All results from every running of Wachusett Mountain. Also a tab showing the most finishes and who has won the most titles.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13ul9qEzs4PUuETrLnWRe8BwhQoJ3oh81/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113465520314142592561&rtpof=true&sd=true
I've updated the Wachusett mountain records. Top 20 overall and top 10 in each age group. The spreadsheets can be found at:
10k records 10k records
Climb records Climb records
Records set in 2024:
Climb records - Samuel Alexander (overall) record. Richard Larsen 70+ record. Kasie Enman 40+ record.
10k records - Kasie Enman 40+ record (missed the overall CR by 2 seconds).
I'd sort of lost my desire to do mountain races after the injury at Loon mountain in 2022, but Wachusett mountain has always been one of my favorite races. The only other race I've done more times is Mt Washington. My last Wachusett in 2022 went well and when RD Kim Gordon invited me to join the fun this year, I could not resist. It was kind of funny when I went to the CMS page and found this.
I signed up for what I hoped would be my 25th time finishing this race (finishing a mountain race isn't as guaranteed as I used to think). I was having a surprisingly good week, maybe coming off of the high of a decent race at the 5k championships. The only major issue was my knee which has been very sore for a month. I got an MRI Friday and will get the results next week. I kept my mileage up and had a very fast Friday morning run, I went with how I felt which probably isn't a good idea the day before a race. I'm enjoying training and trying to take things one day at a time. If I feel good I try to just roll with it. I'll have to watch for that if I want to have something in the tank on race day.
I headed off to Princeton/Westminster a little early and found one of the last shaded spots. Parking is never an issue in the ski area parking lot. Nearly 400 showed up which was just shy of the record. It was already kind of warm at 8:30 when I headed out to warm-up.
It was great to see so many of my "mountain friends". It was also great to see so many of my CMS teammates (including the women's team that was working the race). I headed out on my own for a 3 mile warm-up. As I did in 2022 I ran out/back over the last 1.5 of the course. I felt pretty lousy and tried to put that down to nerves, climb, bad footing (the road had been redone and a lot of pointy rocks were put down), and the warm morning. It wasn't hot like the previous days but 70s and sunny. Fortunately a good portion of the course would be shaded.
I decided to not use carbon fiber shoes and went with road flats with a decent tread to help with footing on the dirt road (last 2.5 miles). An easy jog to the start and it was time to go.
I got a nice shout out from the RD about scoring the series and we were off. Wow, it went out fast. I had a good idea of what I needed to run for splits to take Matt Curran's 60+ CR (23:51). Based on my 5k times compared to previous years I was looking for around 23:30. As we passed the parking lot at 1/2 mile I counted 35 in front of me. By the mile I was catching some of the quicker starters and feeling like I was in a groove. The 8:02 was just a little slower than I'd hoped for. I caught a couple of more guys as we moved into the Wachusett reservation. That'd be it a 7:53 second mile had me right about where I wanted to be. I was working with another guy and never lost focus on the guys in front of me. I lost some steam over the last .85 miles and although I outkicked the guy I was with (for 25th place) I saw the course record tick away and I crossed the line 1 second slower than the record.
My goal for the descent was to not get hurt but also to run as hard as I could. A lofty goal. I lost a spot right away and then had 3 go by me the last half mile. Mostly I was just glad to get down (relatively safely). I ended up 22nd in the 10k as some chose to not continue racing after the summit. The race has had this race within a race since 2015.
After the race I went out on the course for an easy 2 miles. It wasn't that easy as I went back out on the course. I stuck around for the awards and picked up a nice CMS lunch bag for taking the 60+ title.
Another week where I may have pushed too hard to close to racing and paid for it. I just enjoy training and when it feels good, it is fun to just go with it. Got an MRI on Friday and will know about my right knee on Thursday. Onward!
