Looking back - July 2019

 Carson Memorial (Chelmsford 4th of July race):  Tom Hildreth gave me number 11 for my 11 previous finishes.  I had five wins over the years, now winning my age group would be a major challenge.  Nearly 2,000 lined up and Tom moved us up from one fake start line to the next.  RD Bob Sullivan showed up, gave the final instruction and we got ready to go.  The gun went off, I took off, and one step into the race I tangled up with one of the kids and went down in a heap.
 
I popped back up with an assist from Terry McNatt and was on my way.  I reached the mile in 5:43m much slower than I'd hoped for!  I got to the finish in 11:21.something.  Basically, what I'd thought I could run but not quite what I'd hoped for. 
    
This makes it look like it took me 10 seconds to run the last 3 steps.  It felt that long but is actually a quirk of the timing clock that rolls from 11:19 to 11:29 before the “9” rolls to “0”.
Carson Memorial 2 mile - MALE AGE GROUP:  50 to 59
 
Place O'All Time    Name                       Age Sex Race# City/state                
    1    21   10:53 Bob Tremblay            52 M     703 Chelmsford MA          
    2    27   11:22 Dave Dunham           55 M      11 Bradford MA            
    3    29   11:26 Scott Grandfield          54 M    1622 Rehoboth MA            
    4    33   11:29 Terry McNatt              54 M    1544 Needham MA             
    5    66   12:55 Bob Sullivan              55 M      33 Chelmsford MA     

     
 Loon Mountain race:  I like the Loon mountain race so much I (accidently) entered it twice!  They had a special $15 entry fee back in January, so I entered.  June rolled around, and I decided I wanted to do Loon and entered it again.  D’oh! Conditions were great, about 70 degrees but very dry and comfortable.  My goal for today was to see if I could top the Senior (50+) age group.  Steve Brightman would most likely be the guy to keep an eye on.  He has speed, strength, and can climb with the best.  I was in about 70th at the start of the XC portion of the race. 
My goal for the 2.5 miles of XC was to not get hurt.  I stayed on my feet and slowly moved by a few more guys.  The real climbing starts after the XC part.  I could see that Steve was about 30 seconds ahead and showing no signs of slowing.  I had looked at last year’s results and knew that I’d run over a minute faster than Steve at the Upper Walking Boss, so my goal was to have him within that range when I got there. 

 
Finally, the UWB timing mat loomed in sight and I checked my watch to see how far Steve was ahead (15 seconds), then SLAM the climb started.  I passed him about halfway up.  I got to the line then hit the ground for some recovery. 
 
M50+
30        1:03:43 1          M50-59 Dave Dunham   M         55        Bradford           MA            Central Mass Striders
32        1:04:15 2          M50-59 Jim Boule          M         52        Campton           NH            acidotic RACING
33        1:04:22 3          M50-59 Steve Brightman           M         50        Providence RI            Central Mass Striders
44        1:06:42 4          M50-59 Jeff Walker       M         53        Falmouth ME     Dirigo RC
45        1:06:54 5          M50-59 Erik Vandendries           M         54        Chestnut Hill MA            Central Mass Striders
63        1:10:51 9          M50-59 Ed Sheldon       M         54        Hooksett NH     Central Mass Striders
140       1:20:05 22        M50-59 David Lapierre   M         55        Chelmsford MA  Central Mass Striders
 

Boston Community Gardens: While working on visiting all of the Trustee’s of the Reservations properties I saw that they also managed 56 community gardens throughout Boston.  Although you couldn’t count them towards the “Hike 125” totals, I thought it’d be cool to try to visit them all in one fell swoop.  Two of the locations were in East Boston with no access by foot to Boston proper so I came up with a loop that would visit 54 locations in a little under 27 miles.  I tossed the idea out to some of my CMS teammates and David Lapierre signed on.  We met at the Andover park and ride at 4am, drove to the two East Boston locations by 4:30am and were ready to run at 5am.  With a start/finish at the Franklin Park Zoo we did a big counterclockwise loop of Boston that took a little less than 5 hours.  I handled most of the navigation with Dave handling most of the conversation.  It was a terrific morning that went off without a hitch and gave me a much better impression of city running.  We are claiming the speed record for visiting all of the Community Gardens but may also be the first people to visit them all.  Great fun!
  

 
Bill Luiti 5 mile (July 20):  It was a nasty hot and humid morning, so no one would be running personal bests.  My goal for the day was to survive and hopefully move one step closer to winning the Age Graded Masters in the series and help our team toward taking the team title.
 
My hope was to keep Scott Clark in sight for the first 1.5 and then see what I could do on the downhill.  Scott went out and Ernie Brake and I hooked up with him about 1/2 mile in.  We were all pretty much together for most of the uphill then Ernie turned on the jets and put 10+ seconds on us.  I was about 30th place at the bottom of the hill and moved up a couple of places on the climb.  Scott and I ran together until a little after 3 then I just could not stick with him. 
I held on for a disappointing 31:42 (compared to 29:38 last year) but managed a first place in the Age Graded Masters and the 55-59 age group.  Our team had a great day taking the top 3 age graded places and 4 of the top 6! 
                                 
Trying to catch fellow 50+ Sean Snow                                Didn’t get him
  
50+
   15   1/16   M5054   31:17    31:17  6:16 Scott Clark            53 M   194 Gilmanton NH              78.85%
   19   2/16   M5054   31:42    31:42  6:21 Sean Snow              52 M   371 Dunbarton NH              77.17%
   20   1/29   M5559   31:43    31:43  6:21 Dave Dunham            55 M    15 Bradford MA               79.10%
   22   2/29   M5559   32:19    32:18  6:28 Jim Angell             55 M   147 Hopkinton NH              77.67%
   23   3/16   M5054   32:24    32:23  6:29 Darin Brown            52 M    76 Madison NH                75.54%
   25   3/29   M5559   32:47    32:46  6:34 Ernest Brake           58 M   195 North Sutton NH           78.57%
 

CARS finale - Woodchuck 5k: It all came down to this final race in the 8 race CAR series.  The TBA team (me, JJ, Scott Clark, Ernie Brake, and Darin Brown) were leading but could still lose to Mugwumps.  I was also leading the age graded masters but Jim Angell was right behind me and Scott and Ernie also had a shot at moving ahead of me.
 
