Raven snowshoe race preview

My final run on Saturday was a preview of sorts of the Raven snowshoe race which will be held in mid-February.  The Massabesic Audubon

Kearsarge sunrise run

On Saturday I got in a pleasant run up/down Mt Kearsarge via the auto road and summit trail.  Temps in the 30s on the climb which was comfortable, but high winds on the exposed

Winnipesaukee River rail trail

I finished Christmas day with a nice run on the Winnipesaukee River rail trail in Franklin NH.   This was a really nice section of trail with a lot of historic info along the way.

Great Hill - Tamworth

I started Christmas morning with a 7 mile run up and down Great Hill in Tamworth.  Ryan Welts took me on a nice tour mixing up single-track and wide snowmobile trails.  A great start to the day!

Jack Puppy!
 

Week Ending 12-27-15

Got in my 4th consecutive 80, and hope for many more of them. 80 is my max but I hope to do the max as many weeks as my body allows.  Started feeling better this week as the cold/cough abated.  Now it is time to race!

Week - 80
Month - 307
Year - 3316
Life - 130,404

M - Lunch 7 in 51:53
       PM out/back Methuen rail trail 4 in 29:35

T - Lunch 7 in 50:43
      PM 6 in Winni 50:16

W - Lunch 7 in 49:43
       PM 6 on the Methuenrail trail in 46:27

Th - 1/2 day, rare 10 mile with Dan on AVIS trails 1:24:23

F - 7am Great hill fire tower run with Ryan Welts 3m up, 3m down, mix of road, trail, snow mobile trail - 1:13:21

Afternoon out/back 3 on the Winnipesaukee river rail trail 25:35

Sat - Sunrise run up/down Mt Kearsarge 7.8 miles with 1800' climb/drop in 1:18:07
         Later 3.2 miles checking out the Raven Snowshoe race course in Auburn NH in 28:43

Sun - 12 at Petey's in 3 parts
          6 on my own in the rain and dark =
     into 3 while Petey biked =
     into 3 with Petey =
Total = 1:34:23

Mt Chocorua Christmas hike

Kristina and Ryan celebrated Kristina's birthday by hiking up Mt Chocorua.  I joined in for the Christmas morning fun and had a great day.  It was sunny and temps on top of the mountain hovered around 60 degrees!  Incredible.  Ryan brought along some Mulled Wine and there were other interesting libations in honor of the day.

I rarely hike (usually peak bagging means running) so

Indoor Track 3,000 meter links

I’ve compiled a list of meets that are USATF sanctioned and have a 3,000 meter event.  This may not be a comprehensive list but it is a good place to start!

Please send your 3,000 meter results along with a link to the full meet results to: dave.dunham@comcast.net

Jan 2 Boston U. Mini Meet    BU Indoor Track     Boston MA

      10:00 am   3000/400/mile/200/800 delgadom@bu.edu
http://www.usatfne.org/track/entry/2015-bu-mini.pdf

Jan  3 Sugarloaf Mt AC Development Meet,       Northampton MA

       Smith College. 4:30 p.m.   55 to 3K, LJ,HJ
       Enter day of event   Bill Durkee   413-586-0687
http://www.usatfne.org/track/entry/2016-smac.pdf

Jan   8-10 46th Dartmouth Relays    Dartmouth College     Hanover NH
      HS Fri-Sat, College/Open Sun MASTERS ON SUNDAY
      Lancer Timing. Online Entry only  603-646-3821
http://www.lancertiming.com/dartmouthrelays/relays2016.htm

Jan 17 Sugarloaf Mt AC Development Meet,   Smith College,     Northampton MA
       4:30 p.m.  55 to 3K, LJ,HJ
       Enter day of event.  Bill Durkee  413-586-0687
http://www.usatfne.org/track/entry/2016-smac.pdf

Jan 24 Greater Boston TC Inv  (CO,OP) Harvard University Boston MA
      Full open schedule, many masters events
http://www.gbtc.org/events/invitational/

Jan 31 USATF East Region and New England Masters Championship, Providence RI 9:30 a.m.
       Full schedule of events, selected open events.  USATF membership required
http://www.usatfne.org/track/entry/2016-ne-indoormasters.pdf

Jan 31 USATF Connecticut Open and Masters Championships, Floyd Little Athletic Center, Hillhouse HS, New Haven CT       Open/Masters at 2 p.m. All events (no weight)
http://www.usatf-ct.org/index.php/2015/12/18/usatf-ct-indoor-track-field-championship/

Feb 6 Dartmouth Indoor Classic  Hanover NH

Http://www.lancertiming.com

Feb 12-13 David Hemery Valentine Invite (CO,OP)  Boston U      Boston MA
       BU Track.  NO HS STUDENTS – 2016 info not posted
http://www.goterriers.com/sports/m-track/spec-rel/010715aaa.html

Feb 21 USATF NEW ENGLAND OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS   Harvard University       Boston MA
       10:00 am office@usatfne.org 617.566.7600
       Full schedule of open events, masters 60/200/800, Men Wt/LJ  Scholastic Boys Hurdles/Weight
    

All-Terrain Series 2016

The USATF NE ATR has been announced for 2016.  Best 5 finishes count.

