Race to the Top of Vermont (Mount Mansfield)
I hadn’t done this race since the inaugural running in 2008. I had some bad memories of that race despite a win (and since it was the first year I also set the Course Record and the Masters Record). On that morning I got into my car and something popped in my back. I was in serious pain that did not lessen as I heated my lower back on the ride over. By the time I finished the race (and the run back down) I could barely walk. I later learned I had a stress fracture in my sacrum. I didn’t run again until the end of November. I had an open weekend and thanks to John Pajer I had a free entry to the race (I would not have done it due to the $60 entry fee, which is just crazy!). Based on a 16:47 5k and a 1:09 back in 2008 I guessed I would be about 2 minutes slower than my 37:50 from that year. So my goal was to get under 40 minutes and hopefully give my fellow Senior runners Jim Boule (aR) and Erik Vandendries (CMS) a good race. Erik had set the 50+ course record last year with a 38:28 but has been hampered this year with a knee problem. He did the bike race up Mt Kearsarge the day before Mansfield.
I stayed at Morse’s house the night before and had fun watching a track meet and some baseball. I got to the race pretty early and hiked the ½ mile from parking to registration (and back) and left my drop bag for the summit. The race would climb 4.25 miles and gain 2,500’ on the mostly dirt toll road. I did not recall much about the race as it had been almost a decade but knew it’d be a grind. I ran an easy 2 miles to get loosened up then switched into race gear before running the ½ mile to the starting line.
Nearly 400 runners and about 100 bikers showed up on a perfect morning with temps in the 50s and no wind at the 9am start. I saw Tony Bates from GMAA and Jim & Erik so I knew the 50+ field was strong. I got on the line and had a decent start, fining myself in 10th place in the early going. The first .3 was paved and also featured some steady 15% pitches (unlike the start of Mt Washington which gives you nearly 2 minutes of flat running before the climb starts). As we transitioned to dirt road Kim Nedeau (USA Mountain team medalist in 2016) went by and Erik drew even with me. I felt pretty good and stuck to Kim as best I could. A couple of guys were already moving away out of site (Noah Hoffman a 2014 Olympian in XC ski and 2:30’s marathoner Taylor Washburn). Kim towed me through the mile in 8:33 which was a bit of a surprise. I was figuring on something around 9-flat. I was also a little surprised by how the grade seemed to change a LOT more than the steady climb at Mt Washington. There were times when the grade was “only” 7 or 8% and others where it reached 15%. I’m not all that good at shifting gears but was not doing all that bad on this morning.
Kim and Erik fell back during the second mile as I closed on and passed a few guys. An 8:44 second mile had me up to fourth place. I could hear Erik’s footsteps (and breathing) just a couple of seconds back. Just after 2 miles Patrick Caldwell (NCAA champion XC skier and member of the USA ski team) went by like I was standing still. He’d put over a minute on me in the second half of the race. Right after I got passed I caught up to Ethan Self who had finished in second place in the bike race last year. We went back and forth for the next mile (9:22) and at that point I realized I might be close to the time Erik ran last year although I was a little foggy on his exact time and the exact distance remaining (I couldn’t remember if it was 4.1 or 4.3). We hit an 18% grade and Ethan started walking, since it was a hair-pin turn I could look without really looking and saw that Erik was not far back.
Every time I passed people on the side cheering I’d start counting and listen for when they clapped for Erik. He was only 15-20 seconds back and I was ready to be done. A 9:36 mile got me to the 4 mile mark and shouts of “only a quarter mile to go”. Finally I saw the clock and kicked with all I had left. It wasn’t until later when I rechecked the time from last year that I realized I missed the record by 4 seconds. Ouch.
Erik came in 29 seconds later and Jim Boule took 10th place as we ran the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th fastest senior times ever. I got changed quickly and a few of us ran the 1.25 miles of rough trail to the summit, got some pictures and ran back. Then it was a long 4.8 mile downhill slog back to the car. I’d like to go back to this race and take a shot at the record but I’m not sure I can justify a $60 entry fee.
Overall results (384 finishers)
1 35:29.4 Noah Hoffman M 28 Park City UT
2 37:02.6 Patrick Caldwell M 23 Lyme Center NH
3 37:26.5 Taylor Washburn M 32 Gill MA
4 38:29.2 Dave Dunham M 53 Bradford MA
5 38:49.1 Ethan Self M 26 Craftsbury VT
6 38:58.3 Erik Vandendries M 52 Chestnut Hill MA
7 40:02.7 Kim Nedeau F 38 Leverett MA
8 40:05.1 Alexander Jinks M 32 Montpelier VT
9 40:24.9 Aaron Stone M 34 Greenfield MA
10 40:49.4 Jim Boule M 50 Campton NH
11 41:24.4 Isaac St. Martin M 37 Manchester NH
12 42:12.4 Logan Whorton M 20 Burlington VT
13 42:22.9 Jason Baer M 39 South Burlington VT
14 42:34.6 James Allen M 15 Milton VT
15 43:01.5 Kevin Cavanaugh M 48 Milford NH
16 43:22.0 Tony Bates M 58 Salisbury VT
50+ results (56 finishers)
1 38:29.2 Dave Dunham M 53 Bradford MA
2 38:58.3 Erik Vandendries M 52 Chestnut Hill MA
3 40:49.4 Jim Boule M 50 Campton NH
4 43:22.0 Tony Bates M 58 Salisbury VT
5 43:46.9 Alex McHenry M 52 South Burlington VT
6 45:40.7 David Loutzenheiser M 50 Cambridge MA
7 45:45.5 Hernan Lopez M 52 Delmar NY
8 48:34.7 Jeff Gould M 52 Gardner MA
9 50:25.8 Ed Clifford M 52 Raymond NH
10 52:04.0 Bob Linck M 59 Hinesburg VT
Top 50+ times
1 Erik Vandendries 38:25 2016
2 Dave Dunham 38:29 2017
3 Erik Vandendries 38:58 2017
4 Martin Tighe 40:31 2009
5 Jim Boule 40:49 2017
6 Tom Thurston 41:13 2014
7 Jeff Walker 42:31 2016
8 Jim Miller 42:34 2015
9 Tony Bates 42:40 2014
10 Keith Woodward 42:44 2008
11 Keith Woodward 43:07 2013
12 Tony Bates 43:22 2017
Top 40+ Times
1 Andrew Gardiner 34:49 2010
2 Andrew Gardiner 35:27 2011
3 Eric Morse 36:21 2009
4 Eric Morse 36:45 2010
5 Marc Gilbertson 36:52 2010
6 Mark Mayall 37:36 2012
7 Mark Mayall 37:49 2011
8 Dave Dunham 37:50 2008
9 Shawn Gardner 37:56 2009
10 David Herr 38:12 2008
11 Marc Gilbertson 38:20 2013
12 Erik Vandendries 38:25 2016
13 Dave Dunham 38:29 2017
14 Peter Schouw 38:51 2009
15 Binney Mitchell 38:51 2011
16 Marc Gilbertson 38:54 2011
17 Marc Gilbertson 38:54 2014
18 Erik Vandendries 38:58 2017
1 comment:
Awesome race and awesome write-up!
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