13 for 13

My 13^th place finish at the Merrimack River Trail Race was my 13^th time taking 13^th place in a race.  Breakdown of races by place.

Place	No.
1	401	26.40%
2	236	15.54%			Percent
3	156	10.27%	793	Top 3	52%
4	91	5.99%
5	77	5.07%	961	Top 5	63%
6	54	3.55%
7	38	2.50%
8	21	1.38%
9	43	2.83%
10	40	2.63%	1157	Top 10	76%
11	22
12	20
13	13			Not top
14	19			10=	291
15	5			%=	19.16%

 

200th road race win

 My win at the Granite State 10 “smiler” on Sunday was my 200^th road race win.  Oddly my next most “type” of win is Outdoor track with 48.  Next year I’ll be looking for my 400^th win.

 

By type:
Road	200
Mountain	18
Trail	36
Snow	27
XC	37
I track	33
O track	48
Total	399

 

Chasing Scott

 It looks like it is going to be another year of me chasing Scott Clark.  Scott and I go back to the mid-1980s when I was at U-Lowell and he was running for Keene State.  It is great fun to still be competing and each of us enjoying kicking the snot out of the other. We are pretty evenly matched so it is anyone's guess who will beat who.  Scott is one tough guy who always gives everything he's got.  You have to respect that.

Last weekend the CARS kicked off and we picked up where we left off when the CARS was last held in 2019.  Scott beat me by four seconds over the tough 5k XC course at Canterbury Shaker Village.  We'll meet up seven more times in the next 16 weeks.  Hopefully all the races will be close!

2021

Canterbury XC    Scott Clark 19:53    Dave Dunham 19:57

2020 (no CARS but we raced a few times anyway)

Over the River     Dave Dunham  18:42  Scott Clark    19:12

Luti 5m                Dave Dunham 31:05 Scott Clark  31:06

Coe Brown XC    Dave Dunham 19:29 Scott Clark 19:58

2019 CARS

Gilmanton     Dave 19:20    Scott 19:22

NHTI            Scott 18:39    Dave  19:10

Canterbury    Scott    19:12    Dave 19:14

Over the river Scott 18:16    Dave 18:26

Capital 10k    Dave 37:51    Scott 38:10

Luti 5m        Scott 31:17    Dave 31:43

Woodchuck    Dave 18:27    Scott 18:54

Days I've never raced

I haven’t raced since August of last year (and barely run since then) but maybe I’ll be able to race soon?

Anyway, looking back at the 1,468 times I have raced I’ve almost gotten a race in on every day of the year.  Here are the only days I’ve never raced on.  Game on!

Month	Day
2	29
4	4
11	16
11	19
12	18
12	24

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.  I don't usually do first year races as they can be really hit-or-miss in how they are organized.  I saw that Millennium was timing the race so I figured they probably had their act together.  I got to registration at 8am and they were up and running.  I headed out for a course-preview/warm-up which is always a good idea if you can do it.  The first mile was mostly down or flat, dropping 50'.  The second mile was 1/2 mile of rolling dirt road then onto route 11 and 1/4 mile that climbed another 50'.  The last mile had a little downhill and a few turns but would be fast.  I was glad to have an idea of what was ahead.  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.  You never know, but it was looking promising.  I got in another mile in flats before heading to the line.  I was a bit surprised by the woman pushing a fully loaded baby jogger (and wearing headphones) taking up 1/2 of the starting line.  What can you do? 

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.

Top 10

Most raced on date

For whatever reason, I’ve race a LOT on 05/05 over the years.  With the Cinco race this weekend it has moved up to a tie for the third most raced on date.

