Looking back - April 1989

 35 years ago – April 1989: I lowered my mileage down to 328 for the month, mostly because I was aiming for a good run at the Boston marathon.  This was my first shot at the marathon, and I trained very hard with a goal of breaking 2:15. The week prior to the marathon I headed to New York City for the second annual Ekiden Relay.  This was a big money race that had teams from each of the 50 states and some international teams. Somehow, I ended up running the shortest leg of the relay a 7.5km (4.41 miles) dash through Central Park.  I ended up running the 2nd fastest time of the day 20:44 (4:42 pace), our team took 4th place, and I came home with $3,000.  The others on the team were Tim Gannon (14:10-5k), Paul Gorman (10.1k -9th pl), Dennis Simoniatis (9.3k-2nd pl), Wally Collins (10k 30:12, 10th pl).  Nine days later I lined up at the start of the Boston Marathon.  This was my first Boston and my first Marathon (I’ve done more than 50 races of the marathon and beyond since then).  I joined 5,122 others on a 67-degree day.  I felt great through 20k, and still pretty good through 30k, but the last 10k was just brutal.  My splits were 31:10, 32:10, 33:10, for the first 30km.  The last 12.2k took me 45:32 (5:59) pace but it was a lot worse than it sounds.  I staggered across the line and was promptly escorted to the medical tent and from there to the hospital.  Over 10 pounds of IV fluid later I was released.  Ouch!  I ended up finishing in 2:22:03 for 17th place.

Another old course record survives

Nipmuck Trail Marathon – 40th running in 2023. My CR is now 32 years old. Here are the top ten times run at Nipmuck. 1991 was a fast year with three of the top 9 times coming from that year. I recall tucking behind Fargo and Turner for the first 13 miles (out & back south) then gaining some ground on the northern section of the course.

I stopped momentarily at 19+ miles at the turn to pick up a fuel-belt with de-fizzed coke to get me through the last part. The incredible Ben Nephew barely missed the top 10 with his 3:12:08 win in 2009.

1. 3:01:51 Dave Dunham (27) 1991

2. 3:02:45 Kevin McGovern (37) 1995

3. 3:07:05 Rich Fargo (29) 1988

4. 3:07:26 Jim Garcia (35) 1994

5. 3:09:47 Rich Fargo (30) 1989

6. 3:10:27 Rich Fargo (28) 1987

7. 3:10:45 Keith Turner (31) 1991

8. 3:11:17 Gary Burdick (39) 1994

9. 3:11:44 Rich Fargo (32) 1991

10. 3:11:57 Leigh Schmitt (28) 2001

Looking back - 30 years Dec. 1992

30 Years ago - December 1992:  I raced twice during this month with the main goal being the Rocket City Marathon.  I started off the month running for “Mike Beeman’s Total Sports” team at the Mill Cities Relay.  Teammates were Scott Spence, Steve Peterson, Artie Demers, and the man himself, Mike Beeman.  We really stirred things up by having a team of “all-stars”.  Back then the rules were pretty tight, but we got into the race as all of us were/are lifetime members of the Winners Circle Running Club.  I guess the big controversy was that we were decked out in “Total Sports” singlets.  Anyway, we had fun which is what the relay is all about.  I ran the 4.6 mile leg in 22:09 (4:48 pace!).  I was in my “taper” phase for the marathon.

I went down to Huntsville Alabama in December of 1992 for my 11^th marathon.  The field of 874 runners encountered temps in the mid-30’s with lots of wind.  The Rocket City Marathon course had an incredible 52 turns but was reasonably flat so I was hoping for a quick time.  I stayed in a good sized chase pack from 2 miles through 10 miles and moved into the lead after 21 miles and went on for my first road marathon victory in 2:20:51 (splits 1:09:45/1:11:06).