Week - 86
Month - 318
Year - 1815
Life - 160,546
The USATF New England 5km championships moved to a new venue this year, the Great Bear 5k in Needham MA. I’d never done this race although it has been around for 20 years. I guess it never timed out and in my mind Needham is a “city” race which I don’t like due to logistics, crowds, etc. I had some concerns as the link on USATF and on other sites went to a dead-end. The actual website was also not great with little information (I was concerned about parking). I did find the course map on the USATF NE certified course list and then drew it on Mapmyrun so I could get an idea of the terrain. It looked like a decent course with about ½ mile before the first turn which is good for a packed 5k. The last ¾ mile would be tough with 60’ of climb. It doesn’t sound like much but is definitely noticeable when racing a 5k. My goal was to hopefully crack 19 minutes, as my best time this year was set indoors (19:07) early in the year. Based on the course topography I wanted to be no slower than 6’s for the first two miles then hopefully hang on for the last tough part.
I picked up teammate Dan Verrington and we were at the race site early in anticipation of parking issues. We parked ½ mile away in a big lot and could have parked closer at that early hour. We parked right next to teammate Joe Shairs who also arrived early to be safe. We hiked to the start and got our feet soaked in the playing field you had to cross to get to the school. Fortunately (for me) I never warm-up in race socks so I’d have dry feet for the start. With the drizzle and 55 degree temps it’d be nice for racing but feet would get wet anyway once we got under way. Number pick-up went without a hitch and soon after it was time to warm-up and preview the course. I was surprised by how many people ran the course in reverse for a warm-up. Not sure why you would do that. It makes much more sense to view it as you will race it to get some landmarks in your head and any things you need to watch out for. I felt lousy during the warm-up which is typical. Dan was coming off of a sub-19 5k and he seemed ready to rock. This would be our last time carpooling to a race as he is headed off to retirement in Vermont soon. We changed into race gear and did another mile over to the start line. I threw in 3 sets of strides to try and loosen up a bit and felt flat. The crowds were already lining up as about 900 would take part including nearly 500 USATF NE members.
I counted 20 rows back and started to look for a spot to slide in, figuring I’d finish in around 200th. I saw a big group of Whirlaway guys which included top 60+ runner Charlie Bemis and I parked myself 2 rows behind them. Terry McNatt (CSU) who I’d run with for much of the 15k in March was also right there, so it looked like I was in the right place. Teammate Tim Van Orden joined me as he has only run a few times this year due to injury but was jumping in to help out the 50+ squad which was “light”. They walked us up to the start which spread things out a little bit and after a slight delay (started around 10:03) we were off. I passed Charlie and Terry within the first ¼ mile which was a little surprising (although I think Charlie is coming off of an injury). Soon after I caught Constantino Rago (BAA) who is also one of the top 60+ guys. TiVO and I were working together and steadily passing people. We hit the mile in 5:53, I was feeling good and happy to be under 6’s. It had been really crowded for the first half-mile and but I didn’t panic even though it felt like I should be going faster. I think that paid off as we continued to pass people. We would end up passing 95 people, mostly in the first 2 miles and only two guys would pass us during the entire race. We hit two miles in 11:42 (5:49), and I was thinking “hang on”. There were a couple of dicey moments during the race when people just slowed or didn’t cut tangents, so I did have to do some last second zig or zagging. The last ¾ mile climb was pretty much what I thought it’d be. It wasn’t terrible but it knocked the pace way down. TiVO made a big move on the last of the climb but I got back around him at 3 miles 17:57 (6:15) and kicked for all I was worth. I crossed the line in 18:37.8. This was my first USATF NE grand prix win in my new age group! Although I outright won 14 grand prix races as an open runner, I’d only won twice before in any age group (the 10 mile in 45-49 in 2013 and the 10 mile in 55-59 in 2020).
Our team had a great day with Dan taking 4th in the 60+ and Gary Cattarin taking 9th which got us a first place! The 50+ team also scored a victory with Arthur Besse, Joe Shairs, Tim Van Orden, me, Dan Verrington scoring.
