5 years ago: September 2017 was a busy month with Mountain racing, Cross-Country, and two USATF NE road championships in the mix. I started the month racing at the Mt Greylock Hill Climb (09/03) – I’d only run this mountain race twice before but I’ve been up the mountain many times including on road bike, mountain bike, eliptiGo. This year featured temps around 50 degrees, wind, and at times buckets of rain. Nearly 200 took off from the Reservoir and headed up the paved road 7.7 miles to the summit. I found myself behind the second group in 7th place as I reached the mile. Soon after we passed the gate and started the real climbing. After the 2 mile mark Erik Vandendries (also a CMS teammate and 50+ runner) caught up and just eased on by. I couldn’t go with him but in his wake I caught Dan Princic (WRT) and Mark Rabasco (WMDP). So, by three miles I’d moved up to 5th place but was 3rd in the 50+ and fourth CMS. I ran out of steam in the last 1.7 miles. I barely kept my 5th place which was one spot and 27 seconds better than last year. CMS swept the men’s teams with wins in the open, 40+, 50+, and 60+. Our guys also took individual wins in the 40+ and 50+. We also got a bonus as the “lighthouse” on the summit was open. Although there were no views, it was cool to get to go inside and climb to the top.
Place Time Name Age Team
1 55:25 Brandon Newbold 35 WRT
2 57:27 Todd Callaghan 47 CMS
3 57:28 Erik Vandendries 52 CMS
4 57:58 Ed Sheldon 53 CMS
5 58:16 Dave Dunham 53 CMS
6 58:23 Daniel Princic 37 WRT
7 58:37 Mark Radasco 23 WMDP
8 59:47 Josh Fields 28 aR
9 1:01:41 Mark Mayall 46
10 1:02:05 Michael Narcisi 33 Sisu
I kicked off the XC season in Wellesley at the GBTC XC (09/08). I met up with teammates Danny V and Arthur Besse as we stayed loose as the start was held up a few minutes for the kids award ceremony. There was a pretty big pack as we hit the woods and some narrow trail with some roots to navigate. I found myself in 5th or 6th place in the early going. Mostly I was focused on Mark Reeder since he was the top 50+ runner. At about 1.5 Arthur went by and I tried to go with him, I couldn't but he did drag me back up to Titus Mutinda and a few steps behind Mark Reeder. Finally with the finish in sight, Jason Porter blew by like I was standing still. No complaints with a top 10 finish and a 3rd in the 50+!
1 16:46 Mike Galoob BAA 43
2 17:01 Andrew Gardiner BAA 52
3 17:37 Jim Callaghan BAA 48
4 17:40 Arthur Besse CMS 45
5 17:52 Timothy Gavin HFC STRIDERS 41
6 17:53 Mark Reeder GREATER LOWELL 57
7 17:55 Titus Mutinda GBTC 52
8 17:55 Jason Porter BAA 47
9 17:57 Dave Dunham CMS 53
10 18:08 Justin Daglish GREATER LOWELL 40
13 18:38 Dan Verrington CMS 55
I headed into the USATF NE 5km champs (09/17) feeling unprepared for a fast road race as most of my training has been off-road (and slow). I had a goal of running under 17:30. It was about 70 degrees and very humid. The course was mostly flat, with the exception being the start and finish which had a 20-30’ hill that seemed a lot bigger than it was. It was a bit of a mad sprint down the hill and I concentrated on staying on my feet and out of trouble. By the mile I was pretty much settled into where I’d finish. Wayne Levy (BAA) went by and I really wanted to go with him as he is in my age group but I could not go any faster. There was no kick for me, I was all-out and the uphill just killed. I held my place to the line and took 7th in the 50+. My “chip” time was 17:32.4 which was disappointing since sub-17:30 was my goal. It is my fastest 5km this year so I can’t complain much.