1 2:20:52 Dave Dunham   M28      Londonderry NH  CMS
2 2:23:31 James Little       M26      Elkhart IN                       EBay
3 2:24:09 David Mullan     M32      Slidell LA           
4 2:24:39 Gerrold Wynia   M32      St Charles MO     PS
5 2:25:47 Jeff Rawlins       M35      Tipp City OH                   RO
7 2:26:15 Reno Stirrat       M38      Smyrna GA                     CMS

Kind words

 My mom gave me a clipping from the Lowell Sun.  Some kind words from Dan Vassallo after he took down my course record at the Bay State Marathon.

"Good dude"  :-)

Nipmuck trail marathon - 30 years!

 30 years ago today I set the still standing course record at the Nipmuck trail marathon breaking Rich Fargo’s 3:07.  The course featured two out & back runs, first south for 6.5 miles then the northern section for 6.6 miles.   From my training log.  “2 mile warm-up, felt okay. Felt very good, going easy through the ½.  Moved into first at 18 miles and really pushed the last section.  Splits: 6.5 – 41:15, 6.5 43:24, 6.6 48:14, 6.6 49:01.  Petey (Steve Peterson) won the ½ in 1:33:15”.  I noted that I passed Petey at 22 mile.  The half marathon ran over the second half of the course (the northern part which was much tougher) and started after the marathon.

The two times I ran the Clarence Demar Marathon (25 and 20 years ago today)

 Twenty-five years ago today (09-24-1995):  Dan Verrington, Byrne Decker and I went to the Clarence Demar marathon with our goal being a “B” standard Olympic trails time of under 2:22.  Conditions were good, and after a 2 mile warm-up we headed out “strong to 6 miles with Dan, Byrne, and Mike O’Brien”.  Byrne fell off at the pace and O’Brien fell back at 10.  Dan and I knew at ½ way that we wouldn’t qualify (1:10:45), so we slowed to 6-minute pace.  Byrne went by at 17 and was 10 seconds ahead by 20 miles.  We caught him soon after when he stopped in the woods, Dan also stopped to change out of racing flats, and then I stopped to do the same.  I caught back up to Dan at 23 and we ran together to the finish.  It seemed like neither one of us wanted to push for a win and just before the line I eased back and Dan crossed the line a step ahead of me for the win with both of us timed in 2:30:25.

Byrne took 5^th place in 2:34.  None of us qualified for the 1996 trials.  Dan ran a 2:21:10 at Vermont in 1996, which was after the trails.  Byrne would come close in a few years later running a 2:22:53.

1   2:30:25 Dan Verrington 33M Bradford, MA

2   2:30:25 Dave Dunham   31M Bradford, MA

3   2:33:40 David Herr        30M Canaan, VT

4   2:33:48 George Adams  25M New Milford, CT

5   2:33:56 Cathy O’Brien    28F Durham, NH

6   2:34:16 Byrne Decker    28M Londonderry, NH

Five years later = 20 years ago today (09/24/2000) – Back at the Clarence Demar Marathon in Keene NH, this time my goal was run as “slowly” as possible and get the win.  I was starting a three week stretch of racing a marathon, marathon, and 100k and the marathons were more of a tune-up for the big race.  I won in 2:29:11.

 1   2:29:11 Dave Dunham 36M Bradford, MA

2   2:37:09 Alden Hall       30M Washington, DC

3   2:39:27 Jeff Day          30M Olmstead, OH

4   2:40;21 Eric Beauchesne 30M Chelmsford, MA

5   2:24:02 George Adams 30M Keene, NH

Marathons

The 2019 Boston marathon was my 39th marathon and 52nd race of marathon or greater distance.  It was my second slowest but probably the most enjoyable.

I’ve done 52 races of the marathon distance or longer.  Only 10 over the last 10 years, but I’d like to continue doing at least one a year.  Long range goal is another decade with a sub-3.