1 18:37.8 Dave Dunham M60 Bradford MA 05:59.5 CMS
2 19:14 Charlie Bemis M61 Derry NH 06:11.2 WRT
3 19:17 Constantino Rago M62 Boxford MA 06:12.1 BAA
4 19:27 Dan Verrington M61 Haverhill MA 06:15.4 CMS
5 19:31 Craig Mercier M64 Burlington MA 06:16.6
6 20:16 Peter Cannon M60 E Greenwich RI 06:31.1
7 20:20 Richard Jordan M61 Marblehead MA 06:32.4 Notch
8 20:25 Gary Cattarin M61 Marlborough MA 06:34.0 CMS
9 20:34 EJ Hrynowski M61 Arlington MA 06:36.9 GLRR
10 20:51 James Gildea M62 Weston MA 06:42.4 BAA
60+ Teams
1 CMS 58:29 – Dunham (18:37), Verrington (19:27), Cattarin (20:25)
2 BAA 1:01:50 – Rago (19:17), Gildea (20:51), Tingle (21:42)
3 WRT 1:02:15 – Bemis (19:14), Warren (21:09), Peijffers (21:53)
4 GLRR 1:05:12 – Hrynowski (20:34), Tang (22:10), Hagerty (22:28)
5 NE65+ 1:05:54
6 Notch 1:08:02
7 CSU 1:08:28
8 SRR 1:10:16
9 HFC 1:15:47
10 HHS 1:21:25
Week Ending 05/19/24
My plan was to ease back a bit this week and see if that would help with racing as I had the USATF NE 5km championships on Sunday. I ended up not really easing back with an 84 mile week and even had my fastest times for my morning 6 mile on the rail trail. I did get my knee checked which has been lousy for 3 weeks. Need an MRI to see what is going on. This is the same knee that had a bursa issue and torn meniscus last fall. Time will tell.
Week – 84
Month – 232
Year – 1729
Life – 160,460
I've updated the all-time stats for the Merrimack River trail race. Check out the blog.
I’m hoping to run the Depot to State Line segment (1.25 miles) 500 times this year. I enjoy running on the Methuen Rail Trail and watching the seasons change. This time of year is interesting with sunrise getting closer and closer to the time I finish running. On Tuesday I passed 200 trips over the segment. This week marks the 20th week of the year and I’ll finish with 211 trips, that puts me on pace for 548 times. Of course, injuries could hamper this goal (as always). I’ve yet to grow tired of running that section with zero road crossings and (usually) no one else out there at 4:30 am.
10 years ago – May 2014: I was recovering from walking pneumonia during this month which put a bit of a damper on racing during this month. I couldn’t resist getting out there for the USATF NE mountain series, finishing first in the 50+ at Sleepy Hollow (05/04/14), Pack Monadnock (05/11/14 – missed the 50+ course record by 14 seconds) and Wachusett Mountain (05/24/14). I also snuck in a road race taking 6th overall and first in the 50+ with a 17:11 at the Exeter (NH) PTO 5k
I’ve raced at the Canterbury Shaker Village 11 times including 5 times doing this XC race which is part of the CAR Series. Over the last few years each time I’ve done the XC race it has featured a different course. I like the “old” course with a lot of fields and a big climb. Even the two loop 1.5 mile course was fun. This version included some very nasty trail with a lot of little up/down and twisty turns and a few stream crossings to keep you focused on where you were going. Even the field loop was tough with the grass not mowed (or chewed by the cows). That meant slow going and a lot of worry on my part about my calf, hamstring, and knee. I’d be running cautiously, this was no cross-country race, this was a full on trail race.
I met up with Ernie Brake and Scott Clark and we headed out for an easy preview of the course. I found it to be well marked but you really had to pay attention to where you were going (it also helped that I saw Ellen Raffio’s course preview on Strava and got a detailed retelling from her prior to the run). We only had one spot where we stopped and weren’t entirely sure which way to go, but there were cones and flags on the right and nothing on the left. There wasn’t anything to stop you from going left and two of the top three guys went the wrong way during the race. This is why it is so important to check out the course when you can. It is such a nice venue, but I heard that they aren’t as supportive of the needs of the race as they should be.
