Looking aback - July 2018

 Busy month with a lot of racing and some travel.

Carson 2 mile (Chelmsford 4th of July race):   I ran my first Chelmsford 4th of July race back in 1984.  Back then there were only 100 finishers!  I’ve only run the race twice in the last 12 years, mostly due to conflicts with the Loon Mountain race.  Luckily this year it timed out perfectly with Chelmsford mid-week and Loon on Sunday.

 I got to Chelmsford by 8am for the 9:30 start and was surprised to park next to (UML 1997) Phil Cootey.  After some chatting I went over and picked up my number and bumped into Bob Sullivan (pictured right), the race director and heck of a guy and Tom Hildreth (also a heck of a guy, known him since my high school days).  I collected my number and a 2018 "Sullivan Farms Racing Team" singlet.  I was rocking the 1999 version, which was the last time I'd won the race.  I met up with teammate Jim Pawlicki (below) and we struck a time to warm-up.  It was now 85 degrees and drippingly humid.

The start line is pretty wide which is great for 2,000 starters.  Inevitably there are a lot of little kids on the line which can be pretty dangerous.  They go out hard but after 100 or 200 they are done and basically stop which can me a collision.  If you make it under the highway safely you will be fine.  I set my garmin to beep every 1/4 mile and was hoping to hit 82's which would get me under 11 minutes.  The course drops 10' in the first 1/4 mile then climbs 60' in the next mile.  From 1.25 it drops 55' in 1/2 mile before climbing 20' in the last 1/4 mile.  That last quarter always seems BRUTAL.

I had hoped to break 11, and as I approached the finish I saw the clock at 10:50 and it ticked and tocked and I gave all I had.  Ugh.  I just missed it.  Official time of 11:01.  Can't complain, it was my fastest 2 mile since 2012.  

JOHN CARSON 2 MILE ROAD RACE      July 4, 2018           2 Miles               Chelmsford, Mass.

Place Div/Tot  Div   Time    Pace  Name                   Ag S Race# City/state                

===== ======== ===== ======= ===== ======================

    1   1/137  M1929    8:50  4:25 Louis Serafini         26 M     1 Brighton MA (ties CR)

    2   2/137  M1929    9:15  4:38 Neal Darmody           28 M     2 Bow NH                 

    3   1/117  M3039    9:23  4:42 Brian Harvey           31 M    34 Cambridge MA           

    4   1/153  F1929    9:54  4:57 Katrina Coogan         24 F    24 Cambridge MA (New CR)          

    26   1/116  M5059   11:01  5:31 Dave Dunham            54 M    69 Bradford MA  CMS         

   35   4/159  M4049   11:20  5:40 James Pawlicki         43 M    44 Lynn MA      CMS          

   39   2/116  M5059   11:29  5:45 Terry McNatt           53 M   101 Needham MA   CSU  

Next up was Loon Mountain (USA Mountain running championship): I was pretty excited to be heading back to Loon for yet another Mountain running national championship.  This would be my last one in the 50-54 age group and I wanted to make a good showing. 

The first ¼ mile has a bunch of quick tight turns and my number 1 goal was to not get trampled.  It was your basic Cross-Country race start with people flying all over the place trying to get position, which is kind of funny as this is a very wide course and most people would be out there for a lot more than 1 hour.  

Once we exited the XC section the MOUNTAIN part of the mountain race starts.  The first climb isn’t that long but you have a lot of race left.  After a quick downhill we hit the grass climb.  This is my favorite part of the course.  So many people start walking here!  

As I turned the corner onto the Upper Walking Boss I got into my short-stride rapid turnover climbing gait and quickly closed on a few guys.  I ended up passing 6 guys on the climb (I had the 19^th fastest time of the day on UWB).  

I managed to hold my place and take Gold in the 50-54 finishing 38^th overall and 5^th over the age of 40.  Jim came in about 35 seconds later and Erik another minute after to score the Silver and Bronze.  Steve came in right after Erik and that would be our masters team (40+) that would take the win.  Dave La was 10^th in the 50+ and our third man on the winning 50+ team.  Paul Baz led the way in the 60+ as CMS also got a win in that team category.  The only division we didn’t win was the Open where we took Bronze.  All in all a great day for the team!

