddmountainrunr.blogspot.com/2010/07/sapienza-500.html :)...

Ben Kimball said...

I don't mind "miler" so much (though you make a valid point), because it allows you to drop the word "race" or "road race" (which helps when the surface is varied or whatever), but what really grinds my gears is the near-constant switching of names to reflect sponsorship. We should be able to call it the Amherst 10-Miler (or Amherst 10 Mile Race), Sponsored by... not the Rather Lengthy and Not At All Easy to Say or Write or Refer to 10-Miler, which tells you nothing about where the race is and really sounds like it's more about the sponsor than the race.

double-d Mountain runner said...

I continue to rant on :-)

Love the idea of a consistent name for a race.