Next up was the Mt Washington Road Race. I last did the “full” race in 2019 and I was miserable the entire race. When I finished, Paul Grant handed me my blanket, and I swore there and then that I would never do the race again. For reasons now lost to memory I decided to go back in 2022, but the race was shortened to half-way due to unsafe weather above treeline. I had a decent race but could not imagine making it to the summit, so my plans for returning to the hill climb were shelved. Earlier this year I joined Tom and Ellen Raffio on the Delta Dental team for the CARS series. They also field squads at Mt Washington (Tom is the CEO of Delta Dental) and I was offered a hotel room and a van ride down. With those incentives and my entry into the 60+ age group I threw my hat back into the ring.
My knee was terrible the week leading up to the race and I wasn’t certain if I’d race it or maybe just “jog” through it. I’ve also been feeling off for the last month and not sure I really wanted to put myself through the agony of climbing 4,600’ over 7.6 miles. I kept waffling all week and finally decided to give it a go and if things went south, I’d “ease up and have fun”. Based on my recent racing and history at Mt Washington I thought I could run anywhere from 1:20 to 1:25. The record for the 60-64 age group is 1:21:29 so I was of course aiming at that.
I headed up on Friday and had fun catching up with so many familiar faces. The Raffio’s hosted dinner at the Glen House hotel (which was fantastic) and I was tossing and turning by 8 pm. Race day dawned clear and cool as I killed time waiting to get over to the start and do a warm-up. I met up with Christin Doneski and we did a 2.5 mile warm-up with Ernie Brake joining in. Ernie would likely be my competition in the 60+ age group, but he was also nursing a knee injury after falling off a ladder at work! I felt miserable, which is typical. It was quite windy even at the base with temps in the 50s. The summit would feature temps in the 30s and sustained winds in the 50 mph range. There would also be intermittent clouds (socked in at times).
I counted about 10 rows back from the front and lined up. That’d put about 100-120 people in front of me but looking around it seemed to be about the right spot. I had some splits calculated and figured if I was way off early, I’d just bag it and try to enjoy myself. 1,100 of us took off at 9 am. It was a dusty scramble over the first 200 meters to the auto road. Then the race began as we started to climb. The things that really stood out were how people don’t seem to understand how to run the shortest possible route and how early some started walking. I was frustrated a couple of times trying to run the shortest route and being stuck behind someone who was running down the middle of the road. A few guys started walking by the mile mark! There were plenty of people to work with and plenty to catch. I hit the mile within a couple of seconds of my goal pace (although I was using Garmin splits instead of the race mile markers which had now been returned to the “traditional” locations). Christin caught me around the mile, and we worked together until about 3 miles when I pulled ahead. I was catching people here and there and looking forward to getting above treeline. I shouldn’t have been thinking that way as it was already windy by 2 miles which was very unusual. There were even a couple of times in mile 3 and 4 that the wind almost brought me to a standstill. I was happy to see that the waterstop at half-way had cups (despite the race foolishly deciding to only have one stop with no cups – carry your own bottle). I got a swig of water and popped a “Chomp” for a little boost. I was not feeling great but also not terrible. At half-way I was not too far off my goal and still had hope.
My knee was terrible the week leading up to the race and I wasn’t certain if I’d race it or maybe just “jog” through it. I’ve also been feeling off for the last month and not sure I really wanted to put myself through the agony of climbing 4,600’ over 7.6 miles. I kept waffling all week and finally decided to give it a go and if things went south, I’d “ease up and have fun”. Based on my recent racing and history at Mt Washington I thought I could run anywhere from 1:20 to 1:25. The record for the 60-64 age group is 1:21:29 so I was of course aiming at that.
I headed up on Friday and had fun catching up with so many familiar faces. The Raffio’s hosted dinner at the Glen House hotel (which was fantastic) and I was tossing and turning by 8 pm. Race day dawned clear and cool as I killed time waiting to get over to the start and do a warm-up. I met up with Christin Doneski and we did a 2.5 mile warm-up with Ernie Brake joining in. Ernie would likely be my competition in the 60+ age group, but he was also nursing a knee injury after falling off a ladder at work! I felt miserable, which is typical. It was quite windy even at the base with temps in the 50s. The summit would feature temps in the 30s and sustained winds in the 50 mph range. There would also be intermittent clouds (socked in at times).
I counted about 10 rows back from the front and lined up. That’d put about 100-120 people in front of me but looking around it seemed to be about the right spot. I had some splits calculated and figured if I was way off early, I’d just bag it and try to enjoy myself. 1,100 of us took off at 9 am. It was a dusty scramble over the first 200 meters to the auto road. Then the race began as we started to climb. The things that really stood out were how people don’t seem to understand how to run the shortest possible route and how early some started walking. I was frustrated a couple of times trying to run the shortest route and being stuck behind someone who was running down the middle of the road. A few guys started walking by the mile mark! There were plenty of people to work with and plenty to catch. I hit the mile within a couple of seconds of my goal pace (although I was using Garmin splits instead of the race mile markers which had now been returned to the “traditional” locations). Christin caught me around the mile, and we worked together until about 3 miles when I pulled ahead. I was catching people here and there and looking forward to getting above treeline. I shouldn’t have been thinking that way as it was already windy by 2 miles which was very unusual. There were even a couple of times in mile 3 and 4 that the wind almost brought me to a standstill. I was happy to see that the waterstop at half-way had cups (despite the race foolishly deciding to only have one stop with no cups – carry your own bottle). I got a swig of water and popped a “Chomp” for a little boost. I was not feeling great but also not terrible. At half-way I was not too far off my goal and still had hope.
