New Hampshire 5k championships

It seemed like a long time between racing at the U.S. trail 10km championships and Labor Day weekend.  It was in fact 9 days which was the longest I’d gone without racing since the beginning of May.  I chose the St Charles race in Portsmouth for a number of reasons, the start was reasonably early, it was a fast certified 5km, and it was part of the New Hampshire Grand Prix.  I also figured that by Monday I’d be over the soreness from running up and down the Mt Washington Auto road on Friday.  On Sunday I began to wonder when I’d start feeling better, my quads, shins, and anterior tibial tendonitis were all reminding me of how some days are much more uncomfortable than others.

  

I was still a bit sore on race morning but felt surprisingly good running the course (plus a mile) as a warm-up.  After the 4 mile warm-up I changed into racing flats and headed out for another mile with strides and headed to the starting line.  Fortunately the road is pretty wide and could accommodate a lot of people, the race drew over 1,100 finishers.  I jumped on the line next to Pat Fullerton and about a dozen very young kids.  I got out well at the start but it still took nearly a quarter mile to navigate safely around the kids who sprinted out.  By the time I hit the first kilometer the two packs had formed.  Pat fronted the race with Dan Leboeuf and Mike Giberti, while I traded the lead in the second pack with Gregory Swiatocha and Eric Williams.        

We hit the mile in 5:24, which was a bit slower than I’d hoped.  I tried to up the tempo as we ran the gentle uphill heading to two miles.  The clock showed 10:43 through two miles but I’m pretty sure that was wrong.  I think they had the two mile mark a bit short of where it should be, based on this being the hardest mile on the course and how “slow” our last mile would have to be if that were correct.  Pat had pulled away from the other guys right after the mile and was now out of sight.  Giberti was coming back and we eventually caught him with just about 1 kilometer to go.  I moved into third place for a brief moment, I didn’t want it to come down to a kick as I’d been all-out since we started.  We hit the 3 mile mark still grouped together in 16:21 and then they both took off leaving me in the first non-$$$$ place.  Such is the way of things, still any time I’m under 17:00 is a good day.  I never heard or saw Eric Williams who had dropped back after the mile, but he must have come on strong at the end and nearly got me at the line.  I headed out for another two miles for a warm-down and called it a day.

16^th Annual St. Charles Children’s Home 5k

Sept. 3, 2012   5 Kilometers (USATF Certified #NH08011RF)     Portsmouth, NH

    1   1/4    MOPEN   15:53   15:53   5:07 Pat Fullerton                   23 M  1400 Bradford MA     RT                                             

    2   2/4    MOPEN   16:28   16:28   5:18 Dan Leboeuf                   35 M  1647 Salem                                                         

    3   3/4    MOPEN   16:51   16:51   5:26 Mike Giberti                     20 M  1621 Halifax MA        GDTC                                    

    4   4/4    MOPEN   16:52   16:52   5:26 Gregory Swiatocha           27 M  1477 Mahopac NY                                                     

    5   1/60   M4650   16:53   16:53   5:26 Dave Dunham                 48 M   829 Haverhill MA       GCS                                     

    6   2/60   M4650   16:54   16:53   5:27 Eric Williams                    47 M  1361 Concord NH       GSRT                                    

    7   1/26   M2630   17:04   17:02   5:29 Ryan Stephens                26 M  1459 Dover NH                                                        

    8   1/38   M3135   17:21   17:21   5:36 Justin Soucy                   31 M  1363 Hudson NH        GCS                                     

    9   1/55   M4145   17:26   17:25   5:37 Kevin Delaney                 44 M  1139 Arlington MA                                                    

   10   1/4    FOPEN   17:27   17:27   5:37 Kaitlyn D'Orazio                21 F  1305 York ME                          

   

        Age Graded Male Results          

    1 M4650   16:53   15:00 Dave Dunham         48 M  Haverhill MA  GCS                                     

    2 M4650   16:53   15:08 Eric Williams           47 M  Concord NH   GSRT                                    

    3 M7680   22:44   15:12 Bill Spencer            76 M  Litchfield NH  GCS                                     

    4 M5155   17:57   15:35 Randy MacNeill       51 M  Epping NH     GCS                                     

    5 M5660   19:31   15:50 Perry Seagroves      59 M  Concord NH   GSRT                                    

    6 M5155   19:02   15:59 Jeremiah Fitzgibbon 55 M  Bedford NH   GCS                                     

    7 M6165   20:19   16:03 Scott Abercrombie   62 M  Salem NH      GDTC                                    

    8 M4650   18:16   16:06 Charlie Bemis          49 M  Derry NH       GDTC                                    

    9 M4650   18:10   16:09 Patrick Conelly         48 M Chester NH    GDTC                                     

   10 M4145   18:05   16:28 Mike Wright            45 M Milford NH      GCS                

Even shaving my goat-tee didn't get me into the money.