My goal for this race was to take it out hard and never "settle in".  Scott would need to run under 18 minutes on this quite hilly course to move ahead of me in AG standings but Jim Angell could run about 18:20 and (if ahead of me) beat me in the series.  I was about 20th as we passed the Canterbury Fair and the downhill lessened.  At about 1/2 mile I found a good rhythm and passed Ernie then drew even and passed Scott.  At the 180 turn (1.5 miles) I took a careful look and did not see Jim (although he wasn't that far back).  That gave me a boost to try to reel in Kevin Crowley (who is usually right around me).  As I closed the gap on Kevin, Ernie seemed to fall back.  At 2 miles I could hear him, but it sounded like he was falling back.  I moved ahead of Kevin before we turned onto the dirt road with the final long hill.  I thought about taking a look back but figured it would not help me go any faster and it just might give Ernie the idea that I was worried (I was). I felt pretty beat on the climb but closed on another guy before the 3 mile mark. 
 
Our team (TBA) took 9th, 13th, 14th, and 15th overall and 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th in the Age Graded masters.  That was good enough for us to lock up the series and me to lock up the series AG masters.
 
Canterbury Chipmunk 5k 07-27-19
    1   1/3    MOPEN   15:51  5:06 Matt Chorney          30 M   273 Jackson WY                82.16%
    2   2/3    MOPEN   16:48  5:25 Louis Saviano III     28 M   220 Sandown NH                77.31%
    3   3/3    MOPEN   16:52  5:26 Andrew Tuttle         24 M   197 Alton NH                  76.98%
    4   1/15   M3039   17:29  5:38 David Chorney        31 M   289 Concord NH                74.66%
    5   1/8    M1519   17:39  5:41 Colin Lessard          17 M   107 Bow NH                    74.14%
 
    9   1/29   M5059   18:27  5:57 Dave Dunham        55 M    15 Bradford MA               83.12%
   12   2/29   M5059   18:49  6:04 Jim Angell             55 M   147 Hopkinton NH              81.50%
   13   3/29   M5059   18:54  6:05 Scott Clark            53 M   194 Gilmanton NH              79.88%
   14   4/29   M5059   18:58  6:07 Ernest Brake         58 M   195 North Sutton NH           82.82%
   15   5/29   M5059   19:36  6:19 Darin Brown          52 M    76 Madison NH                76.43%

 

Looking back - July 2009 & 2014

 July 2009 (15 years ago):  I was having a lot of trouble with my foot and only raced twice.  The day after the 2nd race I learned I had a stress fracture of the Tarsal/Metatarsal joint which sidelined me for six weeks.  First up (07/05) was the Loon mountain race which at the time was still just a nice friendly little race (204 finishers).  I had a decent run taking first in the masters and 5th overall and noted “Ran the entire way up the Upper Walking Boss”.  The following week (07/12) I ran the Ascutney Mountain race.  This was an unusual version of the race that went up the road for 2.3 miles then onto the trail.  It was not my kind of race with some technical climbing/descending.  I was 11 seconds back when we hit the trail then Double-J took charge and beat me by over a minute.  I took third in 38:44.                                                                    
Loon Mountain
1  48:25            Jim Johnson     M32      Salem NH         CMS
2  48:49            Abdeltif Faker   M24      Malden MA       
3  48:57            Patrick Ard        M25      Raymond NH     Whirlaway
4  49:34            Andy McCarron M26      Keene NH         CMS
5  50:01            Dave Dunham   M45      Ward Hill MA     CMS
6  50:16            Ed Breen          M27      Medford MA      GBTC
7  51:12            Tim VanOrden  M41      Bennington VT  CMS
8  51:21            Todd Callaghan M39      Somerville MA   GCS-triad
11 52:52           Jim Pawlicki      M34      Beverly MA        CMS

Ascutney 
    1   37:26  9:22 Jim Johnson          32 M   583 Salem NH      CMS         
    2   38:08  9:32 Andy McCarron      26 M   247 Keene NH      CMS         
    3   38:43  9:41 Dave Dunham        45 M   539 Bradford MA   CMS         
    4   39:03  9:46 Joe Shaw              28 M   373 Grantham NH            
    5   39:56  9:59 Todd Callaghan      39 M   455 Somerville MA  GCS        
    6   40:52 10:13 Tim Van Orden      41 M   246 Bennington VT CMS         
    8   41:25 10:22 Kasie Enman         29 F   342                        
    9   41:39 10:25 Tim Mahoney         29 M   450 Holyoke MA     CMS        
   11  43:56 10:59 James Pawlicki       34 M   562 Beverly MA     CMS   
                                                                                                           
July 2014 (10 years ago):  Another injury shortened month.  I was dealing with a bone bruise and was in a walking boot except when running (with a promise to take time off after Loon Mountain which was the USA mountain championships).  I finished in 46th place overall but more importantly (to me) I was tops in the 50+ age group running 1:02:55 for the 6.6 mile mostly uphill race.  Two weeks later (07/20) I WALKED the Cranmore Mountain race to get my final race I needed for “Goat Status”.  It was kind of fun to do the two laps with absolutely no running.                                               

Looking back - July 1999

 July 1999 (25 years ago):  I raced three times this month as ankle woes were hampering my racing and training.  On a muggy hot fourth of July, I had a good battle with Rusty Snow at the Bridgton (ME) 4 mile.  We went back and forth throughout the race, and he took it to me in the final 100 meters.  The next day was as hot and humid at the Carson Memorial 2 mile (Chelmsford MA).  Chris Teague jumped out to an early lead, but I was able to get by him with a half mile to go to take the win in 9:23. I finished the month (07/21) getting my butt kicked by Richard Bolt and Tim McCormick at the CMS series 5k in Leominster.  I ran 15:35 and wasn’t in sight of them. 

