I had a plan. In the previous races I went out with Scott (and usually Ernie) and tried to hang on for as long as possible. Using that method Scott had beaten me 4 times and I only had two wins over him (he didn't run SEA). My goal for this race was to take it out hard and never "settle in". Scott would need to run under 18 minutes on this quite hilly course to move ahead of me in AG standings but Jim Angell could run about 18:20 and (if ahead of me) beat me in the series. So, I definitely wanted to be ahead of Jim.
I did the course as a warm-up to ensure I had a good feel for the terrain. This was going to be tough. There was a very steep downhill at the start that lasted about 1/2 mile then stayed flat or down until after the mile. The course then turned onto a dirt road and had a tough little climb. There was a sharp nearly 180 degree turn at 1.5 miles (perfect for checking out the competition) then a little roller before 2 miles. At 2.5 the real tough climb started (another dirt road) that would last until 3 miles with just a little break at 2.9. The course wasn't as tough as Gilmanton, but it was close.
I switched into flats and headed out for another 1/2 mile and bumped into Jim (told him I was stalking him) then over to the line for a rousing rendition of the National Anthem. Then zoom we were off! My back was really feeling it on the downhill and I struggled to get going. I was about 20th as we passed the Canterbury Fair and the downhill lessened. At about 1/2 mile I found a good rhythm and passed Ernie then drew even and passed Scott. He locked onto me and we started chipping away a little at the fast starters. We caught the lead woman just before the mile mark. Scott and I ran stride for stride as Jason Schoeller flew by on the dirt road uphill (he'd be the only one to pass me during the race). Scott powered up the hill and I gave it my best to follow. At the top I moved back ahead (trying to be aggressive) and kept my eyes on the couple of guys in front of us. Scott fell back but Ernie stayed right there.
At the 180 turn (1.5 miles) I took a careful look and did not see Jim (although he wasn't that far back). That gave me a boost to try to reel in Kevin Crowley (who is usually right around me). As I closed the gap on Kevin, Ernie seemed to fall back. At 2 miles I could hear him but it sounded like he was falling back. I moved ahead of Kevin before we turned onto the dirt road with the final long hill. I thought about taking a look back but figured it would not help me go any faster and it just might give Ernie the idea that I was worried (I was).
I felt pretty beat on the climb but closed on another guy before the 3 mile mark. I hadn't looked at my watch so until I saw the finish clock I wasn't sure if the time would be decent. I was surprise to run 18:27 which was probably the equivalent of my fastest 5k in the series and might have been fast enough to break 18 on a flat course. All good!
Our team (TBA) took 9th, 13th, 14th, and 15th overall and 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th in the Age Graded masters. That was good enough for us to lock up the series and me to lock up the series AG masters.
Age Graded Masters
Place Time Agtime Agegrd% Name Sex Age Hometown
===== ======= ======= ======= ======================== === === =======================
1 18:27 15:37 83.12 Dave Dunham M 55 Bradford MA
2 18:58 15:41 82.82 Ernest Brake M 57 North Sutton NH
3 18:49 15:56 81.50 Jim Angell M 54 Hopkinton NH
4 20:17 16:05 80.72 Mike Barry M 62 Northwood NH
5 18:54 16:16 79.88 Scott Clark M 53 Gilmanton NH
6 19:36 17:00 76.43 Darin Brown M 52 Madison NH
Top 15
Place Div/Tot Div Time Pace Name Ag S Race# Hometown Age %
===== ======== ===== ======= ===== ====================== == = ===== ======================= =======
1 1/3 MOPEN 15:51 5:06 Matt Chorney 30 M 273 Jackson WY 82.16%
2 2/3 MOPEN 16:48 5:25 Louis Saviano III 28 M 220 Sandown NH 77.31%
3 3/3 MOPEN 16:52 5:26 Andrew Tuttle 24 M 197 Alton NH 76.98%
4 1/15 M3039 17:29 5:38 David Chorney 31 M 289 Concord NH 74.66%
5 1/8 M1519 17:39 5:41 Colin Lessard 17 M 107 Bow NH 74.14%
6 2/8 M1519 17:54 5:46 Benjamin Neff 16 M 140 Bow NH 74.00%
7 1/7 M2029 18:00 5:48 Jason Schoeller 20 M 268 Pembroke NH 72.13%
8 2/7 M2029 18:04 5:49 Timothy Lindberg 25 M 181 Ashland NH 71.86%
9 1/29 M5059 18:27 5:57 Dave Dunham 55 M 15 Bradford MA 83.12%
10 3/8 M1519 18:31 5:58 Sam Berube 18 M 46 Bow NH 70.14%
11 2/15 M3039 18:41 6:01 Kevin Crowley 33 M 212 Concord NH 70.32%
12 2/29 M5059 18:49 6:04 Jim Angell 55 M 147 Hopkinton NH 81.50%
13 3/29 M5059 18:54 6:05 Scott Clark 53 M 194 Gilmanton NH 79.88%
14 4/29 M5059 18:58 6:07 Ernest Brake 58 M 195 North Sutton NH 82.82%
15 5/29 M5059 19:36 6:19 Darin Brown 52 M 76 Madison NH 76.43%
Series AG masters
Name Sex Age Hometown Gil Sea Nhti Canxc Over Ccc Luti Wood Agtotal ======================== === === ======================= ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ======= Dave Dunham M 55 Bradford MA 78.7 84.26 80.01 79.81 83.2 82.93 79.10 83.12 413.52 Jim Angell M 54 Hopkinton NH 0 81.51 80.65 74.1 83.12 82.1 77.67 81.50 408.88 Mike Barry M 62 Northwood NH 74.59 83.69 80.77 77.19 81.72 81.27 76.66 80.72 408.17 Ernest Brake M 57 North Sutton NH 77.98 84.92 0 0 0 80.95 78.57 82.82 405.24 Scott Clark M 53 Gilmanton NH 77.95 0 80.95 78.7 82.65 80.78 78.85 79.88 403.11 Darin Brown M 52 Madison NH 71.05 78.02 78.16 69.95 0 0 75.54 76.43 379.20
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