Wason Pond trail race

I was looking for something to stretch out my legs a bit in anticipation of the Lithia Loop trail marathon championship next weekend and found the Wason Pond race.  We are so lucky in New England...plenty of races of various lengths and surfaces to choose from.

I headed up to Chester and bagged a couple of hills along the way.  I was early, so I decided a long warm-up would be a good idea.  I checked in with the RD and got a good look at the course map.  The course was very well marked, the big worry was footing.  Leaves were down and it was very hard to tell where you were stepping.  I did the first figure 8 loop of the course then added a little more to run up/down nearby Marsden hill.  After my 4 mile warm-up I changed into my Inov-8 212's and did another mile with strides.  The race was a bit behind schedule, so I put in at least another mile of very easy running...basically just enough movement to stay warm.

About 30 of us headed off on the double loop course.  I went to the front and was joined by two others.  I wanted to stay in front if for no other reason than to be able to get a view of where I was running.  I felt like I was moving well but was pressed on some of the uphills.  Local master Pat Connelley pushed hard on one of the hills and I fell back about 10 meters.  I tried to keep it close but also felt that I should wait until the second loop before really pushing.  I figured my best shot at winning would be to really make a big move in the second loop. 

Heading into lap 2

We were dead even passing the line in around 20 minutes for the slightly longer first loop then headed back on the loop.  I hit my watch and pressed as hard as I felt I could with about 3 miles to go.  Very quickly I heard footsteps fade and I kept pushing for the loop, eventually running it over 20 seconds faster than the first time around.  I ended up pulling away and taking a 1 minute victory.  This was my second win of the year and my 31st race.  I did an easy two mile warm down and called it a day - a 14 mile plus day.

That was my last hard effort, so now I'll take a few easy days and fly out to Oregon. 

Results:
1 37:19 Dave Dunham 46M

2 38:16 Pat Connelley 46M
3 40:39 Mike Fraysse 38M
4 44:35 Brennan Holmes 33M
5 46:26 TJ Stevens 34M

Thanks to DQ for encouragement on the course...sorry we didn't get any running together.