                               
Chelmsford 4th of July
    1   9:23  4:42 Dave Dunham             35 M   333 BRADFORD MA
    2   9:34  4:47 Chris Teague               30 M     3 CHELMSFORD MA
    3   9:37  4:49 Geoff Nickerson           20 M     1 EAST DERRY NH
    4   9:42  4:51 Eric Beauchesne          29 M     4 CHELMSFORD MA
    5   10:02  5:01 Mike Cooney              37 M   409 CHELMSFORD MA
   10  10:35  5:18 Bob Sullivan              35 M    33 CHELMSFORD MA       

        
 
Bridgton Maine 4m
    1   19:54  4:59 Rusty Snow               29 M WATERTOWN MA                5
    2   19:55  4:59 Dave Dunham           35 M BRADFORD MA                 6
    3   20:42  5:11 Kevin Way                 30 M HOLLIS ME                  11
    4   21:09  5:18 Kyle Rhoads              29 M WINDHAM ME                 10
    5   21:10  5:18 Robert Dabrieo          37 M WOBURN MA                1052

 
CMS weekly 5k (07/21)
1          14:56    Tim McCormick             20-39M Townsend, MA              CMS
2          14:58    Richard Bolt                  20-39M Bedford, NH                  CMS
3          15:35    Dave Dunham               20-39M Bradford, MA                 CMS
4          15:49    Kevin Beck                    20-39M Concord, NH                 CMS

Looking back - July 1989 & July 1994

 July 1989 (35 years ago):  I raced three times during this month, all pretty short races.  The first race was the Chelmsford 4th of July 2.1 mile that I won in 9:27.  Eric Beauchesne pushed the early pace but I was able to pull clear in the last ½ mile to win by 6 seconds.  The Sullivan Farms Racing Team put 8 in the top 12.  The next day I hit the track at Cawley Stadium for the GLRR 2 mile series.  Bob Hodge bolted out at the start and soloed to an impressive 8:54. I took 2nd place in 9:03.  Ten days later (07/15) I travelled to Buffalo for the Subaru 4 mile race.  I wasn’t happy with my race despite running 18:47 (4:42 per mile) which was good enough for 7th place ($150).                 

July 1994 (30 years ago):  I raced four times during this month with mixed results.  On the fourth of July I took on 500 others at the North Andover 10k.  I’m not sure why the field was so strong at this race, but probably because of prize money.  I went out in a pack of 10 that eventually dwindle to 5 by half-way.  I ended up running a 30:42 which was only good enough for 3rd place ($100), I noted in my log that I had “not much leg turnover”.  Four days later (07/08) I topped a field of 20 at the Fit Kids track mile at Pinkerton (Derry NH) with a 4:35. The following weekend I got another win at the Couples 5k (Concord NH) running a 14:34 for a 28 second win over Jamie Goodberlet.  I finished out the month (07/27) with a win in Fitchburg MA running a 15:25 at the CMS weekly series 5k.     

                                 

Looking back - July 1984

 July 1984 (40 years ago):  I raced twice during this month taking home two wins.  First up was the Chelmsford 4th of July race.  At the time it was 2.1 miles.  I ran 9:38 passing through 2 miles in 9:11. Two weeks later I topped a field of 900 at the very popular East End Club race in Lowell.  I ran 24:26 despite 90-degree temperatures.

Carson Memorial 2 mile

 This will be my 14th Carson Memorial/Chelmsford 4th of July race.  I’ve had pretty good luck here (except for getting knocked down in 2019).  Five overall wins and two age group wins.
 

The 4^th of July is a popular day to race so there are many choices.  I’ve raced 19 times on 07/04, including twice on that date in 2000!

If I make it to the finish line this year, the fourth will now tie with January 1^st as the most popular day for me to race on (again no surprises).  I have a lot of May dates for “most raced on date”, I think a lot of that goes back to that being the thick of High School outdoor track season and I’d often run in at least 2 races on any given race day.

Looking back - June 2019

 5 years ago (June 2019): I raced four times this month with a little bit of road, mountain, and a tiny bit of XC.  Over the river and through the woods 5k was race number 5 in the 8 race CARS series (06/08/19).  It was already 70 degrees and seemed warmer as we checked out the course.  It featured a couple of 180 degree turns, a nearly single-lane bike path, and a mile of Cross-Country.  My plan was to stick close to Scott Clark and try to get ahead of him for the XC part.  Over 200 took off at the start and the "root canal" tunnel followed by the 30' climb up over the highway and then the first 180.  I found myself with Scott in the top 15 with the 2nd pack.  Onto the XC part and I just couldn't get in front of Scott.  On the way back, right before we hit the bridge again Jim Angell (also 55 years old) went by. I stayed close but Jim gapped me as we went up over the highway.  When we hit the root canal I found a kick and was able to get around him and put a second on him.  Scott ended up taking the 50+ in 18:16 with me second in 18:26.
    1   1/3    MOPEN   16:57   16:56  5:27 Andrew Tuttle         23 M   197 Alton NH              76.67%
    2   2/3    MOPEN   17:34   17:33  5:39 Sam Evans-Brown   33 M   284 Concord NH          74.86%
    3   3/3    MOPEN   17:39   17:39  5:41 Colin Lessard          17 M   107 Bow NH                74.14%
    4   1/10   M1519   17:47   17:46  5:43 Sam Berube            18 M    46 Bow NH                73.11%
    5   2/10   M1519   18:09   18:08  5:50 Benjamin Neff         16 M   140 Bow NH                73.05%
    6   1/27   M5059   18:16   18:16  5:53 Scott Clark              53 M   194 Gilmanton NH        82.65%
    7   1/11   M3039   18:23   18:21  5:55 Kevin Crowley          33 M   212 Concord NH          71.60%
    8   2/27   M5059   18:26   18:26  5:56 Dave Dunham          55 M    15 Bradford MA          83.20%
    9   3/27   M5059   18:28   18:27  5:57 Jim Angell                55 M   147 Hopkinton NH       83.12%
   10   1/8    M2029   18:33   18:31  5:58 Timothy Lindberg      25 M   181 Ashland NH          70.12%
 
