Looking back:
October 1979 – 40 years ago: I didn’t
have much luck during this month as I got injured twice while racing. On Oct.
5 I twisted an ankle during a dual meet against Tewksbury after passing through
2 miles in 11-flat. I ended up with a DNF. Four days later I was
back out there testing the ankle in a dual meet at Wilmington. This time
I ran on the JV squad and took the win in 10:20 over a 1.75 mile course.
Four days later I was back on the varsity squad for the Catholic Memorial
meet. I was running well through the mile when I rolled the ankle again
and something “popped”. It was my second DNF and I spent the next two
weeks on crutches. That was a dubious end to my first XC season.
October 1984 – 35 years ago: I had a
solid month of racing but not a great month of training. I ran 232 miles
with 8 days off due to plantar fascia issues and a sore knee from compensating,
despite that I raced three times and lost only once. I started the month
at the venerable Codfish bowl a 5 mile cross-country race in Franklin Park
(Boston). I had a good battle with Tom Anderson (Keene State) as I stayed
back in the early miles (4:58/9:58/15:00) before moving up. Tom and I
fought right to the end and I got him by a kick in the last ¼ mile winning the
race in 24:43. We took home second place in the team competition with 76 points
to Keene states 51 points. A week later I was back at
Franklin Park this time for a quad meet with Northeastern, U-Mass Amherst, and
Keene State. After a much slower start (5:16) the action heated up.
I ran a nearly identical 24:42 but this time Anderson got the better of me as I
finished 12 seconds behind him in second place. We took third place in
tight competition with Keene. Northeaster won with 37 points, Keene had
59 and we scored 60 points. I wrapped up the month
at the Eastern Championships at Bryant College. Somehow, I forgot my
racing flats! Pete McClellan, kindly offered to drive back to Lowell from
Smithfield RI, but I decided I’d be okay in my heavier trainers. It was a
warm day for late October (high 70’s) so the pace wasn’t super-fast on the 5.2
mile course. I ran in the pack in the early going then moved out and
ended up winning in 25:55, five seconds ahead of teammate Dave Quintal. We led
the way in the team standings with 46 points.
October 1989 – 30 years ago: I had a solid
month with 403 miles and no days off along with three road races. My
first race of the month was the White Mountain Milers half-marathon. It
was a perfect day to race with temperatures in the low 50s and no wind. I
took advantage hitting 5 miles in 24:55 and the second 5 in another 24:55
(49:50). Somewhere around 7 miles I took control of the lead slowly
pulling away from Fernando Braz. I thought I had a shot at sub-5 pace
(1:05:30) but lost a few seconds on the final (and only) uphill in the race
climbing up from the river to downtown Conway. My final time of 1:05:42
was and still is the course record and the New Hampshire state record.
Braz took 2nd in 1:07:35. Teammate Steve Peterson ran 1:13:16 and
future teammate Dan Verrington ran 1:14:52. Six days later I took to the
streets of Londonderry (where I had moved earlier that year) for the Mack’s
Apple Run. The race had a little bit of cash for prizes (along with bags
of apples) so the field was pretty strong. I found myself locked in a
back-and-forth struggle with Larry Sayers (CMS). With ¾ of a mile to go I
started my kick and was able to drop Sayers. I went on to win in a course
record 24:40. A week later I headed up to Saco Maine for
the Great Pumpkin 10k race. This was another race with some cash and it
always attracted some strong racers. I found myself in a group in the
early going, then Bob Hodge (GLRR) and Greg Hale. Hodgie made a move at
3.5 and I tried to go with him. Hale locked on to me and I couldn’t go
when he made his move at the 6 mile mark. Hodgie won in 29:52 and I took
third in 29:59, longtime New England racer Paul Hammond took fourth in
30:18.
After that I took a couple of easy weeks and then entered
the “Avia Scramble” in Stratton Vermont. I wasn’t exactly
sure what to expect as the race was billed as being “between 6 and 9 miles”
with multiple ascents and descents on the slopes of Stratton Mountain. I
got a bad start because you had to start barefoot and then put on your
shoes! I ended up heading up the hill in 14th place.
