Next up was the Longfellow Frostbite 2.5km race in Portland Maine. Longtime teammate Eric Morse was planning on running with his pup (Murdock) and his GF Chris was running with her dog as well (Gracie). I got in a triple on Saturday running with the guys in Chelmsford then heading to Concord before closing out the day with a run on Mackworth Island (Falmouth ME). The island had a 1.5 mile loop and featured a pet cemetery for Governor Baxter’s dogs. The island was quite popular, even on a chilly and breezy winter day. I nabbed one of the few remaining parking spots. The trail was nice with some pretty ocean views, but mostly I had to keep an eye on my footing as it was a bit icy and muddy. I met up with Eric and Chris later in the day and then watched the USATF track championships while winding down.
Eric and I got in a 3.5 mile pre-warm-up-warm-up running a couple of loops around the Mall of Maine. It was a good opportunity to catch up with Eric and loosen up before heading to downtown Portland. I was fairly early and grabbed my number at race headquarters before heading out for a proper 3 mile warm-up that included a preview of the course. Although billed as a 2.5k (1.55 miles) it looked to be about .1 long (1.65 miles). It would only have two turns, both 180 degrees as we headed uphill for .4 then proceeded downhill past the start and another .4 to the final turn then a slight uphill final .4 to the finish. I was hoping to break 6’s which is about my current 5k pace. If all went well I hoped to muster low 5:40 pace (based on running a 5:28 mile earlier this year). I switched into race flats and did another mile with some strides. Ugh, I felt tired and slow and just not “feeling it”.
The field was already lined up when I got to the start and the Race Director was going over some instructions. He yelled at Eric to get to the back “the very back” of the field or he’d disqualify him. I get it that it isn’t a dog race, but it does allow dogs. Eric obviously knows how to race with Murdock and he was well off to the side. This would now mean that they’d have to pass through the 100 plus people. Eric didn’t seem too concerned but I thought it unfair. I’d looked around at the start and didn’t see anyone who looked like they’d be competitive. Darren Winchenbach had introduced himself, we had raced at the indoor 5k last month, and noted the field looked “weak”.
A little 10-year-old kid shot out at the start and Darren went with him. I slowly got up to speed and caught Darren about 200 meters in. The kid was tough, I didn’t catch him until just before the turn at 4/10ths of a mile. After the turn I knew it’d be a nice steady downhill and I worked it as hard as I could. Eric gave me a nice cheer as he went by (already into the top 20). I heard a lot of people cheering for “Kristin” so I knew someone was still pretty close as I went by the start/finish. It seemed to take forever to get to the final turn. I counted about 10 seconds before Kristin went by so I had a little less than 20 seconds lead with .4 to go. I felt I pushed hard for the line and was happy to hold on for a win in 9:26. Most got 1.65 for a distance (I got 1.63) so I can’t gripe too much about a 5:43 pace…and certainly no griping about a win! Kristin Barry took second 19 seconds back. She is a two-time Olympic trials marathon qualifier and a member of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. Good company to be in! Eric and Murdock had a great race running 6:35 pace and cracking the top 10. Not bad for a 57 year old and a 13 year old dog.
2 9:45 5:55 Kristin Barry F 49 Scarborough ME 81.8 1 F40-49
3 9:55 6:01 Darren Winchenbach M 41 Saco ME 64.8 1 M40-49
4 10:02 6:05 J Manguson M 10 Falmouth ME 73.5 1 M10-19
5 10:08 6:08 Brian Barry M 49 Scarborough ME 67.5 2 M40-49
6 10:43 6:30 Michael Griffin M 59 Yarmouth ME 69.3 2 M50-59
7 10:48 6:33 Peter Lodge M 58 Biddeford ME 68.2 3 M50-59
8 10:49 6:33 Michael Friedland M 51 South Portland ME 64.2 4 M50-59
9 10:50 6:34 Steven Dubois M 50 Lisbon Falls ME 63.6 5 M50-59
10 10:52 6:35 Eric Morse M 57 Berlin VT 67.2 6 M50-59
11 11:07 6:44 David Edwards M 63 Pownal ME 69.2 1 M60+
12 11:09 6:45 Emma Schwartz F 29 Portland ME 61.5 1 F20-29
13 11:17 6:50 Evi Englert X 35 South Portland ME
14 11:21 6:53 CJ Opperthauser M 33 Portland ME 53.7 1 M30-39
15 11:21 6:53 Stephen Lee M 59 Falmouth ME 65.4 7 M50-59
16 11:22 6:53 Rebecca Weston F 45 Bridgton ME 66.8 2 F40-49
17 11:36 7:02 James O'Keefe M 59 Yarmouth ME 64 8 M50-59
18 11:38 7:03 James Dorsey M 51 Buxton ME 59.7 9 M50-59
19 11:47 7:08 J Magnuson M 12 Falmouth ME 59 2 M10-19
20 11:52 7:12 Kevub Ludena M 45 Scarborough ME 55.8 3 M40-49
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