Looking back - April 2001

 20 years ago – April 2001: April had some big highs and lows for me. I had been training hard preparing to go after the American record for 50km at the Chicago Lakefront 50k. Conditions were not ideal (a little warm for me – 75 degrees) and windy (20-40mph) but I had company through the first 25k and ran comfortably alone through the marathon in 2:30:04.  I crossed the finish line in 2:57:36 to break the record. I was later upset to learn that although the race had been certified and all the paperwork was in place, the course came up just under 50 meters short of certified. That was definitely an unwelcome surprise as I had really dogged the race director about having the proper measurement and all of the paperwork in line. In the end they neglected to add the 1% of “extra” distance on at the end which is required for a certified course. I didn’t race again for three weeks but made the most of the final weekend of the month by running three races within 24 hours (I was looking to score points in the all-important Hockomock Swamp Rat series). I took third at the Les Pawson 5m (27:37) on Saturday, running as easy as possible in anticipation of a hard Sunday. Early in the day I took 11th (30:45) at the James Joyce Ramble 10k, which served as the USATF NE championship. I didn’t warm-down, just jumped in the car and drove to Groton where I took fourth in the 10km in 34:31. I like to say that this was the day I went from being a 30 minute 10k runner to a 34 minute 10k runner. Sort of joking, but that really was about the end of my “fast” racing. I’d have some glimmers of past glory but a combination of health issues and just plain getting older lead to the inevitable slow-down that we all have if we stay at it long enough.

James Joyce 10k - CMS pack