On to the race. I was hoping to give Ernie a good run in the 60+ age group and based on previous years figured a top 10 finish might be possible. My number one goal was to not get hurt! A decent sized field (128) took off on a short loop around vegetable garden before heading off for the bigger loop around the (deep) grass field. It felt fast, uncomfortably fast and Ernie already went by me after ¼ mile. We were 3:12 at ½ mile which was why it felt fast. That was definitely quicker than I thought we’d go given the conditions. I was in the top 10 but only just. I moved up a little on the nice downhill then Terrence Ferns flew by on the short but tough little uphill, Ernie also pulled away. I kept them reasonably close through the Turning Mill Pond single track section where the footing wasn’t bad. I caught Max Goupil on a stretch of the Factory Pond trail where the trail was especially hard to follow. I went right and he went left to cross over a stream and that got me ahead of him. I was glad to safely get through that part of the course and at 2 miles got to some better running. The climb back up to the grass field was tough but I could see Terrence, Sam Wood, and Ernie not that far ahead (10-15 seconds). I was hopeful when Ernie looked back to see where I was. Then with about ¼ mile to go Scott Clark went flying by! I’d not heard anyone behind me (and didn’t look). That was a surprise. I tried to latch onto him but couldn’t and soon after Eli Lemire went hauling on by (and very nearly caught Ernie). I finished a wiped out 8th place in 20:55. I heard after the race that 2nd place went off course a little and another guy in the top three lost over 2 minutes and ended up finishing 11th. I’m happy to have gotten through this without making any injuries worse.
Overall Results – 128 finishers
Place Time Name Pace Sex Age City St
1 16:23 Andrew Tuttle 5:17 M 29
2 20:03 David Chorney 6:28 M 36 Concord NH
3 20:30 Terrence Ferns 6:36 M 55 Sutton NH
4 20:42 Sam Wood 6:40 M 37 Laconia NH
5 20:46 Ernest Brake 6:41 M 62 Sutton NH
6 20:46 Eli Lemire 6:41 M 17 Weare NH
7 20:50 Scott Clark 6:43 M 58 Gilmanton NH
8 20:55 Dave Dunham 6:44 M 60 Bradford MA
9 20:59 Max Goupil 6:46 M 14 Contoocook NH
10 21:14 Norman Goupil 6:50 M 45 Contoocook NH
11 21:35 Andrew Strauss 6:57 M 20 Amherst NH
12 22:43 Warren Bartlett 7:19 M 26 Loudon NH
13 22:50 Allison Davis 7:21 F 36 Contoocook NH
14 23:17 Kara Haas 7:30 F 53 Chelmsford MA
15 23:21 Sarah Burdette 7:31 F 46 Concord NH
16 23:23 Vincent Perelli 7:32 M 60 Hopkinton NH
17 23:26 Jeff Clark 7:33 M 59 Holderness NH
18 23:47 Charlotte Boyington 7:40 F 13 Chester NH
19 23:51 Benjamin Strauss 7:41 M 53 New Boston NH
20 23:56 Jonathan Kovar 7:42 M 54 Contoocook NH
Age Graded Results
1 20:46 16:31 77.77 Ernest Brake 62 Sutton NH
2 20:55 16:56 75.86 Dave Dunham 60 Bradford MA
3 20:50 17:10 74.88 Scott Clark 58 Gilmanton NH
4 20:30 17:19 74.23 Terrence Ferns 55 Sutton NH
5 23:23 18:56 67.85 Vincent Perelli 60 Hopkinton NH
60-69 results 18 finishers
Place Time Name Pace Sex Age City St
1 20:46 Ernest Brake 6:41 M 62 Sutton NH
2 20:55 Dave Dunham 6:44 M 60 Bradford MA
3 23:23 Vincent Perelli 7:32 M 60 Hopkinton NH
4 25:06 Richard Clymer 8:05 M 63 Concord NH
5 26:20 Vincent Sampo 8:29 M 60 Canterbury NH
Although I've got a win every year from 1979-2024 there have been some LONG gaps. Also, I did not get a win at both age 40 and age 59.