Rank	first dt	last dt	No
1	01/01/90	01/01/18	18
2	07/04/84	07/04/18	17
3t	05/05/79	05/05/19	9
3t	05/26/83	05/26/18	9
3t	05/24/85	05/24/15	9
3t	04/25/79	04/25/15	9
3t	02/16/82	02/16/14	9
3t	04/28/79	04/28/13	9
3t	08/07/82	08/07/12	9
3t	05/03/79	05/03/12	9
11t	06/16/82	06/16/18	8
11t	05/12/80	05/12/18	8
11t	04/29/81	04/29/18	8
11t	04/07/80	04/07/18	8
11t	03/25/00	03/25/18	8
11t	09/17/79	09/17/17	8
11t	08/21/83	08/21/16	8
11t	05/28/83	05/28/16	8
11t	01/18/82	01/18/14	8
11t	01/05/80	01/05/14	8
11t	05/25/79	05/25/13	8
11t	07/08/94	07/08/12	8
11t	05/19/82	05/19/12	8

I miss racing

I like to race!  Over the last 40+ years I’ve raced more than 1,400 times or an average of about once every 10 days.  Today marks the 5^th longest downtime (or gap) between races.  I’m not sure when I’ll be able to race again but it has been nearly 4 months (115 days) since I ran the Baystate marathon.  I have entered some races already (did that back in December) figuring I’d be ready.  Now it is only four weeks until New Bedford and I’m not confident I’ll be able to run it, never mind race it.  Needless to say I’m not happy about being sidelined this long.

Rank	gap	Race1	Race2	Race before the gap	Reason for the gap	Race after the gap
1	329	09/15/85	08/10/86	Finished 6th in the Jim Witt 5m (24:59) with torn meniscus in knee	Scoped knee (twice)	Finished 2nd in the Lowell Fire Fighters 5m (24:32)
2	291	07/02/97	04/19/98	Won the Lancaster CMS 5k in 16:02 (couldn’t walk after)	Fractured navicular (screw)	17th at the Red Shoe 5m (28:57)
3	146	08/22/99	01/15/00	21st at Challenge Stellina (Susa Italy) couldn't walk after…"distorted ankle"	Ankle injury (no surgery)	3rd at the South Pond shuffle
4	119	07/06/03	11/02/03	Finished 21st at the Vail Hill Climb	hamstring & ankle (no surgery)	4th at the Willard brook ramble
5	115	10/21/18	?????	110th at the Baystate marathon hobbling from the start	Right ankle, then left ankle, then Right hamstring	?????
5	115	05/25/79	09/17/79	2nd at the Freshman track championships 2 mile (11:04)	Didn't race over the summer	2nd in dual meet VS Lawrence

Multi races

Multi-races:  I competed in 3 races at the Dartmouth relays early this year and it got thinking how many times I’ve done a “triple”.  I knew I had a lot of 2 race days in high school (distance event and 4x440 relay) but wasn’t sure about others.  Since I have everything in spreadsheet format it was fairly easy to go through 1400 races and find out.

Before I get into TRIPLES I found some interesting (to me) stretches that weren’t on the same day but were pretty difficult multi-days.

On 10/16/93 I ran a 29:49 to win the Laconia DARE 10k.  I won by five minutes.  The next day I joined teammate Byrne Decker at the Baystate marathon.  Our goal was to pace Mike Beeman.  We finished 19, 20, 21 all timed in 2:51:25.  Two weeks later I took 2^nd place 35 seconds behind Doug Kurtis at the Ocean State Marathon (2:26:06).

From July 2^nd to July 16^th 2000 I ran 7 races over 2 weeks picking up one win, four 2^nd place finishes, and two 3^rd place finishes.  I kicked off this stretch with a second place finish at the Vail Hill climb on July 2^nd.  Two days later I ran the Carson Memorial 2 mile (9:20 – 3^rd place) and later in the day took 2^nd place at the FORT race 5k (Durham NH – 15:07).  Four days later I doubled up again taking 2^nd place at the Portsmouth Harbor Trails 5k (15:02) and 1^st at the Amherst NH 10km in 33:08.  A week later I took 3^rd place at the Bill Luiti 5m (24:43) and the next day took 2^nd place at the East End Club 5m (26:32) despite spraining my ankle in the warm-up and using duct tape to support it during the race.

