Last year in the weeks
leading up to the Merrimack River trail race we had to clear some sections of
the course that always seem to need cleaning up. Usually the power-line
section of trail is overgrown but last year it was really bad. Little did
we know that the stewards were trying to end use of this unofficial
trail. This year that section would be unusable. So this year would
feature some significant changes. The course has morphed over the years
as some trails were slightly re-routed and bridges were added. Some of
the changes were a bit more significant than others but the route in general
stayed the same. This year the changes would be noticeable. The
decision was made to create a loop instead of a strict out-back, along with
that we’d add a new trail up the power-line and a just (barely) finished trail
to the turn. We’d then return via part of the “old” course with a cut-off
near the Equestrian hill which would take us across Piekos Pass. This
meant the course would be a bit shorter and have less climb. The fix for
that was adding a hill and ¼ mile of trail by running the upper parts of Deer
Jump Reservation near Launching road. I tested out the course the week
before the race and it came out to 9.55 miles with 600’ of climb/descent.
That would make it the same distance as the old course but would add in 200’ of
climb/descent. Hopefully people would run around the same time as
previous years and more importantly they would have an enjoyable experience.
On Friday I met up with
Petey & TiVO and we marked the course and placed out most of the mile
markers (in a break from tradition we placed the mile markers at the correct
distance rather than the ‘traditional locations’). On race morning I
headed out early and set up the 2 mile (and 2 mile to go) water-stop at
Launching road. The sun was just coming up on a beautiful day. There was
little to no wind and temps would be in the low 50’s during the race. The
course was dry and in great shape. I helped set up the timing and scoring
area and got the volunteers in position before heading out for a 2 mile warm-up
that included placing the 9 mile and 1 mile marks. Doug Deangelis joined
me as did Christin Doneski. We bumped into Bob Jackman, Leslie O’Dell,
and Kassandra Marin. I gave a few notes on the new course and told them
that getting to the bridge (50 meters into the race) before it bottlenecked
would be important. I’ve always made it through in the top 10 so I
haven’t had to walk but it gets bad quickly as there isn’t anywhere to go
except single-file over the bridge.
I switched into racing
flats, deciding that road flats would be fine since the course was dry and had
few leaves, and then did another ½ mile to stay loose. I got back to the
start as Petey was going through pre-race instructions. At exactly 9am
with a “Ready, Set, CAYUGA!” we were off! I zipped out and found myself
in the lead. Last time I was in that position was probably 1999 or
2000. Brandon Newbould (WRT) laughed as I made a beeline for the bridge. After
crossing I hugged the right side of the trail and he went by. We took the
sharp left onto the River trail proper and one-by-one the top runners chugged
on by me. That was fine by me, I didn’t go out fast and settled in to
what I hoped would be a pace I could maintain. As we went under the
highway Brandon shot over to the River-side. I hadn’t seen anyone try
that move in a bunch of years. It is a little tricky and can only be done
if the water is low. As it was he lost 2 spots and a couple of seconds
with the unusual move (He’d move back into the lead soon after and run away
with the win). A few more guys passed me and by the half-mile I was in 12th
place. Dang! I had hoped to crack the top 10. I could hear
footsteps behind me and true to her word Kassandra was sticking with me.
I reached the mile in 6:26
which was a bit faster than last year. I felt pretty good although I was
losing ground on the guys in front of me. I kept thinking “it is a LONG
way to go”. Jim Pawlicki rocking the “Polska” singlet was soon out of
sight and on his way to a solid race. The 2nd mile was a bit
tougher with the new Launching road hill and I ran 6:49. Not much
changed, except the pace quickened during the third mile (50’ of downhill
helped). I hit 3 miles in 19:43 (6:28 split and 6:34 pace through 3) that
had me right about where I was last year even with the extra hill. That’d
also be the last time I checked my splits as the course would not match up with
last year’s splits beyond this point. We crossed the bridge that now has
handrails (the one TiVO wiped out on a few years ago) and Kassandra noted “this
is my favorite part of the course”. We grinded out the hill and I pulled
away just a bit on the messy downhill right before the power-line. I
reached the junction where Greg Carson was making sure everyone did the loop
part the right way (and also making sure no one headed back into the loop a
second time) and I could see Justin Daglish (GLRR) up ahead. He is one
tough nut to crack and had one heck of an XC season last year. The new
power-line trail had him walking by the top. I closed from 15 seconds
back to just a couple of seconds when we popped out on the power-lines and got
some water.
