My final race of the month was the Capital City Classic. I last did this race as a 10k, it was changed to a 5k in 2023. Too bad, since most of the races in the CARS are 5k’s and it is so rare to find a 10k anywhere. I’d heard the course was quick and had some hope to get in a decent time. Race day was damp and mid-60s, which beat the 90’s (and real feel in the 100s) we’d had during the week. I met up with Ernie Brake and we headed out for a course preview. South Main was still closed to vehicles (for the 50th Market Square Day event) so we had the whole road to run in. The course was reasonable with the first 1.5 miles flat or a little downhill then a modest climb up Fruit Street past the State offices before a tough 60’ climb. That left the last ¾ mile of either flat or downhill to “kick it in”. I felt terrible warming up, I just could not seem to get going and it felt so fast (despite being just a little under 9 minute mile pace). I changed into race gear and headed out for another mile with some strides. That didn’t feel too bad which was encouraging. My goal was to run as close to 6:00 miles as possible and hopefully give Ernie a race.
A decent sized field for the CARS series (250) was present despite the damp morning. The depth of the field has taken a bit of a hit since they changed to a 5k as the race is no longer a NH championship so many of the local clubs no longer attend. Based on last year I expected to be around the top 10. As we headed down South Main three guys shot off and I was in a second pack with five guys. By ½ mile our pack was me, Ernie, and Terrence Ferns. By the mile (5:59) Terrence had pulled ahead by a couple of seconds. I was pleasantly surprised to be moving along a little under 6’s. By 1.5 miles Ernie’s footsteps had faded. I didn’t dare to look when we turned onto Fruit street (never let the competition know you are worried about them). I kept focusing on Terrence as he slowly pulled away. The tougher mile had me hitting 2 miles in 12:02. I tried to push on the downhill but downtown just seemed so far away, it can be mentally tough to see the next turn a half-mile away. With about ¼ mile to go I heard footsteps and thought I’d lost my lead over Ernie, but it was Steven Groulx, one of the regulars in the series (he’d run under 18 at SEA). He stormed by and said, “come with me”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, I was all out. A 5:59 final mile had me crossing the finish line in 18:31 for 6th place overall and a win in the 60+. Ernie came in 13 seconds later which was close enough to beat me in the age-graded scoring (he is 2 years older than me). We took a quick moment to change and then did another loop of the course, or as the cop out on the course said “taking a victory lap”.
Place Time Pace Name Div Sex Age City, St
1 16:52 5:26 Christian Parenteau MOPEN M 28 Montreal, QC
2 17:19 5:35 Patrick Cunningham MOPEN M 29 Cambridge, MA
3 17:43 5:43 Andrew Strauss M1929 M 20 Amherst, NH
4 18:13 5:52 Terrence Ferns M5059 M 55 Sutton, NH
5 18:25 5:56 Steven Groulx M1929 M 23 Chester, NH
6 18:31 5:58 Dave Dunham M6069 M 60 Bradford, MA
7 18:41 6:01 Joshua Beaulieu M1929 M 21 Bow, NH
8 18:44 6:02 Ernest Brake M6069 M 62 Sutton, NH
9 18:50 6:04 Allison Davis FOPEN F 36 Contoocook, NH
10 19:17 6:13 Jason Schoeller M1929 M 25 Manchester, NH
A decent sized field for the CARS series (250) was present despite the damp morning. The depth of the field has taken a bit of a hit since they changed to a 5k as the race is no longer a NH championship so many of the local clubs no longer attend. Based on last year I expected to be around the top 10. As we headed down South Main three guys shot off and I was in a second pack with five guys. By ½ mile our pack was me, Ernie, and Terrence Ferns. By the mile (5:59) Terrence had pulled ahead by a couple of seconds. I was pleasantly surprised to be moving along a little under 6’s. By 1.5 miles Ernie’s footsteps had faded. I didn’t dare to look when we turned onto Fruit street (never let the competition know you are worried about them). I kept focusing on Terrence as he slowly pulled away. The tougher mile had me hitting 2 miles in 12:02. I tried to push on the downhill but downtown just seemed so far away, it can be mentally tough to see the next turn a half-mile away. With about ¼ mile to go I heard footsteps and thought I’d lost my lead over Ernie, but it was Steven Groulx, one of the regulars in the series (he’d run under 18 at SEA). He stormed by and said, “come with me”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, I was all out. A 5:59 final mile had me crossing the finish line in 18:31 for 6th place overall and a win in the 60+. Ernie came in 13 seconds later which was close enough to beat me in the age-graded scoring (he is 2 years older than me). We took a quick moment to change and then did another loop of the course, or as the cop out on the course said “taking a victory lap”.
Place Time Pace Name Div Sex Age City, St
1 16:52 5:26 Christian Parenteau MOPEN M 28 Montreal, QC
2 17:19 5:35 Patrick Cunningham MOPEN M 29 Cambridge, MA
3 17:43 5:43 Andrew Strauss M1929 M 20 Amherst, NH
4 18:13 5:52 Terrence Ferns M5059 M 55 Sutton, NH
5 18:25 5:56 Steven Groulx M1929 M 23 Chester, NH
6 18:31 5:58 Dave Dunham M6069 M 60 Bradford, MA
7 18:41 6:01 Joshua Beaulieu M1929 M 21 Bow, NH
8 18:44 6:02 Ernest Brake M6069 M 62 Sutton, NH
9 18:50 6:04 Allison Davis FOPEN F 36 Contoocook, NH
10 19:17 6:13 Jason Schoeller M1929 M 25 Manchester, NH
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