Mt Washington road race: This was the 29th time I’d raced up the auto road to the summit of the highest point in New England.  I hoped to run between 1:14 (my time last year) and 1:17 (the course record for 55+ is 1:16:58).  A good sized group of CMS guys gathered a little after 8am and we went out for an easy couple of miles on the trails.  The weather was low 60’s at the start and 40’s on top with 40mph winds.  I got in the second row at the start.  I counted about 30 people in front of me as we started the climb.  I tried to focus on teammates Erik Vandendries and Steve Brightman who are both in the 50+ age group.  Erik slowly pulled away at the mile and on the longer straights I could see him picking off people as the race progressed.  I got locked into catching then losing ground on Steve.  He would walk as it got steeper then run really fast as the grade decreased. I hit the half-way in 35:47 which was 35 seconds slower than last year (or about 10 seconds a mile!) so I was on pace for a 1:15-high.  I never lost focus and even had the top women in my sights for the 2nd half of the race.  At 7 miles I swore “if I finish I will never do this again” and charged on.  At the final turn I saw the clock and was able to sneak in under the age group record with a 1:16:46 for 26th overall and first in the 50+.
I ended up scoring for all three of the CMS winning teams (open, masters, seniors).  The club had a good day!  Todd won the 45-49 and Erik took the 50-54.  I may have set a record (certainly a personal best) for the least amount of time before running down.  I finished in just under 1:17, got myself to the summit (thank you Paul Grant for giving me a fleece blanket at the finish!), and crossed over the line heading down and the clock was still in the 1:24’s.


Pl          Time     Name    Age       Gen       City       St                     Club
1          1:02:52  Eric Blake           40         M          West Hartford CT
2          1:03:51  Francis Kamiri      32         M          Birmingham AL   
3          1:05:44  Lee Berube         28         M          Syracuse NY      
4          1:06:30  Nadir Cavagna     24         M          San Pellegrino ITA          
5          1:09:41  Nick Aguila          29         M          Manchester NH                MILL
8          1:10:22  Scott Mindel        32         M          Burlington MA                 CMS
14         1:14:12  Erik Vandendries  54         M          Chestnut Hill MA              CMS
19         1:15:27  Sean Livingston   50         M          Barrington RI                  WMM
21         1:15:56  Steve Brightman  50         M          Providence RI                  CMS
24         1:16:34  Todd Callaghan    49         M          Beverly MA                     CMS
26         1:16:47  Dave Dunham     55         M          Ward Hill MA                   CMS
30         1:17:22  Francis Burdett    54         M          Worcester MA                 CMS
 

Capital 10k: Finally, a longer race in the CARS series!  Most of the races in this 8-race series are 5k so I've been looking forward to the 10k.  The weather was turning warm but at least there wasn't any humidity.  This race gets a good turnout and is competitive since it is part of the NH grand prix.  It seemed fast as we headed down the main street, this would be a quick mile since it is slightly downhill, and we had a bit of a tailwind.  I settled into a good pack with fellow 50+ runners Scott Clark, Jim Angell, and Ernie Brake.  Charlie Bemis (WRT) had already pulled away and Brian Ruhm (GCS) was a few seconds ahead.  The first 3+ miles are fast and flat and I just kind of hung on in our little group.  Ernie fell off after a couple of miles and we caught up to Brian around 3 miles.  I tried to push it on the biggest climb from 3-4 and Brian was off the pack.  Scott and I caught the 2nd place woman and Jim fell off before 5 miles.  The last tough little hill at 5.5 really hurt but I was able to gap Scott.  I could see the first woman up ahead and Charlie as well, but they were WAY up ahead.  I pushed to the line and ended up taking 2nd in the 50+ and tops in the CARS age graded.  We had a good team run with three of the top 5 age graded results.


Overall
    1   1/3    MOPEN   32:57*   32:57  5:19 Forest MacKenzie       17 M  6928 Deerfield NH              81.77%
    2   2/3    MOPEN   33:20    33:20  5:22 Jacob Wormald          24 M   321 Pelham NH                 80.15%
    3   3/3    MOPEN   33:39    33:39  5:25 Andrew Erickson        23 M  6946 Lebanon NH                79.40%
    4   1/23   M2029   33:57    33:56  5:28 Christopher Dunn       24 M   415 Kennebunk ME              78.73%
    5   2/23   M2029   34:14    34:14  5:31 Andrew Tuttle          24 M   197 Alton NH                        78.04%
   24   1/46   M5059   37:17*   37:15  6:00 Charlie Bemis         56 M   486 Derry NH                  84.94%
   27   2/46   M5059   37:51*   37:49  6:06 Dave Dunham            55 M    15 Bradford MA               82.93%
   30   3/46   M5059   38:10    38:09  6:09 Scott Clark            53 M   194 Gilmanton NH              80.78%
   31   4/46   M5059   38:14*   38:12  6:09 Jim Angell             55 M   147 Hopkinton NH              82.10%
   34   5/46   M5059   38:32    38:29  6:12 Brian Ruhm             54 M  6956 Hollis NH                 80.78%
   36   6/46   M5059   39:22    39:17  6:20 Terrence Ferns         50 M   295 New London NH             76.48%
   38   7/46   M5059   39:28    39:26  6:21 Ernest Brake           57 M   195 North Sutton NH           80.95%
   54   9/46   M5059   41:43    41:42  6:43 Thomas Anderson        54 M  6937 Claremont NH              74.55%
 
 
Franklin Savings Bank 150th anniversary 5k race,  I wasn't sure where I was going to race this weekend but eventually settle on the FSB 5k in Franklin NH.  It was very humid and in the upper 70s during the warmup and getting more humid. There were about 100 people milling about before the start but only a couple of guys out doing any kind of warmup.  That gave me an indication that I might have a shot at a win.  I kept my eye on the race director (she had the starting gun) as the final announcements were made.  I heard her ask the timers if they were ready, they said "yes”, and she fired the gun.  I was ready but I think most were left standing.  I headed out in the lead and could hear some footfalls right behind me.  After 1/2 mile they faded and by a mile I was alone.  The mile was fast at 5:35 but the drop certainly helped.  I settled in but tried to keep pushing.  Splits of 6:00 and 6:00 were not quite what I hoped for but the effort was there.  I crossed the line in first place picking up my first win of the year (and 41st consecutive year).  Second place came in 1:21 later.  I finished off the morning with an excellent warm-down 5 miles on the Northern Rail Trail, it was only a little buggy.
 

