Lone Gull 10k

The final race in the 7-race USATF NE road running grand prix series was the Lone Gull 10k on Sept 20.  I felt like I was finally getting into race shape and was hoping for a 50+ personal best.  Dan Verrington and I headed over to the race with Tim Van Orden in tow.  We got there very early to avoid the short warm-up we had last year.  It was nice to have a few moments to catch up with some CMS teammates.

 

An hour before the start we headed out for an easy 3 mile warm up.  It was pretty humid and about 70 degrees, maybe not ideal but a lot better than the hot days leading up to the race.  I changed into racing flats and got in a short mile over to the start.  The race start was delayed by at least 5 minutes and that gave me a chance to say hi to former CMS (and current Dirigo) runners Dave Weatherbie and Byrne Decker.  I rarely get to see my Maine friends so that was a nice surprise.

 

I found a spot on the line in the sixth row, right behind Dan and Byrne.  As in years past there was little warning of the start (no gun) and just people suddenly taking off.  It took me 3-4 seconds to cross the line and doge Verrington who pulled up right at the start with some hip issue.  I followed Byrne through a comfortable first mile as we weaved through a lot of fast starters.  Dan regrouped and floated on by right around the mile.

 

As Dan and Byrne pulled away I settled into what I hoped would be a manageable pace for 10k.  I kept my head up and slowly caught people as they fell off there early pace.  It always feels good to catch someone.  My splits for 2 and 3 miles were not what I’d hoped for but I felt like I was pushing as hard as I could.

 

I hit the headwind from just after four miles (to the finish) and was lucky enough to catch a few tall people to tuck behind.  I caught a few 50+ runners along the way; I want to beat anyone in front of me but especially those in my age group.  The finish was tough with the short climb right at the 6 mile mark.  I only lost ground to a couple of people over the last few miles and hit the finish in 36:38 (gun time 36:42).  I had hoped to break 36 so the time was a disappointment but looking at who was around me showed that I finished about where I should.

 

Our team had a solid run taking second place in the seniors.  That closed out the series on a high note!

 

Splits: 5:44, 5:57, 5:46, 5:59, 5:51, 6:03, 1:18

 

Top 10 Seniors:

Pl          O'all      Name                Age       City, St              Team    Chip

1          58         Douglas Martyn   55         N Andover, MA    WRT      35:02:00

2          68         Chris Lawrence   51         Lincoln, RI         BAA       35:25:00

3          75         Wayne Levy       50         Newton, MA        BAA       35:42:00

4          76         Michael Cooney  53         Chelmsford, MA  WRT      35:44:00

5          81         Jim Miller           57                                 GMAA    36:04:00

6          82         Peter Bottomley  53         Cape Eliz, ME      DIRIGO  36:03:00

7          83         Dan Verrington   53         Bradford, MA      CMS      36:08:00

8          91         Dave Dunham    51         Bradford, MA      CMS      36:40:00

9          94         Alejandro Heuck 50         Amherst , MA      GSH      46:30:00

10         96         Henry Scollard    52         Cambridge, MA   WRT      36:51:00

 

Teams

  1.  WHIRLAWAY   35:04   35:47   36:53   37:14   37:21 (  39:18) (  42:48)             = 3:02:19                               

  2.  CMS               36:12   36:42   38:14   38:37   39:11 (  39:39) (  44:09) (  48:57)  = 3:08:56                               

Dan Verrington 53, Dave Dunham 51, Martin Tighe 57, John Gillis 51, John Griego 57, Philip Savoy Jr 53, David Lapierre 51, Frank Ruggiero