Eventually I caught Ken Sousa who was a “ringer” having won the other Scrambles
that Avia had put on earlier that year. I ended up winning by a few
minutes and picking up $818.18 for the victory. Avia was far ahead of the
curve putting on this style of racing way before it became popular.
October 1999 – 20 years ago: No running or
racing as I was still recovering from an ankle
injury.
October 2004 – 15 years ago: I had a decent
start to the month with a 3rd place behind Kevin Tilton and Tim
Livingston at Cranmore Mtn (3 mile climb in 23:05). I won at Cranmore
back around 1999 (?) and got a pair of snowshoes, which eventually lead to my
getting into snowshoe racing. I got another cortisone shot in my arch,
which had flared up after racing Monroe Mountain (awful run for me, too much
scary downhill). I ended up taking fifth place after getting as high as
third on the climb…I got buried on the downhills. On the 17th
I finished in 6th place at Ravenswood (another bad run for me, but
not sure why). I finished out the month by taking on the Cape Cod
marathon. I was hoping for 7’s to test myself for an upcoming 50K and
ended up running 6:28’s and feeling pretty good (and actually scored for the
team!).
October 2009 – 10 years ago: It had been a
while since I raced at Topsfield, but I had good memories of racing (Northern
Area Meet) in High School and somewhat more recently the GBTC race back in
2002. Too many races are put on for reasons that have very little to do with
testing yourself against the competition (and against the course, AND
against yourself). Tom Derderian (and the GBTC) put on a great event. Dan
V, Dave Q and I headed over together and double-j was waiting for us in the
parking lot with our numbers in hand. We gathered up the rest of the (small)
CMS group and headed out to check out the course. It was a lot drier than
expected, which was something I didn't want. Slower =
better for me, sounds like something Greg Washak would say. The
last mile was a hurt-fest, even the downhill seemed to have uphills!
Afterwards I barely had enough left to struggle through a 2 mile warm-down.
Results
1 Jarrod Shoemaker BAA 25:48
2 Ryan Place GBTC 25:53
3 Dan Smith GBTC 26:17
6 Jim Johnson CMS 26:32
9 Kevin Tilton CMS 26:57
16 Dan Navaroli CMS 27:45
20 Jim Pawlicki CMS 28:35
21 Dan Verrington CMS 28:49
22 Dave Harper CMS 29:01
25 Dave Dunham CMS 29:17
27 Dave Quintal CMS 29:31
The following week I raced in Canada. On race
morning I had my bag ready with everything I could possibly need but I somehow
managed to drop my brand new racing flats in the parking garage. I didn't
realize my mistake until we reached the race site.
I checked out the course as a warm-up and found it to be
flat and fast. In the last k I got my lunch handed to me as three guys went
blowing by and I had no response. I ended up taking 10th and third 40+ in
17:22. The only good I'll take out of it is that it is my fastest 5km in
trainers, I've never road raced in trainers until this race.
SM run for Hope - Oakville Ontario - 10/12/09
1 Sean Sweeney 15:45 Toronto
10 Dave Dunham 17:22 2nd 45-49 CMS
Next up was the Baystate marathon. This was definitely the least I've ever trained for a marathon.
My highest mileage was 51 and my longest single run was 8 miles. I was hoping
that memories of marathons long gone by and the brutal 3-4 hour water runs with
the brothers Quintal would be enough to carry me through. The plan was to run
as even as possible and finish as close to sub-3 hours as possible. For much of
the race I fronted a pack which was about 20 strong (at some points) which
included many looking to run under three hours. We ran strong through the
half hitting it in 1:29:36, so about 20 seconds "in the bank". I was
still feeling very good and started thinking "if I get to Tyngsboro bridge
feeling good, I'll pick it up for the last 8". After 20 miles I started to
feel a bit tired. The lack of training was catching up, but I saw groups in
front of me and worked on hauling them in. The Billerica
crew at the 24 mile water stop were quite supportive when I yelled
"BMHS class of 82. I kept it rolling and met my goal of a sub-3 hour with
a 2:59:41. All in all a pretty fun
day! Later that week I got my “Iron Runner” jacket for running all 7 of
the Grand Prix races.
