Looking back - 15 years ago (2001)

15 years ago (March 2006):  I raced six times during this month including three snowshoe races during one weekend. I started the month with a trip to Hawley MA for the Hawley Kiln snowshoe race.  This was the site of my first snowshoe race and I’ve always enjoyed going back.  Paul Low took off at the start and was out of sight as he cruised to a win.  Mark Churchill and Jim Pawlicki were 20 seconds ahead of me when we hit the singletrack as I lead a pack (Steve Peterson, Ken Clark, and Rob Smith).  I gapped the guys behind me as I closed on Jim (10 seconds back at 2 miles).  I got as close as 5 seconds behind Jim but could never quite catch him as I took third place in 27:39.
 
1 Paul Low 24:27
2 Mark Churchill 25:23
3 Jim Pawlicki 27:27
4 Dave Dunham 27:39
5 Steve Peterson 27:58
6 Ken Clark 28:16
7 Rob Smith 28:39
 
A week later (03/12/06) I headed to Nashua NH to try my luck on the roads at the Frozen Bunz 5k.  A big CMS group showed up and we all warmed up on the course (Dan Verrington, Jim Pawlicki, Joe Shairs, Rob Smith, Ben Nephew).  I took 7^th place in the short (?) 5k running 16:59.
 

 
Next up (03/19/06) was the USATF NE ½ marathon championships at New Bedford.  It was cold (30’s) and there was a “brisk wind” from 8-13 miles.  I ran almost the entire race with Fergus Cullen running just a step under 6 minute pace (1:18:22) for 95^th place, 19^th in the 40-44 (with 4 45-49 guys also besting me).  The final weekend (03/25 & 03/26) had me heading up to Bolton Valley VT with Richard Bolt for the USA snowshoe championships.  I did a couple of miles on the roads and a bit more on snowshoes before the start.  I got a lousy start and was way back in the first kilometer.  I slowly moved up through the field, but kind of ran out of gas over the last 3k with teammate Jim Pawlicki the last to pass me at the 9km mark thus knocking me out of the top 25.  I did an easy mile warm-down, then a mile warm-up and hit the line for the Citizen’s 5k race.  It was hard to tell what place I was in during this race as it was also the Junior (under 19) race.  I ended up taking second place in 23:30. Early the next morning I ran a leg of the team relay.  I ran 11:01 for the tough 2km loop.  Our team took 4^th overall and second in the 40+.