Looking back
January:
I’ve been a member of
the Central Mass Striders (CMS) since January 1, 1992. On my first day as a CMS
member I ran the Freezer Five, a five mile race held in Sterling MA. Larry
Sayers and I ran together and tied for first place with a 24-flat. That time
was (and still is) the course record. On New Year’s Day 2016 the record held up
for the 24th year. This was the 35th running of the race
which has been held on the same rolling course since its inception. This is
among the oldest course records I have that have held up all these
years.
35 years
ago I started out the
year with a new Billerica High school record for 2 miles (indoors) with a 9:41.6
at the Dartmouth relays. I'm not sure what the old school record was but it was
held by Kevin Curtin. A week later I broke that record with a 5th place finish
at the Coaches Invitational at Harvard. I ran 9:33.7 in a race won by Mike Flynn
who ran 9:12. I ran two other two miles that month, both at Methuen High school
and both wins. I ran 9:56 in a dual meet against Lowell and a 9:49 in a dual
meet versus Wilmington
25 years
ago I ran six races
during January of 1991, ranging from 1 mile to 5 miles. I placed first in five
of them and the other was a relay. After a 16:23 at the Fudgcicle series 5k I
headed to Dartmouth and led off a 4x1mile team with Brad, Gary and Artie running
4:20, 4:30, 4:38, and 4:50 respectively. The next day I ran the open mile in
4:20.6. I returned to Tewksbury two more times running 15:59 and 16:17 and
closed out the month with a victory at the Penacook Winter challenge 5m where I
ran 24:53.
20 years
ago I competed in six
races and got five wins to kick off 1996. I started the year with a tough battle
against Dan and Rob Pierce at the Hangover 10k. I didn't pull away for good
until less than a mile to go and ended up with the "W" by just a few seconds
(30:28). A few days later I went for a "triple" at the Dartmouth relays. I took
first in the mile, 3,000, and 5,000 in 4:12, 8:44, and 15:39 respectively. Maybe
that took a bit too much out of me? I suffered at the Ras Na Heiran (Race of
Ireland) where I finished 20th in a very tough XC race. I closed out the month
with a win at the Freeze your Bunz 5m race in Nashua in 25:41.
15 years
ago Yikes, five races
and five wins to kick off the new millennium. I started off with a "Rat Race"
win at the Weary Traveler running 25:03 on the "short five" course. The
following week I won at the South Pond Shuffle, which remains one of my favorite
snowshoe races. I followed that up with a win at Greylock glen, which is the
snowshoe race I've done the most times (seven). The following day I won the
tough Boston Prep 16 mile in an awful snowstorm. I would have been better off
racing in snowshoes! The final race of the year was a very fast snowshoe race in
Stillwater NY. As I recall Robert broke his snowshoe and was
disqualified.
10 years
ago: I had a decent
start to the month with six races but the final race had me pulling a calf
muscle which put me on the sidelines. I started the month at the Hangover
“Classic” in Salisbury. It was cold, blustery, and there was snow on the
ground. I ran the 5k (they also offered a 10k) and took 4th place in
17:37.
A week later I
doubled up on snowshoe racing taking fourth place (1:40 behind Paul Low) at the
North Pond Shuffle. The next day I placed 10th at the USSSA national qualifier
at Bolton Valley VT (which would be the site of the National championships).
The field was strong as many wanted to take advantage of a course preview a
couple of months before the “big” race. I ended up running most of the race
alone and found the course to be great.
A week later I headed
to Tewksbury for the Fudge series 5k. I took 3rd place 10 seconds out of second
place in 17:37. Teammate Richard Bolt ran an impressive 15:44 to take the win
on this rare 50 degree day. A week later I’d return to Tewksbury and take 3rd
again, this time in 17:30. Bolt won again this time in an equally impressive
15:46. Teammate Ken Tripp took second in 17:06 on another 50 degree
day.
My final race of the
month was the Greylock Glen 5k snowshoe race. I was running along behind Ben
Nephew half-way through the race when my calf “popped”. I ground it out and
finished in 7th place but paid the price missing a week of
running.
5 years
ago: I hurt my back a
few days into the new year but it turned out to be just a minor set-back as I
missed just 7 days and then was able to get through four snowshoe races. I
covered 198 miles over the month. I started the month off with a 2nd
place finish at the Wicked Frosty Four running a 40+ personal best of 22:07. It
was another three weeks before I was able to race again. For whatever reason I
decided I could double up and run two snowshoe races. I headed up to Whitaker
Woods (N Conway, NH) for a very fast 4 mile (29:29) that was good enough for
6th place.
Whitaker
Woods
1 Jim
Johnson M 33 CMS 26:53
2 Judson Cake M 33
Acidotic 28:00
3
Kevin Tilton M 29 CMS 28:09
4 Tim Cox M 37
Acidotic 28:51
5 Ryan Kelly M 29
Acidotic 29:29
6
Dave Dunham M 46 CMS 29:39
The next morning I
was in Lanesboro, MA for the Constitution Hill 3.7 mile. It was the total
opposite of Whitaker with very heavy deep snow. I took the lead early and held
it for quite a while. Then got toasted by teammates Tim Van Orden and Tim
Mahoney who blew by in the last half-mile. The 3.7 took me over 42 minutes.
Snow conditions really make a huge difference.
1 41:44 Tim Van Orden
m 42 CMS
2 42:02 Tim Mahoney m
31 CMS
3 42:04 Dave Dunham m
46 CMS
4 42:29 Ken Clark m
48 Hartford Track Club
The following weekend
I attempted another double. This time starting with a 4 mile in slow “sugar
snow” at Sidehiller (Center Sandwich, NH) where I placed 6th in a
field of 108 in 34:14 The field was pretty strong as this was a qualifier for
the snowshoe national championships.
Sidehiller
1
Kevin Tilton 29 Conway NH 31:47 M
2 Jim
Johnson 33 Salem NH 31:53 M
3 Judson Cake 33 Bar
Harbor ME 32:44 M
4 Wesley Dinnan 23
Newmarket NH 33:22 M
5 Ryan Kelly 29
Concord NH 33:59 M
6
Dave Dunham 46 Bradford MA 34:14 M
7 Charles Thierrault
25 Bristol NH 34:41 M
8 Robert Jackman 28
Warwick RI 34:42 M
9 Danny Ferreira 28
Concord NH 34:48 M
10 Scott McGrath 24
Amesbury MA 35:27 M
11
James Pawlicki 36 Beverly MA 35:41 M
The next morning I
was racing another 4 mile, this time in Pittsfield at the Curly’s record run. I
covered the climb really well but just couldn’t leg out the screaming descent.
I ended up in third place (33:39) behind JJ and Ross Krause. CMS runners took
the top 5 spots.
Curly's Record Run
1 JIM JOHNSON M33
30:56 CMS
2 ROSS KRAUSE M31
32:46 RUNREG
3 DAVE DUNHAM M46
33:35 CMS
4 TIM MAHONEY M31
34:09 CMS
5 TIM VAN ORDEN M42
34:37 CMS
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