2018 Mt Washington Road Race Hall of Fame class announced!

2018 Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame class announced and new 300-Mile Club created!

May 2, 2018     

Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race

Mt. Washington Auto Road

June 16, 2018 – 9 a.m.

&

9th Annual Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame Induction

Saturday, June 16 — 1 p.m.

Race’s Hall of Fame honors Joseph Gray & Charlotte Lettis   

•May 2, 2018 — Pinkham Notch, NH

The Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame

Formed in 2010 to recognize outstanding performers in and contributors to this footrace to the summit of the highest peak in the northeastern United States, the Hall of Fame this year will pay tribute to the achievements of two runners in a ceremony at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on Saturday, June 16. The ceremony will take place after the 2018 Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race, which starts at 9 a.m. The race attracts 1300 runners who will make their way up the 157-year-old Auto Road.

Joseph Gray (Age 34, Colorado Springs, CO) is a four-time winner of the race, having taken the top spot in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. He holds the state record for both Colorado (58:15, in 2015) and Washington (60:33 in 2012). He set the single-year records for age 30, 32, and 33 with times of 59:09, 58:17, and 58:57.  All of his finishes have been in the top five: four first, two second, two third, and one fourth place. His 2016 time stands as the American men's record for the race. In addition to his impressive performances at Mount Washington Gray has been a 19-time U.S. Mountain team member and an 11-time national champion. In 2016, he won the World Mountain Running Championships in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria.

Charlotte Lettis (Beaverton, OR) was the first official women’s finisher in the race. She won Mt. Washington in 1972, making the 7.6-mile ascent up the Auto Road in one hour 40 minutes 8 seconds. In 1975, she ran again, placing second in 1:46:40. In addition to her groundbreaking performance at Mt Washington, she was a national class runner in the mile and the 1,500, qualifying for the 1976 Olympic trials. An early leader in the movement to recognize women's running not only as a fitness exercise but as top-level athletic competition, she produced a 2005 documentary about how women’s distance running had evolved over the last 50 years.

The Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame (MTWHOF) recognizes athletic performance at the MWRR or efforts to assist the Race or promote it. Consideration is given to athletes, advocates, race staff members or volunteers.  Inductees are chosen by a vote of the Hall of Fame committee from a longer list of nominees compiled by December 31 of the preceding year.

The MTWHOF committee also oversees the 300-Mile Club, which recognizes runners who have completed 40 or more Mt Washington road races.  The 300-Mile Club was created in 2018.  We are pleased to announce the first member of the club!

Fred Ross (age 71, Vernon VT) has the most finishes in the history of the race with 41.  He also has the longest active streak of consecutive finishes with 40.  In 2017 he was the top finisher in the 70+ age group.  In addition to racing he has also directed races including the Mt Equinox race, which was held in the 1970’s and gave runners a chance to tune-up for Mt Washington.  Fred’s connection to the race (and the mountain) run deep. He proposed to his wife at the finish of the race, and they later married at the Tip Top House, at the mountain's summit.  Fred is also a multi-time participant in Alton Weagle Day that takes place each Memorial Day weekend at the Auto Road. 

The Saturday afternoon Hall of Fame induction will precede the race’s award ceremony. The induction ceremony will start at 1 p.m. in the large tent at the base of the Auto Road, on Route 16 just north of Pinkham Notch.

The public is invited.

Regularly updated information about the Mt. Washington Hall of Fame is available any time on the website at: http://mwrrhalloffame.com/

Other HOF sites include: Facebook (facebook.com/mwrrhof), Twitter  (twitter.com/mwrrrecords) and the Records/Hall of Fame blog (mtwashingtonrecords.blogspot.com ). For other information about the race, visit www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.