Looking back - October 2017

5 Years ago – 2017:
This was certainly an interesting month with mostly XC racing but a road marathon mixed in.  I started the month with a win in the 50+ (and third place overall) finish at the Bretton Woods Fell running race.  The win got me the overall USATF NE Mountain series win in the 50+.  Next up was the Wayland XC festival (10/08), where they get over 300 kids running in the youth races and another 200-plus in the open race.  It was windy, very humid (100%?), and over 70 degrees when I headed out for a course preview.  As I changed into race gear it started to rain which was great.  I ended up in 51^st and 6^th in the 50+.  Our team took 6^th place. 

212 finishers – 26 50-59 finishers
1          17:04     ANDREW GARDINER         52         Dover MA           BAA
2          18:29     WAYNE LEVY                  52         Waban MA         BAA
3          18:35     JASON CAKOUROS           52         Milton MA           HFC Striders
4          18:44     BRIAN RUHM                  52         Nashua NH         GCS
5          18:46     MARK REEDER                 58         Brighton MA        GLRR
6          18:51     DAVE DUNHAM                53         Bradford MA       CMS
7          19:44     TERRY MCNATT               52         Needham MA      CSU
8          19:56     MARTIN TIGHE               59         Providence RI      CMS

USA masters cross-country championships - 10/15/2017 – Franklin Park:  This was my 150^th cross-country race. It felt like the nasty head cold I had was finally starting to break although I sounded congested.  I was the only one on the CMS squad not wearing spikes as I have my trusty Inov-8 trail shoes.  I hit the mile in 5:43 and I started gaining some places.  I was focused on getting to the top of Bear Cage hill (90’ climb at 1.5 miles) and then trying to roll from there.  As I closed on 2 miles I could see Ed Sheldon not too far ahead and worked on catching him.  I got around Ed after 2 (11:45) and he stuck close as we made our way through the “Wilderness Loop”.  Ed made his final kick with about 200 meters to go and I had no answer. I hit the finish in 73^rd place in 18:34, our team had a solid race taking 3^rd place in the 50+ and our masters squad took 2^nd in the 40+.
 
*********** MEN 50+ TEAM SCORE **********
  1.    41  Greater Springfield Harriers, Inc A           (  17:46  1:28:49   1:49)
  2.    67  Central Park Track Club - New Balance A (  18:26  1:32:10   1:11)
  3.    76  CMS A                                                  (  18:35  1:32:51   0:52)
 
MALE AGE GROUP:  50 – 54 (46 finishers)
    1     3 PETER HAMMER        51 NEEDHAM MA            Boston Athletic   16:44
    2     4 KENT LEMME          50 PITTSFIELD MA         Greater Springf   16:47
    3     5 ANDY GARDINER       52 DOVER MA              Boston Athletic   16:51
   11    47 DAVID PRINCIPE      50 JOHNSTON RI          Central Mass St   18:00
   19    70 EDWARD SHELDON      53 HOOKSETT NH      Central Mass St   18:33
   21    73 DAVE DUNHAM         53 BRADFORD MA         Central Mass St   18:35
   25    83 ERIK VANDENDRIES    52 CHESTNUT HILL MA Central Mass St   18:52
 
   MALE AGE GROUP:  55 – 59 (32 finishers)
    1     7 NAT LARSON          55 AMHERST MA            GSH   16:56
    7    81 DANIEL VERRINGTON   55 BRADFORD MA  CMS    18:51
   10     106 MARTIN TIGHE        59  Providence RI    CMS    19:20

 
Baystate Marathon (10/22) – This was the final race in the 7 race USATF NE grand prix and I was looking forward to earning “Ironrunner” status by completing all of the races. My plan going into the race was to run 6:45’s in the early mile, pick it up a little on the fastest miles from 8 – 13 (Tygnsboro bridge to Rourke bridge) then settle back into 6:45’s back out to 18.  I was hoping from 18 in to pick it up a lot.  Race morning was sunny and comfortable. It was 54 degrees and no wind as we set off.  I settled in with some nice tunes and once I got my first ½ mile split (3:20) I knew I was okay to relax and let the miles go by.  By four mile long-time friend Mark Behan (WCRC) and I were running together.  We reached 8 miles in lock-step, just 2 seconds over 6:45 pace at that point. 
 
I felt pretty good as we crossed the Rourke Bridge and got to the ½ way mark in 1:28:15.  That was a bit slower than I’d hoped for but I was listening to my body and that was all I felt I could give as it was still pretty early.  I was still able to do some complex math and knew at 20 that I would not break 2:55.  Mark fell off sometime after 20, probably due to me running a 6:37 21^st mile.  I could see a BAA 50+ runner up ahead and wanted to catch him.  I got him just after 22. I started feeling very tired after that but ran a 6:43 24^th mile.  The last part had you very close to the line but then you had to head away from it before coming up the finish chute.  I was beat crossing the line in 60^th place in 2:57:10.  That got me 4^th in the 50+.  My teammates David Principe and Ed Sheldon had excellent runs taking 1^st and 2^nd respectively in the 50+ which got us the team championship as well.  Al Bernier won the 40+ division which also gave him the win in the Grand Prix.
Top 10 in the 50+ (127 finishers)
22         DAVID PRINCIPE             M50      1/127    2:44:48.4 CMS    
26         ED SHELDON                  M53      2/127    2:45:40.3 CMS    
56         DAVID CONSIGLI             M52      3/127    2:55:12.9          
60          DAVE DUNHAM                 M53       4/127   2:57:10.9 CMS 
66         PAUL DAVIES                  M50      5/127    2:57:41.4          
74         MARK ENGERMAN            M50      6/127    2:58:55.8          
76         EJ HRYNOWSKI              M55      7/127    2:59:11.8          
78         MARK BEHAN                  M54      8/127    2:59:24.4          
 

Stowe cross-country Festival (10/28)–   I wouldn't have normally raced so soon after a marathon (6 days post-Baystate) but this was part of the USATF NE XC grand prix.  You can only miss one race in the series and I already missed one as it was the same weekend as Bretton Woods.  Eric Morse met up with me and we headed out for a 3 mile warm-up preview of the course.  It reminded me a lot of Northfield.  The trails were XC ski trails so wide and grassy.  I was very happy with a top 25 finish and a victory in the 50+, both of which were a pleasant surprise.   Eric joined me for an easy 2 mile warm-down then
 
Place     O-all pl Time      Age        Name    Team
1          22         20:36     53         Dave Dunham     CMS
2          28         21:13     58         Tony Bates         GMAA
3          30         21:40     55         Chris Kelly          HFC Striders
4          31         21:48     53         Matt Gallagher     GMAA
5          34         22:02     53         Mike Early          GMAA
6          35         22:03     53         Matt Guild           GMAA
7          39         22:24     54         Jeff Shedd          GMAA
8          49         24:59     51         Steven Stetson   
9          56         26:11     56         Chris Diehl          HFC Striders
10         57         26:12     54         Peter Newman