No.         Date      Location               St            Info        Time      PL           Fin

1              04/18/89              Hopkinton           MA         Boston Marathon             2:22:03.0              17           5122

2              02/25/90              Lowell   MA         Bay state marathon         2:51:00.0              4              250

3              10/14/90              Lowell   MA         Bay state marathon         2:58:28.0              18           202

4              11/11/90              Columbus            OH          Columbus marathon       2:19:28.0              26           4059

5              06/02/91              Ashford CT           Nipmuck              3:01:54.0              1              120

6              10/20/91              Lowell   MA         Bay state marathon         2:38:23.0              4              385

7              11/03/91              Newport              RI            Rhode Island marathon 2:29:28.0              3              1025

8              03/01/92              Barnstable          MA         Hyannis marathon           2:54:58.0              12           500

9              04/11/92              Columbus            OH          US Olympic trials              2:21:18.0              20           110

10           10/18/92              Lowell   MA         Bay state marathon         2:52:18.0              14           380

11           12/12/92              Huntsville            AL           Rocket city marathon     2:20:51.0              1              874

12           10/17/93              Lowell   MA         Bay state marathon         2:51:25.0              19           379

13           10/31/93              Newport              RI            Ocean state marathon   2:26:06.0              2              450

14           04/09/95              Athens, Greece GRE        World Cup Marathon     2:27:51.0              56           101

15           09/24/95              Keene   NH          Clarence Demar 2:30:25.0              2              324

16           12/09/95              Huntsville            AL           Rocket city marathon     2:25:41.0              9              1069

17           10/06/96              Portland               ME         Portland marathon          2:34:57.0              2              325

18           10/27/96              Falmouth             MA         USATF NE marathon       2:24:05.0              2              809

19           12/14/96              Huntsville            AL           Rocket city marathon     2:19:50.0              2              883

20           10/18/98              Tyngsboro           MA         Bay state marathon         2:21:36.0              1              682

21           12/12/98              Huntsville            AL           Rocket city marathon     2:22:35.0              4              866

22           05/02/99              Pittsburgh           PA          USATF championships    2:21:55.0              10           2289

23           09/24/00              Keene   NH          Clarence Demar Marathon           2:29:10.0              1              277

24           09/30/00              Bristol   NH          NH Marathon    2:43:31.0              1              103

25           10/29/00              Falmouth             MA         USATF NE marathon       2:30:53.0              5              796

26           11/09/02              Topsfield             MA         Stone Cat Ale     3:06:10.0              1              72

27           12/14/02              Huntsville            AL           Rocket City Marathon    2:36:22.0              10           815

28           10/31/04              Falmouth             MA         USATF NE marathon       2:50:19.0              18           920

29           10/15/06              Brevard NC          Dupont forest USATF champs     2:55:56.0              7              122

30           10/28/07              Falmouth             MA         USATF NE champs            2:49:25.0              27           1005

31           10/18/09              Lowell   MA         Baystate - USATF NE       2:59:41.0              75           1561

32           11/07/09              Ashland OR          Lithia loop - USATF national         3:09:36.0              16           143

33           10/17/10              Lowell   MA         Baystate - USATF NE        2:58:06.0              79           1565

34           11/06/10              Ashland OR          Lithia Loop - National champs     3:03:25.0              11           171

35           05/24/15              Burlington           VT           USATF NE marathon - VCM          3:09:14.0              163         2620

36           11/06/16              Manchester       NH          USATF NE            2:58:41.0              28           486

37           10/22/17              Lowell   MA         USATF NE            2:57:10.0              60           1128

38           10/21/18              Lowell   MA         Baystate - USATF NE       3:01:51.0              110         1300

                                                                                                               

1              10/08/00              Boston  MA         Chancellor's challenge   6:46:39.0              1              58

2              04/07/01              Chicago IL             Chicago Lakefront 50k    2:57:36.0              1              118

3              07/28/01              Crystal Mountain             WA         USATF National Championship   6:59:15.0      2              128

4              09/16/01              Chesterfield       NH          Pisgah Mountain              3:56:11.0              2              54

5              11/17/01              Boonsboro          MD         JFK         6:11:18.0              2              818

6              03/23/02              Pittsburgh           PA          USATF National champs 3:13:19.0              2              54

