The race featured a mix of road, bike path, and XC trail. It crossed over the Merrimack river...hence the name of the race. I headed out alone to scout the course. It was very well marked and would also be manned by volunteers during the race. There were a few tight turns (exiting the "Root Canal" tunnel, and heading onto the narrow bike path) and there was a solid mile of XC so I was not expecting a fast time. I had to skip the Thursday night race as I was still too sore from Cranmore last weekend. I was still a bit sore as I checked out the course. It was a warm 70+ degrees but very nice in the woods.
I recognized a few of the series regulars on the start line but still don't know everyone well enough to know exactly who is who. My goal was to break 6's and not aggravate my ankle any more than it already was. I felt good as we headed out and was in 8th place in the early going. The 180 onto the bike path slowed everyone a bit and I made a move before the path narrowed to nearly single-file. That got me into 5th place which is where I stayed as the leaders hit the mile in 530 and I trailed by 8 seconds.
A little after the mile we turned onto the XC portion. It was well maintained and the footing was not bad, just some twists and turns to keep you awake. I quickly closed the gap on Timothy Lindberg and Mark Laprade. I passed Mark right after my watch beeped for 1.5 miles. There weren't a lot of good places to pass in the woods but I found a spot a quarter mile later and pulled ahead of Timothy. I hit 2 miles in 1136, happy to have stayed under 6's for the unpaved part. I was more concerned about my place and although in third I could still hear the two guys right behind me.
The climb up over the Merrimack river really hurt on the return trip. Amazing how a 30' hill can hurt so much! I held my place and took a peek when we did the 180 degree turn with a quarter mile to go. They were still close. I pushed the final downhill as much as my still sore quads would take but it wasn't enough. As I closed on the finish line Timothy went flying by. I can't complain about an 18:12 (5:48 pace) effort for 3.13 miles. That gives me some hope going into the double next weekend. I'll be doing Mt Washington on Saturday and the USATF NE 5m championships on Sunday. Ugh!
I went back out for a third loop of the course and let the volunteers know how many were out there. After that I closed out the day with a great hike up & down Oak Hill, my favorite Fire Tower in NH!
14th Annual Over the River and Through the Woods Run for the Animals
June 9, 2018 5 Kilometers (Accurately Wheel Measured) Concord, NH
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Place Div/Tot Div Guntime Nettime Pace Name Ag S Race# Hometown Age %
===== ======== ===== ======= ======= ===== ====================== == = ===== ======================= =======
1 1/3 MOPEN 17:49 17:48 5:44 Sean McCauley 26 M 58 Canterbury NH 72.94%
2 2/3 MOPEN 18:02 18:00 5:48 Samuel Berube 17 M 33 Bow NH 72.70%
3 3/3 MOPEN 18:12 18:11 5:51 Timothy Lindberg 24 M 192 Ashland NH 71.40%
4 1/20 M5059 18:13 18:12 5:52 Dave Dunham 54 M 17 Bradford MA 83.60%
5 1/13 M4049 18:20 18:19 5:54 Mark Laprade 45 M 67 Bedford NH 77.59%
6 1/11 M2029 18:40 18:40 6:01 Brendan McCauley 26 M 249 Belmont NH 69.55%
7 2/20 M5059 19:12 19:11 6:11 Glenn Miller 56 M 176 Campton NH 80.58%
8 1/11 M6069 19:29 19:27 6:16 Greg Peters 60 M 178 Laconia NH 82.10%
9 2/11 M6069 19:29 19:27 6:16 Mike Barry 61 M 98 Northwood NH 82.78%
10 3/20 M5059 19:28 19:27 6:16 Darin Brown 51 M 48 Madison NH 76.43%
11 2/13 M4049 19:50 19:49 6:23 Andrew Bengtson 42 M 108 Hudson NH 70.17%
12 2/11 M2029 20:06 20:05 6:28 Dylan Tuttle 21 M 81 Alton NH 64.65%
13 3/11 M2029 20:12 20:11 6:30 Graham Hayslip 27 M 148 Canterbury NH 64.33%
14 1/11 M3039 20:21 20:19 6:33 Phil Brogan 32 M 155 Concord NH 64.43%
15 3/13 M4049 20:39 20:38 6:39 Kevin Perron 48 M 14 Concord NH 70.42%
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