Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Mt Washington 30 years ago today

30th Mt Washington Road Race
Saturday (10:00 am) June 16, 1990 - 839 Finishers

Pre-race favorites included seven time winner Bob Hodge, 1988 and 1989 champion Dave Dunham, Derek Froude, and Smartex Tambala.  Froude, a New Zealand resident and member of the 1984 New Zealand Olympic marathon team, was training part of the year in Boulder, Colorado, and had recently run a 28:50 for 10 Kilometers.  Tambala from Malawi, Africa had recently won a half-marathon in Canada.  The field appeared to be wide open on the women’s side as last year’s top two finisher were out. 

The weather was a bit warm in the early stages of the race, with temperatures in the 70s.  It cooled to 54 at the summit and winds were only 2-3 mph.  Runners came from 22 states, D.C., and six countries.  The field had a record 839 finishers.

Derek Froude became the first person to crack the one-hour barrier with his victory in 59:16. He took home $2,000 for the win and record.  Froude ran an even race, passing the halfway mark in 28:28 and slowing to only 30:18 for the second half.  Froude, who has run a 2:11 marathon, established a lead after four miles and extended his lead over the chase group.  Dave Dunham held second from the early going and beat Pike’s Peak ascent winner and Empire State Building run-up winner, Scott Elliot.  Bob Hodge was hampered by a knee and thigh injury but still managed to place tenth. 

Lynn Brown of Durango Colorado bested a record field of 137 women, winning in 1:19:57.  Brown was the 1988 Pike’s Peak ascent champion and had mountain-raced in Europe.  Her splits also showed a steady run as she ran 38:15 and 41:42 for the first and second half of the race.  In New England Runner, Brown called it, “the hardest mountain race I’ve ever run.  Colorado races may go up to 14,000 feet, but there are switchbacks.  They’re mild compared to this.” A record 16.33% of the finishers were women.

Team competition featured the Greater Lowell Road Runners again taking both the men’s and women’s titles.  The ladies topped the Winner’s Circle by ten minutes, 4:39:42 to 4:49:26.  The men ran the third fastest team time with a 5:39:23.  This placed them behind only the 1979 GBTC (5:35:50) and the 1981 BAA (5:31:07). 

New check-in procedures this year required every runner to pick up their own number (numbers were non-transferable) and the entry fee was $15.  The Auto Road would now be closed at the bottom from 9:45 AM until noon.  Autos heading to the summit were now charged $12 per car and $5 per passenger.   Aid stations now provided Monadnock Springs water for the 1,000 runners allowed into the race via a new lottery system.  Consideration was given to top men and women and elite “contenders” along with those who had a consecutive streak of at least six years (beginning with 1983).  Medals were no longer given to the top 50, but to age groups based on previous participation.  The prize purse was $2550 plus time based incentives.

Top 25 finishers
Place     Name                Club      Time                 Age       City & State
1 Derek Froude                          59:17                31         Boulder, CO (NZL) Course Record
2 Dave Dunham            GLRR    1:01:37             26         Londonderry, NH           FW
3 Scott Elliott                             1:01:53             26         Boulder, CO
4 Brian Reinhold                        1:05:36             36         Akersberga, SWE
5 Keith Woodward                     1:06:12             39         E Corinth, VT                 FW
6 Erich Wilbrech                        1:06:26             28         Jackson, WY
7 Joel Somerall              GCS      1:06:32             28         W Townsend, MA
8 Matthew Cull                          1:07:22             29         Bristol, VT
9 Peter Heesen                          1:07:24             35         Bethlehem, PA
10 Robert Hodge           GLRR    1:07:35             34         Clinton, MA                   FW
11 Daniel Verrington      WCRC   1:07:58             27         Bradford, MA
12 Peter Farwell            BRR      1:08:49             39         Williamstown, MA
13 John Fiola                             1:08:58             27         Arlington, MA
14 Stephen Peterson      GLRR    1:09:08             29         Lowell, MA
15 Brent Brown                         1:09:11             35         Durango, CO
16 Thomas Carroll         GLRR    1:09:52             40         Dunstable, MA
17 Rick Stuart                            1:10:21             32         Phoenix, AZ
18 Randal Sightler                      1:10:23             31         Winooski, VT
19 John Swartz                          1:10:30             42         Breckenridge, CO
20 Joseph Daly              WAC     1:10:37             28         Columbia, MD
21 Jeffrey Robie                         1:10:48             33         Kingston, NH
22 Tom Bowmaster                    1:11:05             30         Morristown, NJ
23 Robert Colantuono     BRR      1:11:07             37         N Adams, MA
24 David Lapierre          GLRR    1:11:11             26         Lowell, MA
25 Sumner Brown                      1:11:41             46         Belmont, MA
37 John Cederholm                    1:15:40             47         Boston, MA                   FW

Top 25 Women
Place     Name                Club      Time                 Age       City & State
1 Lynn Brown                            1:19:57             29         Durango, CO
2 Kelly Brinkmema                     1:22:11             26         Amherst, NH
3 Libby Greaney                        1:22:42             27         Henniker, NH
4 Maureen Sullivan        GLRR    1:23:16             33         Concord, MA
5 Yvonne Swartz                        1:28:46             28         Manchester, MA
6 Catherine Lifschultz                 1:29:11             27         Brookline, MA
7 Nancy Sutton                          1:29:31             29         Manchester, NH
8 Nixie Raymond            CSU      1:30:04             30         Watertown, MA
9 Sue Passler               WCRC   1:30:51             34         Amesbury, MA
10 Liz Kellogg                            1:31:38             42         Portland, OR
11 Jeryl Simpson                        1:32:27             32         Delmar, NY
12 Jennifer Calder                     1:32:32             43         New Canaan, CT
13 Anne Kuklinski                      1:32:44             31         Schenectady, NY
14 Beth Walker-Corkery             1:33:35             30         Needham, MA
15 Carol Bickford                       1:33:54             35         Gonic, NH
16 Sharon Gilligan                      1:34:05             42         Charlestown, MA
17 Barbara Scott                        1:34:23             34         Whitefield, NH
18 Donna Kasianchuk                 1:34:30             33         Wolfeboro Falls, NH
19 Kelly Goddard                       1:35:21             26         Gorham, NH
20 Merrill Cray                           1:35:41             37         Lake Elmore, VT
21 Katie Modeen                        1:36:05             34         Waterbury, CT
22 Stella McCormick      WCRC   1:36:11                         30         Salem, MA
23 Ann Kucharski                       1:36:31             38         N Andover, MA
24 Leslie Brown                         1:37:48             32         Prospect, CT
25 Patty Girouard          GLRR    1:37:51             42         Stowe, VT

Teams:
Men                                          Women
1 GLRR             5:39:23             1 GLRR             4:39:42
2 BRR               6:16:54             2 WCRC            4:49:26
3 WCRC            6:17:39             3 CSU               4:50:57
4 GCS               6:27:00             4 BAA               4:51:29
5 Willimantic      6:30:21             5 WMM             4:57:08

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