The weekend after the marathon I raced twice! In a 12 day
stretch I raced four times for a total of just over 35 miles.
I decided to do the Great Bay 5km race mid-week when
double-j mentioned that the race was almost closed. Race day was cold and
rainy, similar to last weekend. It wasn't too bad once we got
running. I settled into the top 20 and very quickly moved up to the top
10. By 1/2 mile I was in a pack of 7-8 guys with the front of the pack
being third place. I hit 2 miles in 11:09 (5:35) and then hit the only
hill in the course. I ended up missing the $$$ but did get a gift cert to
a Nursery for winning the 40+.
11th Annual Great Bay 5K OCTOBER 24, 2009
1 Scott McGrath M21-29 15:25 4:58
2 Jim Johnson M30-39 15:38 5:02
3 Chris Ritchie M21-29 3/326 17:10 5:32
4 Dave Dunham M40-49 17:16 5:34
5 Peter McNeil M21-29 17:18 5:34
8 Kara Haas F30-39 17:29 5:38
I decided to head up to Amesbury and run with
Petey. I had it in the back of my mind (well maybe the front) that I'd do
the race. We signed up, then met up with 2008 winner Ken Tripp and headed
out to check out the course. It looked like a lot of fun. Sharp
turns, mud, big uphills, screaming downhills, really a little of everything.
Ken went to the front and the Craig's (Fram and Fram Jr.) went out hard as did
some others. At about 1.25 we headed down a big hill toward the mud and
the lead pack of five all came back. I ended up at the front by the bottom
and ran side-by-side with Ken for a little section. Once the last
downhill was done, Craig really started to motor. I fell back into 4th,
bumping elbows with Ken. Craig really hammered the uphill passing the 2m
mark well in front. I pulled ahead of Ken as the third place runner
pulled away from me. The course was a bit short, I don't think with all
that climb/drop I could run 18:06.
1 Craig Fram M5059
Plaistow NH 17:42 5:42
2 Jeff
Kelly M4049 Byfield MA
17:57 5:47
3 Dave Dunham M4049 Ward Hill MA
18:06 5:50
4 Ken
Tripp M3039 Amesbury MA
18:23 5:56
5 Craig Fram Jr M1518 Plaistow
NH 18:33 5:59
7 Steve Peterson M4049 S Chelmsford MA 19:00 6:07
October 2014 - 5 years ago:
I started off the month with the first USATF NE mountain
series race to be held in the fall. The North American Fell Running
Championships was a great idea with a “open” course similar to my orienteering
days. I had scouted the course previously (which is legal) and felt ready
to go. The first leg went right up Mt Rosebrook (1,400’ of climb), I found
myself in fifth place as I hit the summit in 18:01. After a couple of
legs I stopped for a drink and a couple of guys went by me and I was now in 6th
place. The following climb to West Mountain was another nut busting
1,100’ climb. I moved into 5th place and then turned up the
Zephyr High Speed Quad trail (Range View) and settled into a good rhythm.
I had now moved up to third place as the early leader go
a bit lost The last segment (from F to the finish) was the nicest
part of the course. I ran straight down the glade which had some
excellent grassy footing and a grade that was mostly run-able. In all it
took me 1:25:29 to cover the 8.6 miles that my route covered with over 3,500’
of climb/descent. CMS took the team title in the overall, 40+, and 50+.
My calf didn’t give me any issues and I took home a bag of apples for winning the 50+ age group, so life
is good!
1 Jim Johnson
37 Madison,
NH CMS
1:19:26
2 Todd Callaghan
45 Beverly,
MA CMS
1:19:36
3 Matt
Veiga
27 Lynn,
MA
CMS 1:24:54
4 Dave Dunham
50 Bradford,
MA CMS
1:25:29
5 Brian Cuimo
22 Burlington,
VT
1:27:30
25 Paul Bazanchuk
59 Ctr Conway, NH
CMS 1:43:50
62 Robert Thomas
54 Charlton,
MA CMS
2:14:44
Jeanne’s Journey 5k –
Somersworth NH - Warming up on the course is always a good idea so I
headed out. I was glad I had checked it as they moved the start/finish
slightly due to the festival using the school parking lot entrance. I
wore my Garmin and was happy to see the miles right on. I wasn’t so happy
when I got to 3 miles and could see that the finish line was well beyond a
tenth of a mile from 3. In the warm-up, warm-down, and race I pegged it
at 3.2 miles. Oh, well. The race was the most important part.
