USA masters cross-country championships
10/15/2017 – Franklin Park
This was my 150th cross-country race. The only other types of racing I’ve done more are road (606) and mountain (170). This was also the 29th time I’d raced at Franklin Park but my first time doing this 5k course (most of my Franklin Park races were held on the golf course). I was familiar with this course as it is just the three basic loops run in different orders to make up the various distances (I’ve run the 8k and the 10k three times each).
I got to the race very early and had plenty of time to prepare. It felt like the nasty head cold I had was finally starting to break although I sounded pretty congested. An hour before the start most of the CMS squad gathered for a course preview. It was nice to get to chat and get a reminder of what the course was like. We also got to watch the 60+ race and saw John Barbour (GLRR) take the victory. Paul Bazanchuk was the lone CMS entrant moving up throughout the race to take 12th place.
After previewing the course we all changed into race gear and reported to the line. They check that everyone has the same singlet and all of the spikes are legal length. I was the only one in the group not wearing spikes as I have my trusty Inov-8 trail shoes that give great traction but can also be used on pavement. After checking in I did another mile with teammate Ed Sheldon. We chatted a bit about our race plans and I think Ed was surprised when I mentioned that my goal was top 100 in the 200 runner field (it turned out to be 158 finishers). The field was definitely stacked and when I looked at the pre-entrants I counted 20 guys who I knew would beat me in the 50+. My other goals was top 25 in the 50+. We all got a bit of a scare when the 2-minute warning horn sounded, despite them telling us about a minute prior that they’d be sounding the horn. Nerves were frazzled!
Cross country starts are usually crazy so I tried to keep my wits about me as we headed out. The entire course is very wide so passing is never an issue. I tried to settle in during the first ½ mile looking for familiar guys to key off of. I had a hard time seeing anyone I knew but did see teammate Erik Vandendries a few seconds ahead. We rolled through the mile in 5:43 (race course split, not Garmin) and I started gaining some places. I was focused on getting to the top of Bear Cage hill (90’ climb at 1.5 miles) and then trying to roll from there. I caught Erik near the top and passed a bunch of guys on the downhill. As I closed on 2 miles I could see Ed not too far ahead and worked on catching him. I got around Ed after 2 (11:45) and he stuck close as we made our way through the “Wilderness Loop”. I was starting to wheeze and worried I was pushing too hard, but I knew I needed to keep the pressure as I have a lousy kick. With less than ½ mile to go Mark Reeder (GLRR) went by. I knew he was back there since people would call out as we went by and I wasn’t surprised with his kick (he buried me last weekend at the same point). He was the first person to pass me since the mile. He wasn’t the last as Ed made his final kick with about 200 meters to go and I had no answer.
I hit the finish in 73rd place in 18:34, I came up with 3.2 miles. Our team had a solid race taking 3rd place in the 50+ and our masters squad took 2nd in the 40+.
Next up: Baystate marathon (10/22/17)
*********** MEN 40+ TEAM SCORE **********
1. 31 Boston Athletic Association A ( 17:02 1:25:06 1:14)
2. 57 Central Mass Striders A ( 17:27 1:27:12 0:41)
*********** MEN 50+ TEAM SCORE **********
1. 41 Greater Springfield Harriers, Inc A ( 17:46 1:28:49 1:49)
2. 67 Central Park Track Club - New Balance A ( 18:26 1:32:10 1:11)
3. 76 Central Mass Striders A ( 18:35 1:32:51 0:52)
Male age group 60-64
1 JOHN BARBOUR GLRR M63 18:30
12 PAUL BAZANCHUK CMS M62 21:31
MALE AGE GROUP: 55 – 59 (32 finishers)
1 7 NAT LARSON 55 AMHERST MA Greater Springf 16:56
2 32 PETE BOTTOMLEY 56 CAPE ELIZABETH ME Dirigo R.C. A 17:47
3 50 TODD COFFIN 56 FREEPORT ME Dirigo R.C. A 18:05
4 63 JOHN SULLIVAN 57 WEST ROXBURY MA HFC Striders A 18:22
5 69 MARK REEDER 58 BRIGHTON MA Greater Lowell 18:31
6 71 GARY LEAMAN 58 HARDWICK NJ Adidas Garden S 18:34
7 81 DANIEL VERRINGTON 55 BRADFORD MA Central Mass St 18:51
10 106 MARTIN TIGHE 59 Providence RI Central Mass St 19:20
MALE AGE GROUP: 50 – 54 (46 finishers)
1 3 PETER HAMMER 51 NEEDHAM MA Boston Athletic 16:44
2 4 KENT LEMME 50 PITTSFIELD MA Greater Springf 16:47
3 5 ANDY GARDINER 52 DOVER MA Boston Athletic 16:51
11 47 DAVID PRINCIPE 50 JOHNSTON RI Central Mass St 18:00
19 70 EDWARD SHELDON 53 HOOKSETT NH Central Mass St 18:33
21 73 DAVE DUNHAM 53 BRADFORD MA Central Mass St 18:35
25 83 ERIK VANDENDRIES 52 CHESTNUT HILL MA Central Mass St 18:52
MALE AGE GROUP: 45 – 49 (42 finishers)
1 9 JONATHAN FRIEDER 46 RYE BROOK NY 17:01
2 12 GREG PUTNAM 47 STONEHAM MA Central Mass St 17:07
3 15 DERRICK JONES 45 HENRIETTA NY Central Mass St 17:16
4 17 BRENT FIELDS 45 COVINGTON GA Atlanta Track C 17:21
5 24 JOE SHAIRS 49 PEABODY MA Central Mass St 17:30
10 33 ARTHUR BESSE 45 TEMPLETON MA Central Mass St 17:48
25 88 JOHN RAGUIN 48 ACTON MA Central Mass St 19:00
MALE AGE GROUP: 40 – 44 (38 finishers)
1 1 AARON PRICE 40 BROOKLINE MA Boston Athletic 16:15
15 26 JOSHUA PERKS 43 WINDHAM NH Central Mass St 17:31
************** MEN'S 40+ 5K OVERALL RESULTS **************
1 AARON PRICE 4066 Boston Athletic Associati Brookline MA M 40 16:15
2 DAVID ANGELL 4271 Roanoke Valley Elite Blue Ridge VA M 41 16:29
3 PETER HAMMER 4058 Boston Athletic Associati Needham MA M 51 16:44
4 KENT LEMME 4221 Greater Springfield Harri Pittsfield MA M 50 16:47
5 ANDY GARDINER 4056 Boston Athletic Associati Dover MA M 52 16:51
12 GREG PUTNAM 4086 Central Mass Striders A Stoneham MA M 47 17:07
15 DERRICK JONES 4083 Central Mass Striders A Henrietta NY M 45 17:16
24 JOE SHAIRS 4088 Central Mass Striders A Peabody MA M 49 17:30
26 JOSHUA PERKS 4084 Central Mass Striders A Windham NH M 43 17:31
33 ARTHUR BESSE 4081 Central Mass Striders A Templeton MA M 45 17:48
47 DAVID PRINCIPE 4085 Central Mass Striders A Johnston RI M 50 18:00
70 EDWARD SHELDON 4089 Central Mass Striders A Hooksett NH M 53 18:33
73 DAVE DUNHAM 4082 Central Mass Striders A Bradford MA M 53 18:35
81 DANIEL VERRINGTON 4092 Central Mass Striders A Bradford MA M 55 18:51
83 ERIK VANDENDRIES 4091 Central Mass Striders A Chestnut Hill MA M 52 18:52
106 MARTIN TIGHE 4090 Central Mass Striders Providence RI M 59 19:20
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