NMH 132nd annual Pie Race

 I'd heard about the Northfield Mount Hermon cross country race from Sarah Prescott (class of 1984).  It sounded like a "bucket list" type of race with all of the history involved.  The Pie Race is the oldest continuously held race in the USA.  I've run the Boston Marathon, the world's oldest marathon and The Dipsea race the oldest trail race in the country.  The NMH race may claim to have the roots of the running boom as Frank Shorter ran it in 1965 (it was his first race).

The race is held on a Monday afternoon, so typically this would have kept me from running. This week I'm on vacation and was headed to CT on Monday so it worked out well.  I was a bit tired from racing the day before but with a goal of finishing in the top 25 (top 25 overall and top 25 40+ get a pie) I figured I had a decent shot.

I got there a bit early and had plenty of time to get out and preview the course.  It was a mix of turf, road, cart paths, and rugged terrain.  There was about 300' of climb and drop...it would not be an easy race!  I did another mile on the beautiful track before heading to the line.  Unfortunately the 315 start was a loose estimate and the race didn't kick-off until 330.  One of the NMH kids asked me what I was aiming for (maybe because I was one of the few people warming up) and he seemed happy that my goal was top 25 as he noted most of his teammates were tired as the season ended over the weekend with the New England championship.

About 150 took off at a sprint.  I counted 30 kids ahead of me at the first turn (200 meters in).  Reality began to set in soon after and by 1/2 mile (3:10) I had moved up to 20th place.  I slowly gained on quick starters and by the mile (6:15) I'd moved up to 15th place.  At that point we hit the XC trails which were pretty rough with roots and rocks, but the course was clear of leaves and you could pick your spots.  I moved up to the top 10 by 1.5 miles and with a few good climbs I found myself in 6th place by the 2 mile mark (6:52/13:07).  The volunteer at 2m noted "it's all downhill from here".  I closed a little on 5th place but never got too close and I'd pulled away from any challengers.  I crossed the line in 6th place and first in the 40+ with a 19:39.

                                       

I capped off the evening with a warm-down with Sarah (who finished third in the 40+!) as she took me on a tour of the campus.  It was 40 years ago when she first ran this race.  Amazing!