Later in 2000 I had another difficult stretch which included two marathons and a 100km race within 14 days.  I was doing a lot of racing as part of the Hockomock Swamp Rat Series and generally just having fun getting out there.  The highlight of the stretch 114.2 miles of racing between 09/24 & 10/08.  I picked up a win at Clarence Demar (2:29:10), a win at the NH marathon (2:43:31) and a win at the Chancellor’s 100km (6:46:39).

Crazy stretch!

Date        Location                  Dist         Time        Place       Finishers Notes

09/10/00 Bergen, Germany    7.33         51:33       12                            World Mountain Champs

09/17/00 Chesterfield, NH      14.28       1:36:52   1              56            Pisgah Mountain

09/24/00 Keene, NH               26.22       2:29:10   1              277          Clarence Demar Marathon

09/30/00 Bristol, NH               26.22       2:43:31   1              103          NH Marathon

10/08/00 Boston, MA              62.20       6:46:39   1              58            Chancellor's challenge

10/14/00 Lowell, MA               3.11         20:48       36            170          Jennifer's run

10/15/00 Farmington, NH       13.11       1:14:27   2              151          Nute Ridge 1/2 marathon

10/29/00 Falmouth, MA          26.22       2:30:53   5              796          USATF NE marathon

11/04/00 Sandown, NH          10.50       1:10:11   3              292          Weekend before hunting

11/12/00 Tewksbury, MA        9.33         49:29       3              482          Run Your Turkey Off

11/23/00 Andover   , MA        4.96         25:14       3              2749        Feaster Five

11/26/00 Leominster, MA       5.00         27:02       2              123          Monty Mountain

Triples:

My first triple was the Baystate Games during the summer (1985) between my sophomore and junior years at U-Lowell.  I “ran as easy as possible to win” in the 5,000 which was my first event of the day (15:03).  I followed that with wins in the 2 mile (9:33) and Mile (4:24).

In 1996 I completed a triple at the Dartmouth relays, a much longer triple than the one I did this year.  I won the 1,500 in 4:12, then edged now Dartmouth coach Barry Harwick by .3 of a second in the 3,000 (8:44.5).  I think Barry may have set a 40+ American record in that race.  I finished the day with a tactically slow win in the 5,000 meters (15:39).

In 2012 I went way out of my comfort zone at the USATF NE indoor track championships.  They had a couple of events that were for masters but they were shorter races.  I didn’t let that keep me from giving it a go.  I started the day with a 2:24 masters PR in the 800.  Next up was a 33 second LIFETIME PR in the 200.  That was my only 200 meter race ever (I’d run a lot faster in workouts in college).  I closed out the day in open 3,000 meters finishing ahead of only 3 of the 34 starters in 9:50.

Later in 2012 I competed in the River Rivals outdoor track meets.  The weekly meets were held in either Newburyport or Amesbury and had a few events.  Typically, Dan Verrington and I would go and focus on the 2 mile, but some weeks we tried something unusual.  On 08/07  I picked up a win and a masters PR in the 800 running a 2:22 and followed that with a win in the mile in 5:09.  I finished the triple with a 400 that really hurt.  I was the final finisher in 1:08.  The following week Dan and I battled over the opening event (2 miles).  I picked up the win in 10:40.  The next event was the 800 which started as soon as the last finisher in the 2 mile crossed the line.  I took us through 200 then Dan moved into the lead bringing us to 400 in 71-72.  After that a couple of high school guys buried us.  I ended up a couple of seconds behind Dan in 4^th place with a 2:25.  The final even we ran was the 100 meter dash, a first for both of us.  It was kind of funny as the field was pretty much done and we still had half the race to go (nearly).  I finished last in a lifetime PR of 16.9.