Looking back - June 2014

 10 years ago: June 2014, I raced three times this month but missed the “big” race at Mt Washington due to a bone bruise.  First up was the Mt Ascutney race; this was my 11th attempt at this race. Of the series races this is probably my favorite since it is all up on paved road. This is the one that gives you some sort of idea whether you are ready for Mt Washington or just blowing smoke. I hoped for the former but feared the latter. Eric Blake was out of sight by the mile as he just crushed the field setting a new course record of 27:57. I ended up in 32:09 8th place finish. Our CMS team had a great day with six in the top 11. We finished first in all three team categories (open, masters, seniors).
 
1 27:57 Eric Blake 35
2 30:59 Drew Best 32
3 31:05 Brandon Newbould 32
4 31:17 Peter Gurney 25
5 31:26 Jim Johnson 37
6 31:59 Todd Callaghan 44
7 32:00 Tim Mahoney 34
8 32:09 Dave Dunham 50
9 32:19 Erik Vandendries 49
10 32:49 Ross Krause 34
11 32:51 Kevin Tilton 32
 
USATF New England 5 mile championships:  It was warm (70s) and there was a very strong wind to contend with. At least the headwind would be during the first half of the race and then a tailwind for the last two miles. It took me most of the first mile to catch the lead women’s pack and I hit the mile in 5:46. I slowly moved by people and after the first ½ mile of the race was only passed by one or two people. I ran out of steam on the final downhill and only just barely held off the top woman. I can’t complain about finishing third in the 50-54 in a New England championship!
 
Top 5 50+
1 Robert Cipriano 54 28:12 Somerville Road Runners
2 Dan Verrington 51 28:31 Central Mass Striders
3 Dave Dunham 50 28:37 Central Mass Striders
4 Paul Hammond 54 28:49 Whirlaway Racing Team
5 Michael Cooney 52 28:57 Whirlaway Racing Team
 
USATF New England open and master’s championship:  After missing a week due to the bone bruise and ligament issues in my right foot, I’d started back running tentatively. I wasn’t sure how I’d hold up, but I was willing to give it a go. I found myself in last place right away and tried to relax. Jim, Todd, and Dan were a little ahead and the first quarter was slow (83+). Dan’s group slowly pulled away and I found myself alone after Joe O’Leary went by just after the mile. My foot started to hurt a lot around half-way and my calf (probably from favoring) was twinging. At 2 miles Dan was 12+ seconds ahead. With 3 laps to go he was 12 seconds up, with 2 laps left it was down to 9 seconds, and at the gun lap it was 5 or 6 seconds. With 200 to go he was still 4 or 5 seconds ahead, but I found another gear and caught him in the last 100 meters. At the end I got him by just over 1 second. I hit the track hard, wheezing and trying to breathe. Man that hurt!
 
Men 50+
1 17:21.74 Dave Dunham 50 CMS
2 17:22.99 Daniel Verrington 52 CMS
3 19:55.92 Michael Quinn 50 SRR
4 20:11.80 Andrew Merlino Jr 50 Shamrock
5 20:59.24 David Lapierre 50 CMS

Looking back - June 1999 & June 2009

 25 Years ago: June 1999, I covered 363 miles during the month and didn’t miss a day despite my left knee, arch and ankle all giving me woes. I was definitely on a bit of a hot streak and I rode right ‘til the end (when my ankle blew up in August). I started the month battling with Eric Morse at Pack Monadnock. We ran stride for stride for the first 9 miles, then I gapped him in Miller State park. He came back and motored by me running the fastest closing mile ever run at Pack (sub 8 minutes) on his way to a course record 58:35. I finished in second place in 58:49. Morse and I would both run under 60 minutes again in 2001 and since that time only Eric Blake (59:55) has been under an hour at Pack. A week later Eric and I were battling again, this time in the USATF NE 10k championships in Portsmouth, NH. We ran together through 5.5 miles before Morse kicked it up a notch. He won in 30:25 and I took 2nd place in 30:31. A week later I was back at Mt Washington, watching the leaders pull away. Daniel Kihara and Matt Carpenter had a great race both running under one hour. I ran a personal best 1:00:37. That still stands as the Massachusetts state record and was the 35-39 age group record until 2014 (Eric Blake ran 1:00:01).  I closed the month out with a 5.7 mile race at Stratton Vermont which hosted the USATF NE mountain championships. Eric Morse beat me again as I finished in 2nd place in 47:05. We both qualified for the US mountain running team.
 
Mt Washington 1999
1          59:03    Daniel Kihara                31M      Royersford, KEN           
2          59:16    Matt Carpenter              34M      Manitou Springs, CO     
3          1:00:37 Dave Dunham               35M      Bradford, MA     CMS
4          1:01:09 Eric Morse                     34M      Berlin, VT          CMS
5          1:01:38 Simon Gutierrez            33M      Albuquerque, NM           ADIDAS
6          1:03:04 Joseph Lemay               32M      Danbury, CT     ADIDAS
7          1:03:32 Rich Davis                    29M      Ft Collins, CO   
8          1:04:36 Thomas Anderson         34M      Keene, NH        CMS
9          1:05:53 Scott Elliott                   35M      Boulder, CO     
10        1:06:00 Richard Bolt                  28M      Pepperell, MA    CMS
 
15 years ago: June 2009, I ran 331 miles this month and didn’t miss any days. I started the month at the Lincoln RI dog track for the USATF NE 5km champs. It was warm and sunny, and I had a decent run covering the course in 16:30 and narrowly missing my 40+ pr (16:28). A week later I directed and raced in the USATF NE trail championships at Northfield. I tried to key off of teammate Tim Mahoney but just couldn’t track him down (although he pulled me past the 2nd place master in the process). I took 10th place overall in 39:30 over the 6.5 mile course. A week later I found myself chasing Tim Livingston up Mt Washington. Tim still holds the 19 and under record at Mt Washington and in recent years has run some spectacular second halves at Mt W. I felt lousy but managed a sub 1:10 effort taking 20th in 1:09:22. I finished the month with the Cranmore Mountain race which was the US mountain running championships. I had a good second loop moving up through the fast starters to take 25th overall and third in the 40+.