Indoor Track - 3000m - Qualifying window open through USATF-NE indoor championships (2/21)

Snowshoe - Horsehill (Merrimack NH) 2/7

Trail - Merrimack River Trail Race (New England Championship) 4/9

Mountain - Loon Mountain Race (National championship!!!) 7/3

Outdoor Track - 10,000m - window open through outdoor New England's (maybe longer)

Road - Bobby Doyle 5 Mile (USATF NE road champs) 08/14

XC - TBD

Ultra - TBD...trying to get that in but it's still up in the air

Please note that some track meets have qualifying standards and time restrictions. It is the responsibility of the athletes to find USATF-NE sanctioned events that fit their schedules. More details to come!

Week Ending 12-20-15

Starting to get my legs back under me with another 80 mile week, but being sick all week took some of the wind out of my sails.

Week = 80

Month = 227

Year = 3,236

Life= 130,324

M – Lunch 7 in 54:38

      PM out/back 4 on the Methuen rail trail 32:09

T – Lunch 7 in 52:48

      PM out/back 4 on the Methuen rail trail 31:13

W – Lunch 7 in 51:24

      PM out/back 4 on the Methuen rail trail 29:53

Th – Lunch 7 in 50:24

      PM Winni 5 in 42:10

F – ½ day, Lunch run with Dan, his woods 7 in 57:18

     Later out/back Winni 3 in 24:21

Sat – 3 with Spence, into 3 with Spence & Petey, into 4 with Spence, Petey, and D-la = 10 in 1:27:29

       Later nice relaxing 3 in 28:45

Sun – 12 with Dan at Mine Falls 1:41:45

1995 USA XC championship

The 1995 CMS team took home the XC national title 20 years ago this week.  Me, Morse, Verrington, Clark, and Viens are still (to some extent) running for CMS.

I had a lousy start to the day spraining my ankle during the warm-up at Franklin Park.  The race itself went okay as the CMS squad was the top Association team.  I was our second scorer three seconds and five places behind Eric Morse.  We had some serious depth back then with our top four within 15 seconds and our top seven within 55 seconds.

      1       28:49  Brad Schlapk         Brighton, MA   New York Athletic Club - National      

      2       28:50  Ruben Reina         Fayetteville, AR            Foot Locker Athletic Club              
      3       28:53  Terrance Mahon                             Reebok Enclave - National              
      4       28:56  Brian Baker           Fayeteville, AR            Team New Balance - National            
     5       28:58  Bob Kempainen     Beaverton, OR            Nike 'A' - National                    
      6       29:02  Mark Coogan         Boulder, CO    Team New Balance - National            

65         30:15    Eric Morse          Moretown, VT     Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc

70         30:18    Dave Dunham    Bradford, MA      Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc
77         30:25    Scott Bagley       Holden, MA        Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc
85         30:30    Mike Nahom       New Milford, CT  Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc
121       31:04    Nathaniel Halsey Wellesley, MA     Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc
127       31:06    Chris Bianchi      Medford, MA       Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc
133       31:10    Jamalh Prince     Woburn, MA       Central Mass Striders 'B' - Assoc
163       31:32    Scott Clark         Gilmanton, NH    Central Mass Striders 'B' - Assoc
192       31:55    Gary Gardner      Keene, NH         Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc
199       32:02    Rusty Snow        Watertown, MA   Central Mass Striders 'B' - Assoc
216       32:20    Rod Viens          Claremont, NH    Central Mass Striders 'B' - Assoc
220       32:26    Frank Elms         Holliston, MA      Central Mass Striders 'C' - Assoc
237       32:41    Greg DeMeo       Walpole, MA       Central Mass Striders 'B' - Assoc
246       32:50    Dan Verrington   Bradford, MA      Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc
267       33:14    Vince Martinelli   Medford, MA       Central Mass Striders 'C' - Assoc
275       33:24    Tom Anderson    Keene, NH         Central Mass Striders 'B' - Assoc
280       33:28    Steve Gaebel      Newton, MA        Central Mass Striders 'C' - Assoc
290       33:39    Mark Mayall        Acton, MA          Central Mass Striders 'C' - Assoc
373 finishers

