My final race for the month was a Thanksgiving dash at Maudslay state park. I haven’t done a Thanksgiving race since 2015 as I’ve typically done the Chelmsford Alumni (and Friends) cross country race on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Due to work constraints, I wouldn’t be able to attend the Chelmsford race so I signed up for the Turkey Trot. I’d last raced in Maudslay in 2010 (when I did both the Trav’s race and the Turkey Trot). At one time when this was the Winner’s Circle race it was the largest mass start cross country race in the USA. With the splintering of the race (Joppa Flats RC now hosts the Maudslay event) the field is about half, but still large for a cross country run. This year they had a little over 1,000 runners at Maudslay.
I carpooled with Dan Verrington, and we arrived a little more than an hour before the 8:20 a.m. start time. Not many were on site, but teammate Greg Putnam was one of the early arrivals. After getting our numbers I sat in the car until the last second as it was still a bit chilly out there (26 degrees). Greg wanted to head out a bit later so Dan and I trotted off to preview the course for a warm-up. There was nothing surprising except for a random Ken Tripp sighting (he wasn’t racing just spectating). The tough decision was what shoes to go with. The course has a great mix of grass, trail (with some roots, leave, rocks), and cart path that could be a bit rough in spots. It did not seem to be the type of course for spikes especially with the frozen ground. I decided to go with my Nike road flats despite them having basically a smooth bottom which meant iffy traction especially on the first 200 meters of icy grass.
My plan for the race was to get out and not get knocked down in the first crazy ¼ mile. I hoped to get out ahead of Chris Kealey who runs in Maudslay every day and always races well here. Putnam would win the 50+ with ease, but I hoped to give Chris a run for his money for 2nd place. The first ¼ mile was as crazy as I remembered and I just concentrated on not slipping. Once I got to the cart path and began the 70’ of drop to the bridge (a little past ½ mile) I started passing many of the fast starters. I went from around 50th to about top 25 by the ½ mile (2:49) and was ahead of Kealey when I crossed the bridge and began climbing. Chris went by me at ¾ of a mile (after 75’ of uphill) and I latched onto him as we were passing smaller groups of people. We hit the mile in 6:03 and had finished the 100’ of climb from the bridge. We were in a pack with three other guys (and afterwards I realized I had gotten to as high as 9th place when I got to the front of the pack). Kealey was always a step or two ahead of me and I basically ignored everything but moves he made. It was fun to be RACING someone, time really meant nothing but I was definitely running as hard as I could. The flat 2nd mile was covered in 6:13. Chris gapped me a little but I got back to him on the downhill to the bridge (1/2 mile in 2:59). Then we turned the corner for the tough last kilometer to the finish (climbs 70’). A couple of the younger guys sprinted by. I kept close to Chris until ¼ mile to go when he really pressed the pace and I fell back. No complaints, I gave my best and pleased with a 3rd place finish in the 50+. Dan took top honors in the 60+.
50+Pl Time
Name
Age City/State
Pace Div
Div/Pl O'all
1
17:44.3 Gregory Putnam
53 Stoneham,
MA
5:43 M50-54
1 6
2
18:45.4 Christopher Kealey
55
Newburyport, MA 6:03
M55-59
1 13
3
18:50.9 Dave
Dunham
58 Bradford,
MA
6:04 M55-59
2 14
4
20:07.2 Daniel Verrington
60 Bradford,
MA
6:29 M60-64
1 21
5
21:52.3 David
Brooks
56 Newbury,
MA
7:03 M55-59
3 51
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