Canterbury XC

 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