USA XC championships (30 Assoc teams)
1    328   Central Mass Striders 'A' - Assoc      
2    335   Club Northwest - Assoc                 
3    348   Boston Running Club 'A' - Assoc        
4    365   Team Alaska Track Club - Assoc         
5    399   Reebok Aggies - Assoc                  
6    409   Team Minnesota - Assoc                 

Winning Streak

I got my first win on 09-24-1979 and since then I’ve won 376 more times (over 1327 race) with the latest coming on 12-12-2015.  I’ve been fortunate enough to get at least one win every year from 1979-2015.  So my streak is now at 37 years.  The stretch between my most recent win and my last win was 380 days which is the 5^th longest “dry stretch” I’ve had along the way.  This year was only the third time I got 1 win in the year (2004 & 2005).   The most wins in a year was 38 in 1991.  This was the latest I’ve ever won in a year breaking the previous record of November 4^th.  Eight times along the way I won on January 1^st, which certainly took any pressure off for that year.  Average field in a win was 199 finishers, biggest field 3,122 finishers and the smallest field was just me (1 finisher)! 

#          Type

580       Road
151       Mountain
94         Trail
122       Snowshoe
143       XC
111       Indoor
124       Outdoor
1327     Total races

7748.99 Distance raced

5.84      Average distance raced

376      Wins

28.33% % won

Wins by year     
1979     3
1980     13
1981     22
1982     18
1983     4

Santa's Toy Trot

Santa’s toy trot – I hadn’t gotten a win yet in 2015 and my streak of at least one win a year since 1979 looked to be in serious jeopardy.  Sometimes it is (relatively) easy to pick out a winnable race.  I’d check out previous results and get a feel for how I would do.  Of course you never know who will show up!  I had a couple of close calls this year where I thought I might have a shot at a win but came up short.  I kept putting off attempts at smaller races, choosing instead to test myself in deeper fields.  Anyway, the calendar and my current fitness were conspiring to keep the elusive win at bay.  I chose the Santa’s Toy Trot in Merrimac (MA) for a few reasons.  It fit the calendar, it was a very short drive, it had a reasonable entry fee, and best of all it was a unique “3 races in 1”.  The course is a 2 mile loop that is run once, twice, or three times.  Best of all, you don’t have to declare which race you are in, you simply turn into the school parking lot after the appropriate number of laps.  This gave me three chances to win!

 

I figured that based on past results the “easiest” race to win would be the four mile, but I was more interested in doing 2 miles.  As such my plan was to go out hard and see what the competition was up to and then decide along the way.  I got to the race nice and early and drove the course which I’d run once (I won the 6 mile in 2003) and was reminded that it wasn’t super-fast but there were no hills that would kill.  I then ran the course for a warm-up and Garmin came up with 2.05, which isn’t bad for a non-certified course.  I changed into racing flats and did another mile with some strides.  I felt awful, I had a pretty good cough and I felt sluggish.  Hopefully that would fall away once the gun went off.  I chatted with Kara Haas right before the start; she had won the 2 mile outright last year and was back looking to repeat.  We are pretty evenly matched so I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

 

Over 200 runners took off and as we headed downhill (30’ in the first ¼ mile) two guys went right to the front. Breno Melo (an Ironman Triathlete) and Michael Fitzpatrick were obviously working together and it looked like with how easy they found the pace they were in it for the 6 mile.  Next up was Jordan Varano (Vestal NY), Kara, then me.  We’d already separated from the chasers and the game was on.  The first little (25’) hill saw me falling off the group.  I hit 2:43 for the first ½ mile which was ridge where I thought I could be (I thought 11-flat to 11:10 for 2 miles based on my relay leg last week).  I was a few seconds back from the leaders and losing ground.  They rolled along through the mile about 5 seconds ahead, with Kara 3 seconds up on me as I reached the mile in 5:31.

 

The course flattens out after that and there is basically a ¾ mile straight shot.  I slowly reeled in Kara and went by her just before 1.5 (8:21).  I tried to go by with some oomph so she wouldn’t be able to latch on.  I did not want to try and match her over the last 200 meters.  She fell back a bit and I focused on third place who was coming back a bit.  He was about 3 seconds ahead with a ¼ mile to go.  At that point I felt pretty beat, my breathing was ragged and I resigned myself that even if he turned in and won the 2 mile I’d turn in and call it a day.  I peeked back when we turned with 200 meters to go and Kara was holding strong and still close enough that she might outkick me if I faltered. With 150 meters to go the leaders continued on course and I turned into the parking lot for the finish.  My watch beeped as I hit 2 miles in 11:12.  It wasn’t dramatic enough for me, so I after turning into the parking lot I took a wrong turn!  Kara also took the turn and we both realized right away it was wrong, hopped the curb and finished the last 50 meters to the finish.  I got my win with Kara less than 2 seconds behind me.  I was a bit concerned about the fumble at the end but Kara seemed to think I lost ground doing that which was good enough for me.