7              04/20/02              Carmel  NY          Sybil Luddington               3:21:51.0              2              34

8              11/17/02              Coventry             RI            Nifty Fifty            3:20:07.0              1              23

9              11/14/04              Peachtree City   GA          USATF 50K championships           3:27:14.0              5              42

10           12/19/04              Huntington         IN           HUFF 50K             3:43:25.0              5              219

11           07/29/05              Wakefield           MA         SRR 24 hour        4:31:00.0              52           62

12           08/26/06              Sausalito              CA          Headlands 50K (USATF Champs) 4:35:14.0              13           166

13           06/25/17              Lubec    ME         Bay of Fundy      3:53:31.0              1              21

Baystate Marathon

Baystate Marathon (USATF NE championships):  I came into this race with multiple goals (as I usually do).  The number one goal was to finish and score for the CMS 50+ team.  Second was to finish in the top 10 in my age group which would give me at least one point in all of the seven USATF NE grand prix races.  I felt that sub-3 hours was do-able and would be aiming for my 50+ personal best from last year of 2:57:10.  I was a bit worried about my knee which has been bothering me for a month and lately has taken a turn for the worse.  I’d been favoring it a bit and that had caused my ankle and heel to be pretty sore at the start of my runs, I’d written that off as “not a problem” as it tended to warm-up after a mile or so.

Al Bernier and I got to the race about an hour early and picked up his number.  We bumped into a few of our CMS teammates and spirits seemed high despite the steady winds and the temps in the 40s.  At least it’d be a tailwind on the final 8m stretch from Tyngsboro back into Lowell!  I ran an easy ¾’s of mile to loosen up and got to the line as they called “1 minute to go”.  Based on my projected 100^th place finish I lined up in the 6^th row.  Nearly 1,300 in the marathon and another 1,200 in the half marathon (separate start) headed off at 8am.

I felt pretty good except for the ankle which was very tender right from the start.  I kept thinking it’d loosen up.  A 6:46 opening mile had me right where I wanted to be and I saw my parents on the sideline (mom ringing a cowbell and dad wear some crazy hat), I’m not sure they saw me but I gave a wave.  I settled in to 6:40 pace and was happy to have the ½ marathon runners head off over the Rourke bridge at 3 miles.  I found myself in a group with Kassandra Marin (aR) and Jackie Solimine (WRT).  That seemed like a good spot to be as Jackie and I have been close in a few races this year and Kassandra is always in the mix when we race.  We caught up to Brad Klindinst around 4 miles and tried to spend as little time in front heading into the wind.  The worst stretch was probably from N Chelmsford center to the Tyngsboro bridge.  We ended up getting STOPPED by the police around 5 miles as the halted the race to let a fire truck turn.  Weird!

I was worried about my ankle but otherwise feeling pretty good, mostly just killing time until the 2^nd loop.  Our little group stuck pretty much intact until 12 miles.  Jackie accelerated and would go on to run a fantastic 2:52.  Brad fell behind me as I also got dropped by Kassandra on the Rourke bridge.  The uneven surface was wreaking havoc on my ankle.  The thought of dropping out never crossed my mind but I was beginning to think that my running would be curtailed after I finished.  I hit the half-marathon mark in 1:28:10, almost exactly the split I ran last year.  I was pleased with that and bridged the gap to Kassandra.  The wind was MUCH worse the second time around and I kept thinking “Get to the bridge and then it’ll be a fast finish”.  Miles of 701, 701, and 707 from 16-18 had me worried but once I started heading for home I thought things would improve.  The 19^th mile was a 6:55 but Kassandra was now gone ahead.  A 6:54 20^th mile had me calculating what I’d need to break 3 hours.  I figured I could run low 7’s and still sneak under.  Man, my ankle was really hurting every step was a jolt.  Just before the 22 mile mark the 3:00 pace group came rolling by.  That was not a good sign.  I thought I’d picked it up but the clock doesn’t lie (7:07).  It’d only get worse from that point.  Brad came rolling by (as did about 50 people) but I had no fight in me.  I was making bargains “okay get through this and take a day off”…”finish and then take a week off”…”do this and you never have to do another marathon EVER”.  It wasn’t pretty but I kept forward motion.