I started picking off more runners and kept a steady (slow) pace. The turn at 5 miles was very windy but I had a few to run with, tucking in didn’t help as the wind seemed to come from different directions. I was still catching people through about 6 miles and only 2 or 3 had passed me in the entire race to that point. Haley Heinrich went by right after the 6 mile post and that was about when my wheels started coming off. The Larosa brothers were both doing a mix of walking and sprinting that had me catching them, passing, then getting passed multiple times over the next mile. I was looking forward to getting around the Cragway turn and the “flat” section of the sheepfold. The wind was absolutely brutal blowing across the road and making forward progress in a straight line very difficult. The right side of my face was freezing. I was now literally and figuratively in a fog. I’d never felt so drained in a race, even an ultra! I only had a mile to go but every step was a struggle. The last part before the “wall” featured a strong tailwind that nearly took me off my feet. I turned the corner onto the wall and my body was giving out. It took me nearly 1:30 to climb that last part and I was weaving and flailing my arms to not fall down. I crossed the line and could go no further. Wouldn’t you know it, Paul Grant was there! He wrapped me in a blanket and then he and Christin (who came in 15 seconds after me) helped me up. I was drained and when I could speak everything I said was slurred. It took a good 15 minutes before I felt able to move without fear of falling. I thought I was imagining things when I saw Al Bernier in the summit building! It was a slog over to the van but nice to have gear and a place to get warm. Once down I got in another painful 2 miles (knee) before calling it a day.
I’d met a couple of goals for the day. I made it through the race, I ended up winning the 60+ age group with a 1:23:56. The time would rank 7th on the 60+ list and was at the slow end of what I thought I could run. My knee was not terrible during the race, but I had zero energy after 6 miles. As I mentioned before I’m not sure why I’m feeling so tired. I really haven’t felt good since the 5k in early May. I’m thinking some of the late stage collapse could be from not running any kind of mountains in the last two years (my training is on flat rail trail) and part may also be that although I’m consistently logging 80+ miles per week I rarely go longer than 6 miles in a single run. I’m glad to be done with this race and I'm thinking... “never again”.
60+ Pl Time Name Age City St Team
1 1:23:55 Dave Dunham 60 Bradford, MA Delta Dental
2 1:28:00 Ernest Brake 62 Sutton, NH Kezar Lake RT
3 1:29:39 Richard Larsen 72 Shelburne, MA Floodwater Mountain
4 1:31:10 Glenn Caffery 62 Leyden, MA
5 1:32:48 Edward Jeffries 60 Essex, MA T-Gloucester
6 1:35:56 Richard Chin 64 Saint Paul, MN
7 1:36:16 Daniel Edelstein 66 Saranac Lake, NY Glue Factory AC
8 1:37:04 Matthew Curran 67 Gloucester, MA T-Gloucester
9 1:37:40 John Minervino 60 Higganum, CT Soundrunner
10 1:37:42 Paul Duppen 60 Carborro, NC
11 1:38:16 Whitney Hanschka 60 Vineyard, MA T-Gloucester
12 1:39:19 David Lapierre 60 Chelmsford, MA CMS
I’d met a couple of goals for the day. I made it through the race, I ended up winning the 60+ age group with a 1:23:56. The time would rank 7th on the 60+ list and was at the slow end of what I thought I could run. My knee was not terrible during the race, but I had zero energy after 6 miles. As I mentioned before I’m not sure why I’m feeling so tired. I really haven’t felt good since the 5k in early May. I’m thinking some of the late stage collapse could be from not running any kind of mountains in the last two years (my training is on flat rail trail) and part may also be that although I’m consistently logging 80+ miles per week I rarely go longer than 6 miles in a single run. I’m glad to be done with this race and I'm thinking... “never again”.
60+ Pl Time Name Age City St Team
1 1:23:55 Dave Dunham 60 Bradford, MA Delta Dental
2 1:28:00 Ernest Brake 62 Sutton, NH Kezar Lake RT
3 1:29:39 Richard Larsen 72 Shelburne, MA Floodwater Mountain
4 1:31:10 Glenn Caffery 62 Leyden, MA
5 1:32:48 Edward Jeffries 60 Essex, MA T-Gloucester
6 1:35:56 Richard Chin 64 Saint Paul, MN
7 1:36:16 Daniel Edelstein 66 Saranac Lake, NY Glue Factory AC
8 1:37:04 Matthew Curran 67 Gloucester, MA T-Gloucester
9 1:37:40 John Minervino 60 Higganum, CT Soundrunner
10 1:37:42 Paul Duppen 60 Carborro, NC
11 1:38:16 Whitney Hanschka 60 Vineyard, MA T-Gloucester
12 1:39:19 David Lapierre 60 Chelmsford, MA CMS