Looking back June 1994

 30 years ago: June 1994, I got 388 miles this month despite a possible stress fracture of the sacrum and tendonitis of Ilio psoas. I started the month with a win at a small 5 mile in Manchester. I ran 24:19 to beat 100 runners the Executive Health Club race near Manchester airport. Big Mike Beeman put on the race where I gapped Art Sorrell in the early miles and ended up topping him by 1:08. A week later I found myself at the famed Dipsea 7.1 trail race in Mill Valley CA. I ran the fastest time of the day, passing all but 3 of the 750 people who started ahead of me (it is a handicapped race). A week later I was back at Mt Washington for one of the toughest days I can recall. It was hot as balls on this day and I noted “I think I can run 1:03 in these conditions but that could be anywhere from 1st to 10th place”. I took the lead just after 3 miles and was able to hold on for my third and final win at Mt Washington running 1:03:22. The next day I headed over to Bretton Woods and tried my hand at Summer biathlon. I came in 4th running 19:09 for the 3.7 mile course. My time was 2nd fastest, trailing only Keith Woodward but I lost time by not hitting as many targets (the winner ran 21:11 and got 3:15 subtracted for the targets he hit). Running and shooting, what a cool combination!

Mt Washington 1994

1          1:03:12 Dave Dunham               31M      Londonderry, MA CMS

2          1:05:07 Neji Makhlouf               31M      TUN     

3          1:05:48 Abraham Limo               32M      KEN     

4          1:06:26 Mike Casner                  32M      Keene, NH        CMS

5          1:06:35 Robert Ratcliffe             32M      Cambridge, MA 

6          1:07:12 Eric Morse                     29M      Moretown, VT   CMS

7          1:07:40 Scott Clark                    28M      Gilmanton, NH  CMS

8          1:08:03 Daniel Kithuka              20M      KEN     

9          1:08:45 Karl Meltzer Jr               26M      Salt Lake City, UT         

10        1:09:57 Jim Garcia                     35M      Westford, MA    CMS

Looking back - June 1984 & 1989

 40 years ago: June 1984, I ran 261 miles during this month due to a very sore arch (missed 2 days). I only raced twice. On June 17th I ran the Kappy’s Kopper Kettle race in Lowell. There was always a fair amount of cash at this race so usually there was some good competition. I ended up placing second to Fernando Braz (24:35) in a field of 850 runner (which wasn’t a particularly big field back then). I ran 24:50 with splits of 4:59/9:50/15:02/20:04. Two weeks later I ran the Blessing of the Fleet race in Gloucester MA. The field was pretty good, with Guy Stearns taking the win in 23:45, he was closely followed by Pete Pfitzinger. I took fourth place six seconds behind Fernando Braz (24:11 to 24:17).
 
35 years ago: June 1989, I had a 402 mile month with a day off (not sure exactly why). I started the month off with the Nipmuck half-marathon. Petey (Steve Peterson) and I went to find out what trail running was all about. We got lost about 200 meters into our warm-up on the trail. Lesson learned! I ended up winning the half in 1:29:36, a new course record. Six days later I picked up my second win at the Mt Washington road race with a one second victory over 7-time winner Bob Hodge. That remains the closest finish in the history of the race. I ran 62:58 picking up $750 on a day when it was 80 degrees at the bottom while at the top the wind-chill was 27 degrees. I ran down in a rare sub-60 (59:30). A week later the USATF NE 5k (then called the NEAC) was held in Greenwich RI. I found myself 10 seconds behind the leaders at 2 miles (9:19) but came up with a 4:35 third mile to move into the lead, and held it to the finish for a 3 second victory over Hodge 14:23 to 14:26.


Mt Washington 1989
1          1:02:59 Dave Dunham               25M      Lowell, MA        GLRR
2          1:03:01 Bob Hodge                    33M      Clinton, MA       GLRR
3          1:06:57 Keith Woodward            38M      E Corinth, VT   
4          1:07:05 Sean Hanley                 28M      Sharon, MA      
5          1:07:56 Sheldon Larson             28M      Boulder, CO     

Slow down!

 I’m not sure why I’m feeling so lousy and just struggling with the easiest runs.  It definitely showed at the race last weekend (Over the River and through the Woods) where I ran my slowest time for 5k since early January and 1:30 slower than the USATF NE race last month. This was my sixth time racing at OTRATTW and using 2018 as my base year, I’d been steadily running around 3% slower in 2020-2022.  This year  I was nearly 11% slower and about a minute slower than I thought I could run.  Ouch.
 
Over the River (and through the woods)                                          
Year     Time    Place   Percent slower           
2018    18:12   4                     
2019    18:26   8          1.28    
2020    18:41   1          2.66     Only four entrants, I set up the race myself
2021    18:42   11        2.75    
2022    19:30   6          2.54     Equivalent of 18:40 for 3.12, race was 3.26 miles
2024    20:09   7          10.71   Ouch!

Looking back - May 2019

 5 years ago – May 2019: I raced four times this month, mixing it up with roads, XC, and mountains.  I kicked off the month at the Cinco De Miles in Bedford NH. I was looking to get some faster running in and this looked like a good way to start things off. I previewed the course for a warm-up.  Any race with streets having “hill” in the name should be approached with caution.  This one had a few.  No big hills but a good bump before 2 miles and again at 2.5.  I was hoping to run under 18 minutes. A lot of people sprinted out down the first hill.  By the bottom I wasn’t in the top 20.  When my watch beeped at ½ mile I’d moved up to the top 15 and by the mile (5:38) I was in the top 10.  I missed my goal by 7 seconds but put in a good effort. 

