Looking back - April 2011

 
10 years ago – April 2011: I raced four times during this month.  Mostly I was trying to get close to my masters (40+) personal best for 5km.  I started April as I have done a number of times in the past, by racing in Concord NH. The State Employee Association (SEA) 5km race always seems to have a decent field and times are usually pretty speedy due to the flatness of the course. I just wanted to stay on my feet and keep Dan Verrington and Rod Viens in sight. Rod had a solid run taking 5th and top master in 16:39. Dan had a bit of an off day as he typically would beat me.
 
SEA 5km - 04-02-11
1          15:54 Greg Hammett - CMS
2          15:59 Mackenzie Kilpatrick
3          16:00 Justin Montgomery
4          16:36 Jeff Goupil 16:36 – CMS
5          16:39 Rod Viens – CMS 40+
6          16:54 Graham Hayslip
7          16:55 Dave Dunham – CMS 40+
8          17:18 Dan Verrington – CMS 40+
 
The following week I returned to the NH seacoast for the 30th Red’s Shoe Barn. I hadn’t raced at Red’s in Dover, NH since 1999 but it fit perfectly in the schedule this year. There were no major hills but it seemed that every mile had some “up” in it  At the start JJ bolted to the front and I settled into fourth tucking in behind Fergus Cullen. When I saw the mile split (5:42) I accelerated and would run the rest of the race alone.  In the end I kicked with everything I had left and crossed the line in 27:49…a new 40+ PR by a scant couple of seconds.
 
Red’s 5 mile – 04-10-11
1          25:25   5:05 Jim Johnson           33M CMS
2          27:20 5:28 Nathan Huppe          31M RR
3          27:49   5:34 Dave Dunham        47M CMS 40+        
4          28:10   5:38 Brian Ruhm            45M GCS
5          28:16 5:40 Fergus Cullen            38M
 
The following week I ended up going up to Rochester for the Girl’s Inc. 5km. I’d done this race 6 years ago and recalled that the course was flat and fast. I also knew that they had kilometer marks on the course and I’m a huge fan of that.  Bob Wiles took off at the start and would run alone and unchallenged to a new course record. I settled into third place and for most of the first mile I stayed tucked behind Jason Bigonia. We had a good back and forth until the last ½ mile when he buried me.
 
10th Annual Girls Inc. of New Hampshire 5K 04-16-11
1 15:22 Bob Wiles         33M      Kittery, ME        CMS
2 16:40 Jason Bigonia    34M      Newcastle, ME  
3 16:44 Dave Dunham   47M      Bradford, MA     CMS 40+
4 18:28 Josh Smith        21M      Rochester, NH  
5 18:30 Tom Doherty     26M      Dover, NH        
 
I headed back to the track on April 23rd for only my fourth outdoor track race in the last 16 years. Well, it was wet and raw at the Tufts invitational…but the wind wasn’t bad. I There were less than 20 guys on the line (and apparently a few were just “pacing” others and had no plans to finish). At the end of the first turn I was squarely in last place.  I settled in with four guys from Tufts and we ended up working together for most of the race.
 
Tufts Spring Invitational - Medford, MA, April 23, 2011 5,000 Meter Run
1 15:34.2 Antoine Gisore           New England College
2 16:01.2 Tyler Andrews            Tufts
3 16:23.2 Aaron Ladd                BAA
4 16:29.6 Andrew Haskell          Tufts
5 16:34.7 Steven Ndisabiye        New England College
6 16:37.6 Erik Antokal                Tufts
7 16:46.3 John Lawrence           Merrimack
8 16:47.1 Dave Dunham            CMS 40+
9 16:54.5 Samuel Hutchinson     Tufts
10 17:03.7 Peter Lewis              Tufts