35 years ago (May 1988): I had a pretty good month, taking home a win and a personal best along the way. I started the month running a local race in Lowell (The Fred Slavin 5 mile). I topped the field of 300 with a 25:11. A week later (05/14) I set a personal best at 10k at the New England Athletics Congress (NEAC now USATF NE) with a 29:17. I went with the large pack through early miles of 4:47, 4:43, and 4:46 before things broke up. I hung onto a smaller group through four miles (4:49) and then was on my own in fourth place closing out the race with a 4:45 and a 4:40. The following weekend I ran another 10k, this time in Maynard MA. Temps in the 70s and muggy conditions met the field of just under 1,000. I was aiming to run 5:05 pace as a “hard workout” and ran with Dennis Simoniatis to 6th place in 31:33. That was a tune-up for the Bolder Boulder 10k in Colorado. I was invited to the race and as such ran in the 120 strong field of elites, not in the open race of 10,000 runners. There was money for top finishers and bonus money for anyone under 32 minutes. I had mocked Dennis for running 32:04 and missing out on $200 by 5 seconds. I should have kept my mouth shut as I ran THE same time, placing 37th. The altitude and rolling hills took a toll.
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