1 17:11.6 Corey Girard M37 PEMBROKE NH
2 17:24.4 Michael Diodati M36 GOFFSTOWN NH MultiSport
3 17:44.4 Laura Hagley F34 HANOVER NH
4 17:50.4 Mark Laprade M46 BEDFORD NH Millennium Running 
5 18:06.2 Dave Dunham M55 BRADFORD MA Granite State Racing Team 
6 18:11.5 Christopher Neumann M26 ANDOVER MA 
7 18:42.9 Brendan Bucksbaum M26 MENDON VT 
 
Next up was the Canterbury XC race (race #4 in the CARS).  I had finished in a surprising second place last year but knew that wasn’t going to be the case this year.  My goal was to give teammate Scott Clark a good race in the 50.  After the warm-up I put on my Inov-8 trail shoes and tried to stay loose doing another easy mile.  My back felt crappy and I was sluggish. Over 230 took off at the start and some went out crazy fast.  I went by Scott but he stuck with me and on the downhill before the single-track he moved back into the front.  I passed Scott on the hill near two miles and was now in 9th place.  I tried to drop him on the next climb but he hung tough.  As we were reaching the crest at the cow barn Scott went and I could not match him.  He ended up 9th with me taking 10th 2 seconds later.
 
Canterbury 5k XC – May 11, 2019 234 finishers (28 M50+)
    1   1/3    MOPEN   17:32   17:32  5:39 Sandu Rebencivc     49 M Penacook NH       83.50%
    2   2/3    MOPEN   17:32   17:32  5:39 Jim Johnson            42M  Madison NH         79.31%
    3   3/3    MOPEN   17:38   17:38  5:41 Andrew Tuttle          23 M Alton NH             73.63%
    4   1/6    M2029   18:18   18:18  5:54 Louis Saviano III       28 M Sandown NH        70.97%
    5   2/6    M2029   18:30   18:28  5:57 David Martino            26 M Laconia NH          70.31%
    6   1/7    M1519   18:35   18:34  5:59 Colin Lessard            17 M Bow NH               70.48%
    7   2/7    M1519   18:52   18:49  6:04 Sam Berube             18 M Bow NH               69.03%
    8   1/17   M3039   19:10   19:09  6:10 Kevin Crowley          33 M Concord NH          68.61%
    9   1/28   M5059   19:12   19:11  6:11 Scott Clark               53 M Gilmanton NH       78.70%
   10   2/28   M5059   19:14   19:13  6:12 Dave Dunham         55 M Bradford MA         79.81%
   17   4/28   M5059   21:27   21:25  6:54 Darin Brown            52 M Madison NH           69.95%
 
The next weekend featured the USATF NE 5k championships (May 18, 2019)  Race number 3 in the 7 race USATF NE grand prix seemed to take forever to arrive (race 2 was at the end of March).  I did not feel ready for a fast 5k and woke up on race morning fearing that I was headed for a migraine (I had one on Tuesday and was "hungover" the rest of the week).  The migraine never developed but I was a bit shaky all morning. I picked up teammates Colin Carroll and Dave LaPierre and we got out to Westfield a little before noon for the 1 p.m. race.  The course would drop 100 feet and we'd have a tailwind, that meant some speedy times. It was tightly packed at the start.  The start was a bit of a cluster with 2 of the three turns in the entire race within the first 200 meters.  I saw fellow 50+ runners not far ahead and focused on them (Jeff Walker, Ed Parrot, Kevin Delaney).  Charlie Bemis (55+ Whirlaway) flew by at 1.5 miles.  I tried to go with him but he was really hauling and I was maxed out.  I almost bought it on the speed-bump in the final few yards but kept my feet and hit the finish in 17:38 (17:34 chip time).    I was very happy with my 3rd place age-group finish and pretty sure our team took the 50+ title (I was fourth for CMS in the 50+).
       

               
1          16:00.6  Tim Van Orden    M          51         Bennington  VT    CMS
2          16:31.8  Kent Lemme       M          52         Pittsfield  MA       GSH
3          16:45.4  Jason Cakouros   M          53         Milton  MA          HFC 
4          16:50.9  Joe Shairs           M          51         Peabody  MA       CMS
5          16:56.6  David Principe     M          52         Johnston  RI       CMS
6          17:09.8  Ronald Jacobs     M          53         Amherst  MA       GSH
7          17:14.4  John Sullivan       M          58         W Roxbury  MA   HFC
8          17:15.3  Charlie Bemis      M          56         Derry  NH           WRT
9          17:34.7  Dave Dunham     M          55         Bradford  MA      CMS
10         17:35.1  Kevin Delaney     M          50         Arlington  MA      CSU
11         17:48.9  Scott Grandfield   M          54         Rehoboth  MA     HFC
12         17:49.6  Terry Mcnatt       M          54         Needham  MA     CSU
13         18:01.8  Chris Smith         M          53         Woburn  MA       SRR
14         18:03.9  John Noland        M          56         Kingston  MA       WRT
15         18:06.8  David Lapierre     M          55         Chelmsford  MA   CMS
16         18:08.7  Robert Landry     M          50         Ludlow  MA         GSH
17         18:14.8  Jeff Walker         M          53         Falmouth  ME      Dirigo
18         18:24.1  Paul Hammond    M          59         Lexington  MA     WRT
19         18:29.9  Michael Dufour    M          54         Londonderry  NH GLRR
20         18:30.3  EJ Hrynowski      M          56         Arlington  MA      GLRR
 
My final race of the month was Wachusett Mountain (05/25/19). This is one of my favorites.  The only race I've done more times than Wachusett is Mt Washington. I felt lousy, but that is typical (and sometimes even a good sign). Over 350 lined up for the start but not that many seemed interested in getting on the starting line, so I put myself up there.  Last year I'd finished 11th in 21:42. Based on other races breaking 22 would be a major surprise.  In a reversal of the last few years I decided to do both the up AND the down race (you can stop at the summit and call it a day).  I got out okay in the top 15 or so but just did not feel good.  I had some good back and forth with both Ed Sheldon and Bryan Trinque (both fellow CMS runners).  In the end they both took me before the summit.  My time of 22:25 is about right I guess, but there were definitely a few guys ahead of me who rarely beat me. A few of the top guys dropped out at the top (normal) and I passed a couple of guys on the descent.  Only one guy got me on the down and I had a good 1.5 miles with Steve Brightman before he nuked me.  I came in just a bit under 42 minutes.

