Saturday, May 8, 2021

Looking back - May 2001

 20 years ago: May of 2001 saw me on the mountains roads and cross-country as I prepared for the “big” race up Mt Washington.  I started the month (05/05/01) on a shortened version of the Mt Kearsarge hill climb.  The race was cut to 5m due to unsafe road conditions on the mountain.  Basically, it became a tough 5 mile run.  The following week (05/12/01) I directed a race at Windblown Ski area in New Ipswich NH.  The race was a qualifier for the US Mountain running team and I devised a course that I could do well on (steep climbs and long gentle donwhills).  Eric Morse was out in front alone after one loop but somehow got lost on the second loop.  Dan Verrington and I tied, thinking we had the second and third spots and were surprised to find that we tied for the win.  The following week (05/19/01) we shifted gears again, this time running the USATF NE 12km championships in Bedford NH.  David Hinga stopped at two different times during the race but was still somehow able to win.  I finished in third place (37:44).  During the final weekend of the month I ran two races.  The first (05/26/01) was a second place finish at Wachusett Mountain back when the race went to the summit…the way a mountain race should be.  Morse beat me by over 30 seconds.  The next day I ran a fast 15:18 at the Trav’s trail race.  It was only fast enough for second place as I lost the lead and the win in the last ½ mile uphill.









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