My plan was to again test out my calf, hopefully by running right around 5:40
pace. Over 200 folks lined up at the start (facing the wrong way until I
got them to turn around). One guy took it out pretty hard but I caught
him about 300 meters in and then ran unchallenged. I passed 5k in 17:37.
At the finish I clocked 17:53 for the win 1:38 ahead of second place and first
in the masters.
1 Dave Duham
50 Ward Hill,
MA
17:53
2 David Audet
49 Concord,
NH
19:31
3 Andy Stark
33
20:49
4 Tony Martuni
30 Somersworth,
NH 21:43
5 Chuck Mantos
57 Somersworth,
NH 21:56
Ravenswood trail race -
This gem is a throwback to the good old days of racing and the entry fee is a
bargain at $12 and you get your money's worth and then some. I won this
race back in 2002 over a shorter and less technical route. My best time
on the current version was 28:54 back in 2007. My goal was to get through
without breaking an ankle on the many roots and rocks. I thought I had a
shot at finishing somewhere between 5th and 10th and was aiming to run under 30
minutes. I met up with Doug D., and we headed out for 3 miles on various
parts of the course.
I worked hard (how daring I wanted to be on the iffy
footing was the major factor) and hit the finish line in 29:33 for 5th place
overall and tops in the 50+. My time was the fourth fastest ever by a
fifty-plus runner with Matt Curran holding the top 3 times. The 40+ age
group was super-tough with Doug taking 7th overall an 5th in the 40+! A
big group of us headed out to do an easy loop of the course which made for a
nice finish to the day
Place
Time
Name
City State
Sex Category
1
26:50.8 Todd Callaghan Beverly
MA
M M40-49
2
27:26.1 David Long
Beverly MA
M M40-49
3
27:53.5 James Pawlicki Lynn
MA
M M40-49
4
28:06.3 Eric Narcisi CharlestownMA
M M30-39
5
29:32.9 Dave Dunham Ward
HillMA
M M50-59
6
29:58.1 Christ Smith Woburn
MA
M M40-49
7
30:20.9 Doug DeAngelis Ipswich
MA
M M40-49
My final race of the month was the
Mayor’s cup an 8km cross-country race. I hadn’t raced at the
Franklin Park XC course since 1995 before venturing inside of 128 this
weekend. I hate going into the city, the logistics are always a
hassle. My goal was to run around 29:30 which I based on my best 5 mile
this year time being 28:32. Cross Country tends to be slower, but the course
was in good shape despite all of the rain this week. I got on the line
behind the CMS guys and off we went. I was worried about being alone out
there, last year there weren’t many guys from 28-30 minutes and my fear was
confirmed when I took a peek at 200 meters into the race and there was only one
guy behind me. On my final trip up Bear Cage hill I was wheezing and
nearly reached a stand-still. I crossed the finish in 29:03, pleased with
the effort and the time. The only time I finished with a worse place was
New Bedford this year when I took 152nd place. I was the only
senior in the race and the oldest person in the race! I’m not sure how
often I’ve had that distinction, but I was helped by the fact that all of the
50+ guys (and most of the 40+) were running in the 5k which was part of the New
England XC grand prix.
40+ Results
Pl O'all
Pl Time
Name
Age Team
1
62 26:34
Peter Hammer
48 BAA
2
63 26:35 Greg
Putnam
44 CMS
3
95 27:16
Binney Mitchell
45 GMAA
4
102 27:26 Harry
Stants
41 BAA
5
107 27:30 Todd
Callaghan 45 CMS
6
121 27:58 James
Pawlicki 40
CMS
10
147 29:03 Dave
Dunham
50 CMS
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