Lynn Woods Relay

Lynn Woods relay

I was really excited to run in the Lynn Woods relay.  Jim Pawlicki had pulled together two strong teams, a 40+ and a 50+.  I did a little research and found the fastest time for a 50+ team was the 64:39 by the North Shore Strides back in 1992.  I thought our squad would be close to that time which added to the excitement.  I’d also never run the opening leg (I’ve always run anchor) so that was also different.  I had a dentist appointment so I cut out of work early and ended up arriving at Lynn Woods at 2:30.  Well before the 6:00 pm start time!  The incredible group of volunteers had already begun setting things up.  I decided to take a stroll over the course to refresh my memory.  The 2.5 mile hike was just what I needed to get the excitement level back up.  I had a little time to read a few chapters of Derderian’s “Boston Marathon” book and even some time to chat with CMS teammate Nakri Dao before it was time to really get going.

A little after 5pm I headed out for a run over the course.  I felt tired.  This is usually the time I’m winding down for the day so it was a little strange to be out running.  I switched into Inov-8 trail shoes (although you could almost get away with road flats on the dirt road “trails” that the course covers).  Jim gave us some retro-CMS “Polar” singlet and took a couple of pics and I zipped out for another mile with a few strides thrown in.  I wasn’t feeling fast but I was ready to give it a go.

I lined up with 88 other first leg runners and it was a mad dash at the start.  I wasn’t too worried since the course is wide dirt (and loose rock) road for the first 1.2 miles.  I was hoping to keep CMS teammate Pat Rich in sight; he was doing the first leg for the CMS 40+ team.   Based on previous runs over the Lynn course and current road times I figured I should be able to run around 15:00.  If I was over 15:30 I’d be pretty disappointed and if I had a decent day I might be able to sneak under 15 (which is 6:00 pace).  I got my heels clipped a few times and found myself in about 15^th place as we climbed 72’ in the first 400 meters of the race (5-9%).  We dipped 10’ and climbed 10’ in the next ¼ mile as I hit the half-mile mark in 3:04.  I had moved up to the top 10 but was about 5 seconds behind Pat.

The next half-mile had a couple of little drops and minor ups and from ¾ mile to the mile had a good 25’ drop.  I moved up to 7^th place running a 2:53 split (5:57 for the mile).  We dropped another 25’ as we passed the “Goat Path” trail and headed for the out & back section on the dirt road (coned in the center).  Pat was 8 seconds up as he rounded turn around cone that Race Director Bill Mullen assured us met “international standards”.  Pat offered a “go Dave!” as I headed into the 180, I didn’t have the oxygen to say anything back.

I slowly gained some ground on Pat and the guy between us as we headed up the Goat Path which is the only single-track section of the course.  It isn’t very rough but it is steep, climbing from 135’ to 200’ in ¼ mile.  The first 100 meters is the worst of it with grades of 10-13%.  This made for the slowest half-mile of the race (3:12).  Pat was only a few seconds ahead as we turned the corner with 1 mile to go and started the longest sustained downhill.

From 1.5 miles to 2 miles we dropped 50’ with a couple of minor bumps (2 ten footers that took a bit of “oomph” out of the legs).  Pat just glided away looking strong.  I ran a 2:48 half and hit 2 miles in 11:57.  The final half mile also had a couple of little 10 foot bumps and then the last ¼ mile plummeted 72’ to the finish line.  This makes for some heroic finishing kicks.  I was tying up but managed a 2:46 getting me across the line in 14:44.  I was very happy to have gone under 15 and bring the team through let one in 7^th place.

My time was the 12^th fastest of the day and top 50+ leg time.  CMS guys had four of the top 17 leg times.

1          12:55    KEVIN GREENE                CLUB TRUCK TRACK CLUB             Open    

2          13:26    JOHN PRIZZI                  FILTHY JAMES                             Open    

3          13:48    GREG KRATHWOHL          TEAM GLOUCESTER                     Open     Co-ed team

4          14:01    SEAN MICHAEL KAY         NSS FLEET FEET                          Open    

5          14:11    ZACH CHABOT                 FILTHY JAMES                             Open    

6          14:17    ADAM COOK                   DGYBOARD XC CLUB                    Open    

7          14:22    JONAH HULBERT             WICKED FAST                             Open    

8          14:28    JOHN LORONA                CLUB TRUCK TRACK CLUB             Open    

9          14:34    PATRICK RICH                 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS             40+     

10         14:34    MARK DAWSON 1            THE ONE HORSEMAN                   Open     Ran 10m!

11         14:37    CHRIS CHAPRUET            WICKED FAST                             Open    

12         14:38    DAN CHRUNIAK               WICKED FAST                             Open    

13         14:38    JOSE LEELERC                THE BEARS                                 Open    

14         14:44    DAVE DUNHAM                CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS             50+     

15         14:52    RYUN KERRIGAN              MYSTIC SPEED DEMOS                 Open    

16         15:04    NICK TAORMINA              CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS             40+     

17         15:07    JIM PAWLICKI                 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS             40+     

Chris Smith (16:09), Martin Tighe (16:23), and Paul Young (16:31)  ran the next three legs on the 50+ team and we ended up crushing the old 50+ record (1:04:29 North Shore Striders – 1992) with a 5^th place overall in 1:03:47.  Our masters team of Pat Rich (14:34), Jim Pawlicki (15:07) , Nick Taormina (15:04) , and Nakri Dao (15:47) steadily moved up to secure second place overall and the top 40+ team.  The 6^th place “team” was actually one guy!

 

Overall finish of teams

1 . WICKED FAST                        Open      58:50

2 . CMS 40+                             40+      1:00:32

3 . FILTHY JAMES                        Open    1:00:37

4 . CLUB TRUCK TRACK CLUB         Open     1:01:45

5 . CMS 50+                             50+      1:03:47

6 . ONE HORSEMAN                     Open     1:04:05

7 . WICKED WARRIORS                40+       1:04:06

8 . NSS FLEET FEET                     Open     1:04:15

9 . THE BEARS (                          Open     1:04:34

10. CRISPY BITS OF ROUND TABLE Open     1:04:38

 

 

MASTERS MEN (40-49)

1 . CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS 40+       1:00:32

2 . WICKED WARRIORS                             1:04:06

3 . WICKED TOUGH                                  1:10:11

4 . MYSTIC FORTIES                                 1:15:02

5 . NSS RUNNING WILD                            1:18:48

6 . COMP RACING SPECIAL OPS                 1:21:05

7 . WICKED STEADY                                 1:41:03

 

SENIORS MEN (50-59)

1 . CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS 50+       1:03:47

2 . WINNER'S CIRCLE SENIORS                 1:11:34

3 . COMP RACING WHEELMEN                   1:11:36

4 . WICKED FAST OLD GUYS                     1:12:32

5 . AJAX                                                 1:20:48

6 . WICKED WISE                                    1:26:38

7 . MYSTIC MENS SENIORS                       1:28:20