The new part after this was
just fun. Some zigging & zagging, some great footing, some lousy
footing, a couple of little uphills, some stonewalls to leap over (or crawl
over), something for everyone! Justin went slightly off at one of the
stonewalls and when he came back Kassandra and I had passed him and I was now
in 11th place. We got to the bottom and Petey had sort of
rhymed “when you see the cone turn for home”, homeward bound! The climb
back up was tough but the new bridges made it somewhat easier. I felt I
was gaining on the climbs and losing ground on the flats as Kassandra was still
right behind me. We ran through the mountain laurel of Piekos Pass and I
proclaimed, “this is my favorite part of the course”. After that we were
on the out & back section and I was watching for runners. The messy
climb was tough and a bit crowded but I got some cheers of encouragement.
I was tired and counting down the remaining hills. I could see one guy up
ahead and had not given up my hope of a top 10 finish. From 7 to 8 miles
I closed on him and as we turned up the hill toward Launching I thought I might
just have a shot. I also took a (hopefully) subtle look over my shoulder
as I couldn’t hear Kassandra. She was only a couple of seconds
back. From 8 to 8.5 I closed on the guy in front of me and slightly
gapped my chaser. After that I started losing ground on the guy in front
of me as he mustered a kick. I kept pushing and solidified my position
(11th place). Finally the 93 under-passed loomed ahead and I
knew I only had a few minutes to go. I crossed the line just under 1:07
and happy with a 50+ win if not a top 10 finish. Kassandra pulled in a
few seconds later to win by over 4 minutes. Nicely done! I headed
over to the results area and worked with the finish crew until the last runner
came through. In all we had 153 finishers which is almost the same number
as last year but half the size of the biggest field. CMS dominated the
team competition, it was great to see my teammates supporting the race!
Next up for me: NHTI
5k on Friday night 04/20
27th Annual
Merrimack River Trail race
Place
Time
Name
Gen/Age Town, State Club
1
1:01:24 Brandon Newbould
M36 Nottingham, NH WRT
2
1:03:09 Kurt
Hackler
M41 Alstead, NH
3
1:03:34 Patrick
Rich
M41 S.Hamilton, MA CMS
4
1:03:57 Tim
VanOrden
M49 Bennington, VT CMS
5
1:04:40 Colin
Carroll
M33 Andover, MA
CMS
6
1:04:44 Robert
Jackman
M35 Warwick,
RI CMS
7
1:04:57 James
Pawlicki
M43 Lynn,
MA CMS
8
1:05:21 Michael
Luebeck
M32 Maynard,
MA GLRR
9
1:06:27 Michael
Peyron
M42 Boston,
MA
10
1:06:27 Aaron
Stone
M35 Greenfield, MA
11
1:06:54 Dave
Dunham
M54 Bradford,
MA CMS/GreyWolves
12
1:07:08 Kassandra Marin
F28 Merrimack, NH
AcidoticRacing
13
1:07:31 Justin
Daglish
M40 Carlisle,
MA GLRR
Top 10
50+
11
1:06:54 Dave
Dunham
54 Bradford,
MA CMS/Grey Wolves
17
1:11:24 Matt
Curran
60 Gloucester, MA
Team Gloucester
23
1:14:48 Douglas
Deangelis
51 Newbury,
MA Team Gloucester
25
1:15:35 Norris
Gregg
51 Rockport, MA
Team Gloucester
32
1:17:48 Steve
Whittey
61 Gloucester,
MA Team Gloucester
37
1:21:49 Mark
Behan
55 Newton, NH
Winners Circle
41
1:22:32 Jeffrey
Saeger
68 Dedham,
MA NEOC
43
1:22:39 Scott Spence
53 Groton,
MA Grey Wolves
44
1:22:48 Bob
Gillis
63 Gloucester,
MA Team Gloucester
47
1:24:02 Chuck
Henson
56 Ayer, MA
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