Male 50 plus
1 15:53 Nat Larson GSH 55
2 16:54 Ed Sheldon CMS 53
3 17:11 Scott Anderson WRT 52
4 17:16 Rob Edson WRT 53
5 17:20 Wayne Levy BAA 52
6 17:23 Mark Reeder GLRR 57
7 17:32 Dave Dunham CMS 53
8 17:37 Charlie Bemis WRT 54
9 17:39 Alejandro Heuck GSH 52
10 18:01 Dan Verrington CMS 55
It looked like Gloucester (USATF NE 10km championships) would be the coolest place in New England on a warm day. It was already “warm” and very humid when Dan Verrington and I arrived 90 minutes before the 9am race start. Nearly 1,000 lined up for the scenic race along the ocean. I concentrated on running the tangents (the shortest possible legal route), which isn’t as easy back in 100th place. The second mile has a couple of twists and a few minor bumps so I was happy to get a 2m split of 11:32 (5:46). I was mostly just working to hold my place and keep Reeder and Bottomley from pulling too far ahead. Right after the 5k I started working on closing the gap and was really surprised to catch Reeder as my watch beeped for 3.5 miles. A sub-6 (5:59) for the fourth mile, which is probably the toughest mile of the race got me up to 5 seconds behind Bottomley. Not much changed in the 5th mile 5:56 which got me through in 29:24. They were the only ones to go by in the 2nd half of the race. I crossed the line in 36:28 (not my worst time at Lone Gull). I can’t complain with an 8th place finish in the 50+ and 100th overall. CMS took first in the team category in both the 50+ and 40+.
50+ Age group
Pl O'all Name Age Team Chip
1 44 Peter Hammer 51 BAA 33:44.4
2 63 Ed Sheldon 53 CMS 34:51.1
3 78 Scott Anderson 52 WRT 35:20.6
4 86 Rob Edson 54 WRT 35:44.2
5 92 David Principe 50 CMS 36:14.3
6 94 John Sullivan 57 HFC 36:20.1
7 97 Pete Bottomley 55 DIRIGO 36:22.2
8 100 Dave Dunham 53 CMS 36:28.9
9 115 Brian Ruhm 52 GCS 36:48.9
10 119 Charlie Bemis 54 WRT 36:51.9
15 142 Dan Verrington 55 CMS 38:04.5
17 152 Martin Tighe 59 CMS 38:38.6
18 156 Terry McNatt 52 CSU 38:45.4
20 166 Paul Hammond 57 WRT 39:07.6
I was excited about this two-fer weekend which is definitely a rarity for me (Bretton Woods weekend Sept. 30 & Oct. 1). First up was the Mt Rosebrook Ascent, a 1.7 miles “sprint” with 1,300’ of climb which meant an average grade of 14.5%. The entire race would be contested on the access road from the base lodge to the summit of Mt Rosebrook at Bretton Woods. A noon start is not my favorite. Fifty runners toed the line on a perfect 50 degree overcast day. Turner Zamore took off at the start and was never challenged. Teammate Erik Vandendries went out strong and by 100 meters in I was off the back alone in third. By 11 minutes in I’d hit the mile (and climbed 850’) and I knew that tops in the 50+ was not in the cards. The last .2 had a steady 20% grade and I managed to hold my place on that last slog.
Pl Time Name Age City, St Team
1 17:05 Turner Zamore 33 South Hero, VT
2 18:03 Erik Vandendries 52 Chestnut Hill, MA CMS
3 18:53 Dave Dunham 53 Bradford, MA CMS
4 19:26 Jim Boule 50 Campton, NH acidotic RACING
5 20:22 Heath Brewer 33 Twin Mountain, NH
The next day I was back at Bretton Woods at 8:30am for the 10am start of the Fell Running championship. This is a bit different from the other mountain races as you can pick whatever route you want to the various checkpoints. We had great weather; this day was crystal clear, dry, and around 50 degrees at the start. About 120 lined up for both the short and long course, both of which were flagged but did not require you to follow the flagging. There was a lot of back and forth along the way and since you did not have to stay on the marked course it was hard to tell what place anyone was in. I ended up in third place with a big gap back to fourth. It was almost as much fun running the race as it was planning out my route before.
107 finishers (20 in the 50-59)
Pl Time Name Gnd/Age City, St Team
1 56:36 Todd Callaghan M48 Beverly, MA CMS
2 58:09 Daniel Gay M42 New York, NY
3 58:58 Dave Dunham M53 Bradford, MA CMS
4 1:04:07 Chris Burnham M24 Stowe, VT
5 1:04:15 Kelsey Allen F34 Wendell, MA WMDP
6 1:05:26 Ed Sheldon M53 Hooksett, NH CMS
9 1:06:25 Leslie O'Dell F41 Albany, NH CMS
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