And finally, this year (2018) I headed up to Dartmouth for the “masters” portion of the Dartmouth relays.  Sadly they’d eliminated the 3,000 and now the longest event was the mile.  I figured if I to get my monies worth I’d better enter multiple events.  The 400 was my first event and although I’ve raced the 400 25 times almost all of those were in the mile relay in high school.  I had no idea what I could run but was shooting to be under 75.  I lined up with the only other competitor (a 71-year-old gent) and off we went.  It was over before I felt like I was getting going.  I can’t complain as I picked up a win running 72 seconds.  I had just enough time to jog around the track and the 800 was lining up.  I had thought they’d run a women’s heat first but only six people entered so there was just one heat.  I hadn’t caught my breath as we lined up.  I was alone in third place 7 for the entire race but ran a steady pace with splits of 38, 39, 39, and 38.  I was really feeling it the last 200 meters!  I put in another mile of easy running to warm-down from the 800 then took a break.  About 20 minutes before the mile I started another warm-up and stayed loose until the start.  Twelve of us lined up including a couple of women, the ages ranged from 44 to 71.  My goal was around 5:20. I went out “comfortably hard” but realized at 200 meters that I was more comfortable than hard.  I picked it up a bit but still hit 400 meters in 84.  I increased the tempo and started to feel a little steadier as I hit the half in 2:45.  I kept it very consistent after the 400 and even had a decent kick (38 for the last 200).  I ended up taking 2nd place in 5:26.

I had a few nearly triples when I raced 3 times within 24 hours.

On 01/05/91 I ran 16:23 to win the Fudgesicle series 5km.  That afternoon I drove to Dartmouth and ran a 4:20 mile in the 4x1 mile relay.  The next morning, I won the open mile with a 4:20.6.

On 04/28/01 I took third place at the Les Pawson 5m (27:37) which was part of the Hockomock Swamp Rat Series.  The following morning, I finished in 11^th place (30:45) at the USATF NE 10km (James Joyce Ramble) and went right from the finish to the car.  A quick drive to Groton got me there just before the start of the Groton 10k which was also part of the HSR series.  I ended up finishing in fourth place running a 34:31. I semi-jokingly say that was the day I went from being a sub 31 10km runner to a 34 minute 10km runner.

On 09/16/05 I ran leg 12 of the Reach the beach relay at 10pm at night a 4 mile leg in 24:29. Later that night (early the next morning) and again later in the morning I ran legs 24 (4.95 miles) and leg 36 6.9 miles (41:48).

On 03/25/06 I doubled up at the USA snowshoe championships at Bolton Valley VT.  First up was the championship race where I finished 26^th.  After a quick change into dry clothes I was back out there in the ‘Citizen’s 5k race’ where I placed 7^th.  The next morning, I ran the 19^th fastest time in the very short 1.5 mile relay race.

On 09/15/06 I was back at it doing the Reach the beach relay.  This time instead of doing the last leg I did the first leg (and 13^th and 25^th).  We were one of the last teams to start and I ran an interesting 5km up and down the ski slope at Bretton Woods.  Later that day I ran a 4 mile leg in Tamworth (23:49) and early the next morning I ran a 9.3 mile leg (63:05) from Bear Brook in Allenstown.

My last near triple was on 02/16/13 when I finished 2^nd at the Moore state park snowshoe race in Paxton MA and just after dark finished 4^th at the Kingman Farm snowshoe race.  The next morning, I took 2^nd place at the Horse Hill snowshoe race in Merrimack NH.

Best Doubles:

1992 - The Oakham Lions club had cash for anyone setting a course record.  I ran hard enough to win (and break the record) in the 5m (26:12) then came back and ran as hard as possible in the 5k (14:43).

1995 - The Bedford Rotary always had a little cash, occasionally I’d get greedy and try and pick up some in both races.  I started by having CMS teammate Byrne Decker bury me early in the 5k.  I took second place in 15:08.  After a short break, I hit the road for the 12k.  I sat in the pack and kicked it in for the win (40:22).

1998 – I got a little bit of money from the Exeter Kiwanis by running the 5k at 9am (3^rd place in 15:24) and then the 10k at 9:30am.  Al Bernier and Andy Spaulding buried me in the 10k where I also took 3^rd place in 32:22.

1998 – A few months later I took on the double at the Run your turkey off in Tewksbury.  I ran alone from start to finish in the 5k taking the win in 15:11. I had a decent run in the 15km holding off Dan Verrington and Eric Beauchesne.  Byrne Decker kept me out of the top spot as I took 2^nd in 48:14.