The
426 days (March 2023 to May 2024) without a win is the fourth longest stretch between wins over the last
46 years. The top three:
546
days – 2013-2014
550
days – 2005-2006
About to pass 9,000 miles raced...
|
Year |
1970's |
1980's |
1990's |
2000's |
2010's |
2020's |
Totals |
|
Distance
run |
995 |
30,122 |
40,896 |
35,358 |
37,536 |
15,381 |
160,288 |
|
Road |
0 |
70 |
261 |
162 |
153 |
51 |
697 |
|
Mountain |
0 |
2 |
43 |
71 |
64 |
4 |
184 |
|
Trail |
0 |
2 |
24 |
46 |
31 |
7 |
110 |
|
Snowshoe |
0 |
0 |
1 |
73 |
52 |
3 |
129 |
|
XC |
8 |
57 |
19 |
36 |
43 |
31 |
194 |
|
Indoor |
12 |
73 |
12 |
6 |
19 |
9 |
131 |
|
Outdoor |
12 |
78 |
12 |
1 |
23 |
0 |
126 |
|
Total
races |
32 |
282 |
372 |
397 |
385 |
105 |
1,573 |
|
Dist
raced |
50.70 |
1049.95 |
2794.25 |
2698.52 |
1997.40 |
405.96 |
8996.78 |
|
Ave
Raced |
1.58 |
3.72 |
7.51 |
6.80 |
5.19 |
3.87 |
5.72 |
|
Wins |
3 |
112 |
180 |
59 |
40 |
15 |
409 |
|
%
won |
9% |
40% |
48% |
15% |
10% |
14% |
26% |
Funny, I fancy (or fancied) myself something of a mountain runner, but that is the category of race that I've won the LEAST.
|
By
type: |
|||
|
Road |
204 |
||
|
Mtn |
18 |
||
|
Trail |
37 |
||
|
Snow |
29 |
||
|
XC |
40 |
||
|
I
track |
33 |
||
|
O
track |
48 |
||
|
Total |
409 |
||
|
Wins by year |
Races |
% Won |
|
|
1979 |
3 |
26 |
11.5% |
|
1980 |
13 |
46 |
28.3% |
|
1981 |
22 |
47 |
46.8% |
|
1982 |
18 |
47 |
38.3% |
|
1983 |
4 |
20 |
20.0% |
|
1984 |
10 |
23 |
43.5% |
|
1985 |
7 |
14 |
50.0% |
|
1986 |
3 |
9 |
33.3% |
|
1987 |
7 |
20 |
35.0% |
|
1988 |
16 |
32 |
50.0% |
|
1989 |
12 |
24 |
50.0% |
|
1990 |
10 |
28 |
35.7% |
|
1991 |
38 |
57 |
66.7% |
|
1992 |
20 |
48 |
41.7% |
|
1993 |
35 |
59 |
59.3% |
|
1994 |
13 |
26 |
50.0% |
|
1995 |
18 |
43 |
41.9% |
|
1996 |
24 |
45 |
53.3% |
|
1997 |
8 |
9 |
88.9% |
|
1998 |
7 |
28 |
25.0% |
|
1999 |
7 |
29 |
24.1% |
|
2000 |
11 |
44 |
25.0% |
|
2001 |
14 |
38 |
36.8% |
|
2002 |
6 |
34 |
17.6% |
|
2003 |
3 |
28 |
10.7% |
|
2004 |
1 |
27 |
3.7% |
|
2005 |
1 |
33 |
3.0% |
|
2006 |
2 |
57 |
3.5% |
|
2007 |
9 |
49 |
18.4% |
|
2008 |
7 |
41 |
17.1% |
|
2009 |
5 |
46 |
10.9% |
|
2010 |
2 |
39 |
5.1% |
|
2011 |
3 |
40 |
7.5% |
|
2012 |
10 |
62 |
16.1% |
|
2013 |
4 |
37 |
10.8% |
|
2014 |
3 |
42 |
7.1% |
|
2015 |
1 |
24 |
4.2% |
|
2016 |
4 |
33 |
12.1% |
|
2017 |
6 |
43 |
14.0% |
|
2018 |
6 |
44 |
13.6% |
|
2019 |
1 |
21 |
4.8% |
|
2020 |
3 |
15 |
20.0% |
|
2021 |
3 |
28 |
10.7% |
|
2022 |
3 |
34 |
8.8% |
|
2023 |
5 |
18 |
27.8% |
|
2024 |
1 |
8 |
12.5% |
|
409 |
1565 |
26.1% |
|