 

I headed out on the nice McLaren trail for an easy four mile warm-down and made it back just in time to pick up my giant bottle of Maple Syrup for first place.  A sweet victory!  The three guys in front continued on and took the top 3 spots in the 6 mile, running a faster pace per mile than I did in the 2 mile.

 

    1   1/13   2M5059    Dave Dunham       Bradford MA        51 M   167   11:28.0  5:44

    2   1/20   2F4049     Kara Haas        Chelmsford MA      45 F   142   11:29.9  5:45

    3   1/10   2M4049    Jim Chute            Merrimac MA        47 M  1635   11:47.2  5:54

    4   1/18   2M0119    Kyle Costello        Groveland MA       15 M   131   12:22.5  6:12

    5   2/10   2M4049    Matthew Cirinna      Dover NH           47 M  1646   12:36.4  6:19

 

132 finishers

 

Week Ending 12-13-15

Another 80 mile week, another short speed workout, and another race.  I got my first win of the year, which extends my streak from 1979-2015.

Week = 80
Month = 147
Year = 3156
Life = 130,244

M - Lunch 7 (very sore shin from the race) 56:16
       PM 4 on the rail trail 32:20

T - Lunch 7 in 53:50
      PM Rail trail 6 in 46:41

W - Lunch 7 in 51:15
       PM rail trail 6 in 44:57

Th - Lunch 7 in 50:23
        PM rail trail 6 in 43:15, picked up a cold. Hacking cough.

F - 1/2 day, so 7 with Dan on the AVIS trails 56:59
      PM out/back 4 on the rail trail including 4x200 at 39/39/38/40

Sat - 7 with Petey (and D-la on the bike) 65:09
        Later nice relaxing 3 in 28:24

Sun - 2 warm-up course preview, 1 mile with strides, 2 mile race in 11:28 (11:12 at 2 miles)
          4 warm-down in 35:59


Happy with my huge bottle of Maple Syrup!

NH fire towers

I've been to all of the active standing fire towers in New Hampshire.  Now I'm working on the entire list of all peaks where a tower stands or has stood.  Only 32 to go!

Town - Location	Climbed	Map Location	Elevation	Status
Piermont Mountain - Piermont		38-a4	2717	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Moose Mountain - Lyme		38-i1	1850	No Longer Standing / Highest Point
Carr Mountain - Wentworth		39-d8	3470	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Middle Sister - Albany		40-a7	3330	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Mount Chocorua - Albany		40-a7	3475	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Gardner Ridge - Monroe		42-a5	2220	No Longer Standing / Highest Point
Mount Moosilauke - Benton		43-j8	4810	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Grandview (East Peak) - Woodstock		43-k11	2000	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
West Russell Mt (Drakes Lookout) - Woodstock		43-k12	2424	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Mount Hale - Bethlehem		44-c1	4077	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Mount Bemis - Lincoln		44-f4	3706	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Iron Mountain - Bartlett		44-f7	2716	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Attitash Bear Peak - Bartlett		44-i9	2504	No Longer Standing / Highest Point
Carter Dome - Bean's Purchase		45-b8	4843	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Wildcat "A" - Bean's Purchase		45-b8	4422	No Longer Standing / Highest Point
Black Mountain (South Peak) - Jackson		45-c10	2757	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Mill Mountain - Stark		48-a4	2500	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Mount Cabot - Kilkenny		48-d3	4080	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Deer Mountain - Berlin/Milan		48-d6	2770	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Lonesome Ridge - Berline		48-e6	1695	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Cherry Mountain (Mt. Martha) - Carroll		48-j1	3554	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Mount Madison - Low & Burbank's Grant		48-j7	5363	No Longer Standing / Highest Point
Currier Mt (Pine) - Low & Burbank's Grant		48-k4	2790	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Pine Mountain - Gorham		49-i8	2440	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
W. Royce (Drakes Lk) - Bean's Purchase		49-k12	3210	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
Sugar Hill (Rice Mt) - Stewartstown		50-a6	2985	No Longer Standing / Proposed
Sugarloaf Mountain - Stratford		50-g2	3701	No Longer Standing / Artifacts
East Whitcomb Mountain - Odell		50-h4	2515	Standing
Diamond Peaks - 2nd College Grnt		51-b11	2071	No Longer Standing / Proposed
Mount Dustan - College Grant		51-c11	2878	No Longer Standing / Highest Point
Cambridge Black - Cambridge		51-k11	2711	No Longer Standing /Artifacts
Deer Mountain - Pittsburg		53-b8	3005	Standing
West Magalloway - Pittsburg		53-g9	2946	No Longer Standing / Highest Point