I crossed the line a few seconds under 3:02 and slowly hobbled through the longest chute in the history of road racing.  It literally took me ½ hour to get to my car.  Oddly my knee didn’t bother me at all during the race but the ankle would barely support me after the race.  I’m not sure what kind of damage I’ve done but will find out.  Appointment to see my podiatrist tomorrow (and my PT today!).  I did meet my goal of finishing and placing in the top 10, and CMS took the win in the 50+ team category!

M50 Pl	O'all		Time	Name				City	St	Age	Team
1	15		2:40:23.3	Robert		Ashby		Brunswick	ME	50	Dirigo
2	16		2:40:45.3	David		Principe		Johnston	RI	51	CMS
3	43		2:52:00.8	Paul		Davies		Roslindale	MA	51	BAA
4	55		2:55:34.7	Peter		Burke		Westbrook	ME	50	Dirigo
5	75		2:58:15.4	Xianbao		He		Brookline	MA	53	BEN
6	77		2:58:30.6	Mark		Reeder		Brighton	MA	59	GLRR
7	80		2:58:44.5	David		Consigli		Medway	MA	53	BAA
8	110		3:01:51.8	Dave		Dunham		Bradford	MA	54	CMS
9	130		3:04:56.2	EJ		Hrynowski		Arlington	MA	56	GLRR
10	134		3:05:19.3	Terry		Mcnatt		Needham	MA	53	CSU
11	145		3:07:09.6	David		Lapierre		Chelmsford	MA	54	CMS
	162		3:08:48.0	Jim		Garcia		Westford	MA	60	GLRR
12	164		3:08:50.6	Wei		Tang		Roslindale	MA	55	BEN
13	184		3:10:27.3	Nick		Hopley		Amherst	MA	50	GSH
14	187		3:10:56.3	Hubert		Williams		Newton	MA	52	N/A
15	193		3:12:05.6	Bobby		Bligh		Wakefield	MA	54	HFC
16	198		3:12:26.6	Paul		Young		Andover	MA	53	CMS
17	203		3:12:47.5	Lixin		Gao		Lexington	MA	52	BEN
18	209		3:13:12.8	Richard		Bunt		Middlebury	VT	50	N/A
	213		3:13:39.2	Doug		Pratt		Leyden	MA	60	N/A
	223		3:15:27.1	Mark		Lanzillo		Kennesaw	GA	61	N/A
	224		3:15:27.2	Stan		Peijffers		Andover	MA	65	N/A
19	238		3:16:25.7	Paul		Hughes		Scituate	MA	52	N/A
20	246		3:17:20.9	Robert		Day		Chester	NH	59	GLRR
	249		3:17:38.5	Paul		Donovan		Hollis	NH	53	GCS
	252		3:17:53.9	Richard		Wein		Boston	MA	51	N/A
	258		3:19:31.0	Robert		Hewes		Three	MA	52	GSH
	1		8:49:47	CMS
	2		9:12:15	GLRR
	3		9:19:53	BEN
Splits
1		6:46
2		6:40			13:26
3		6:40			20:06
4		6:40			26:46
5		6:47			33:33
6		6:43			40:16
7		6:44			47:00
8		6:42			53:42
9		6:46			1:00:28
10		6:39			1:07:07
11		6:51			1:13:58
12		6:42			1:20:40
13		6:47			1:27:27
14		6:51			1:34:18
15		6:48			1:41:06
16		7:01			1:48:07
17		7:01			1:55:08
18		7:07			2:02:15
19		6:55			2:09:10
20		6:54			2:16:04
21		7:00			2:23:04
22		7:07			2:30:11
23		7:12			2:37:23
24		7:16			2:44:39
25		7:33			2:52:12
26		7:51			3:00:03
26.2		1:48			3:01:51