The Climb
Place        Time        Name                      Gen/Age   City, St                    USATF team
1             20:16.8    Jacob Wormald        M23         PELHAM NH            GCS
2             20:48.5    Liam Garvey            M23         ALLSTON MA          
3             20:50.2    Gregory Putnam       M49         STONEHAM MA        CMS
4             21:12.2    Nicholas Rindenello  M32         HARVARD              
5             21:12.6    Todd Callaghan        M49         BEVERLEY MA         CMS
6             21:16.2    Brandyn Naro          M32         RAYMOND NH         GCS
7             21:16.8    Andrew Greene       M34         WORCESTER MA     
8             21:23.9    Kim Nedeau             F39          LEVERETT MA         WMDP
9             21:25.8    Tim Van Orden        M51         BENNINGTON VT     CMS
10            21:37.2    Stephen Kerr           M27         HADLEY MA             SMAC
11            21:42.7    Erik Vandendries      M54         Chestnut hill ma      CMS
12            21:47.8    Xianrong Wang        M37         WESTFORD MA       BEN RC
13            22:06.6    Kassandra Marin      F29          MERRIMACK NH      WRT
14            22:10.1    Michael Narcisi        M35         ACTON MA              Sisu Project
15            22:19.1    Steve Brightman      M50         PROVIDENCE RI      CMS
16            22:21.1    Ed Sheldon              M54         HOOKSETT NH        CMS
17            22:24.6    Bryan Trinque          M35         CLINTON MA           CMS
18            22:25.7    Dave Dunham          M55         BRADFORD MA        CMS
19            22:29.1    Ryan Lyesiuk           M39         ORANGE MA           
20            23:03.9    Heath Brewer          M34         Twin Mountain NH   Sisu Project
 
The full 10k
Place        Time        Name                      Gen/Age   City, St                    Team
1             38:14.1    Liam Garvey            M23         ALLSTON MA          
2             38:32.5    Nicholas Rindenello  M32         HARVARD               
3             38:34.0    Jacob Wormald        M23         PELHAM NH            GCS
4             39:13.5    Tim Van Orden        M51         BENNINGTON VT     CMS
5             40:13.7    Andrew Greene       M34         WORCESTER MA     
6             40:47.0    Bryan Trinque          M35         CLINTON MA           CMS
7             40:54.3    Stephen Kerr           M27         HADLEY MA             SMAC
8             40:58.0    Kassandra Marin      F29          MERRIMACK NH      WRT
9             41:00.7    Steve Brightman      M50         PROVIDENCE RI      CMS
10            41:30.0    Xianrong Wang        M37         WESTFORD MA       BEN RC
11            41:32.9    Ryan Lyesiuk           M39         ORANGE MA           
12            41:54.8    Dave Dunham          M55         BRADFORD MA        CMS        
13            42:12.0    Brandyn Naro          M32         RAYMOND NH         GCS
14            42:25.6    Mike Grasela           M28         New Bedford MA                                   
15            42:45.5    Michael Narcisi        M35         ACTON MA              Sisu Project

Looking back - May 2014

 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

Looking back - May 2004 & 2009

20 years ago – May 2004: I covered 286 miles with five days off during this month. I missed the days due to a torn calf muscle post-Wachusett Mountain that cost me 6 weeks in the boot. The month started off okay with a fourth place finish at Prospect Mountain (Morse won in 34:53) running 38:03. A week later I ran the “Fit 4 kids” 5k in Exeter where I took 11th place with a 16:53. A week later I finished 9th in 27:33 at the Wachusett Mountain race and that was pretty much the end of my year with the calf issue.

 

15 years ago – May 2009: I got in a decent mileage month (361) with no days off and five races. I started the month with a win at the 3 mile “Bear run” trail race in Carlisle. I was alone from the start but ran scared and won by 29 seconds over the three mile course in 17:09. A week later I was back at the Bedford Rotary 12k which again was the host of the USATF New England championship. I had a good back-forth fight with longtime rival (CSU) Terry McNatt. He beat me but I had a decent race setting a masters PR running 41:45. The following weekend I tried a double race, running the Wachusett Mountain race on Saturday. It was a new course with some tricky footing on the downhill part (it also didn’t go to the summit). I finished in 9th place and was 3rd master. The next day I ran the Trav’s trail race, which was one of my favorite races. I took 9th place (2nd master) in 16:43. The final race of the month had me back at Pack Monadnock, a race I truly dislike but have done more than a dozen times. I went out a bit too fast (30:32 at the half) and that may have hurt my climb. I took 9th place in 1:07:36 and was top master.

 

2009 High Point adventures:  Eric Morse came up with the idea of visiting (bagging) a few states he had yet to run in.  I’m always up for an adventure so I signed on immediately and as soon as Al Bernier heard about it he was in as well. Eric laid out the basics of what he wanted to see, and I did a bunch of research to figure out how to maximize our time and not only get the four states (ND, SD, MT, & WY) but also get some other interesting locations.  There were so many things to do and we tried to cram it all into a little more than four days.

 

Miles driven:1,123  Miles run: 60  States run in: SD, ND, MT, WY   County high points: 5   State High Points: 2

Other stuff:  Geographic center of the country.  Tri state marker (SD, ND, & MT) – my first tri-state point!

Devil’s tower – Nice 3 mile run around it on trails, Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore, Deadwood, Wall Drug, The Badlands