Top 10 in the 50-54

1          1:01:47  Dave Dunham                 54         Bradford, MA       CMS

2          1:02:24  Jim Boule                       51         Campton, NH      aR

3          1:03:58  Erik Vandendries              53         Chstnt Hill, MA    CMS

4          1:07:02  Chris Smith                     52         Woburn, MA        SRR

5          1:07:10  Sean Snow                     51         Dunbarton, NH   

6          1:09:51  Jeff Walker                     52         Falmouth, ME      Dirigo

7          1:10:41  Neil Wheaton                  50         Winchester, MA  

8          1:12:40  Ray Johnson                   54         Littleton, MA      

9          1:12:55  Peter Burke                     50         Westbrook, ME    Dirigo

10         1:13:21  David Lapierre                 54         Chelmsford, MA   CMS

                                                                                               

13         1:15:46  Paul Young                     52         N Andover, MA    CMS

17         1:20:01  Ed Sheldon                     53         Hooksett, NH      CMS

Switching gears of sorts, I headed for trails - USATF NE Trail running championships (Running with the Beavers 10 mile) 07/14/18:  When I saw that teammate Bob Jackman was hosting the USATF NE trail championships at the "Run with the Beavers" I was interested.   It is always a good idea to check out the course, or at least part of it, prior to the race.  It was rocky, twisty, and rolling.  Not my kind of race but, GAME ON!

 About 300 runners shot out at the start and it wasn't too bad.  I caught sight of teammate Jim Pawlicki who I hoped to key off of.  I also saw that fellow 50+ runner Chris Smith (SRR) was out there running well.  Kassandra Marin was leading the way for the ladies and a couple of places ahead of me, which is typical as she can start quicker than me.

 I passed Kassandra with about a mile to go before the end of the first loop and could see Chris about 30 seconds ahead.  He started to slow right before the end of the loop and as I passed through in 34:30 I thought I had a shot at him.

It was good to know what the course was like, it made the second lap go by a bit quicker (mentally not actual time).    It was a bit crowded over the last 2 miles as we were catching people on their first loop.

I hit the finish in 1:10:21, so my second lap was 35:51 compared to my 34:30 first lap.  

USATF NE trail championships – 07/14/18 (176 finishers)                                                                                                   

1          1:01:48  BRANDON NEWBOULD     36M      WRT                  1          MO

2          1:02:10  SCOTT MINDEL               31M      CMS                  2          MO

3          1:03:49  TATE KNIGHT                 22M                              3          MO

4          1:04:40  RYAN CARRARA               41M      Battle Rd            1          M40

5          1:05:06  CHRIS MAHONEY             40M      CMS                  2          M40

6          1:05:54  MATT VEIGA                   31M      CMS                  4          MO

7          1:06:20  TODD CALLAGHAN           48M      CMS                  3          M40

8          1:07:22  TIM Van Orden                50M      CMS                  1          M50

9          1:07:22  STEVE BRIGHTMAN          49M      CMS                  4          M40

10         1:07:44  JONATHAN HAMMETT       42M      WTAC                5          M40

11         1:08:00  MICHAEL LUEBECK           33M      GLRR                 5          MO

13         1:08:39  JAMES PAWLICKI             43M      CMS                  6          M40

16         1:10:21  DAVE DUNHAM                54M      CMS                  2          M50

                                                                                               

Top 50+ (33 finishers)                                                                                                          

8          1:07:22  TIM Van Orden                50M      CMS                  1          M50

16         1:10:21  DAVE DUNHAM                54M      CMS                  2          M50

19         1:11:36  CHRIS SMITH                  52M      SRR                   3          M50

28         1:15:57  WARREN ANGELL             55M      White Pond         4          M50

29         1:16:37  PAUL YOUNG                  52M      CMS                  5          M50

Time for something really unusual - Run & Paddle “World Championships  07/19/18: I heard about the World Run Paddle Biathlon championships while at one of the NHTI races.

The course was a double loop on the trails around NHTI.  The course was basically flat and the footing was excellent, no rocks or roots just grass and some dirt.  I was hoping to run around 6’s during the race.

 Part one of the race: The turnout was about the same as last year (15-20) and there were a number of categories (canoe, kayak, SUP) along with some doing it as a relay. I shot out into the lead right away with two guys right behind me.  It was so dry and I had cotton-mouth right away.  Ugh. At ½ mile my watch beeped and I was 3:01. Close to go.  I mustered a bit of a kick and reached the exchange (2.4 miles) in 14:09 or 6:02’s. Pretty close to what I hoped for.

 Part two of the race: I wished I had left some water at the kayak as I was still very thirsty. It took me 51 seconds to gather up the kayak and drag it to the Merrimack River and launch. I hit my Garmin watch again to get a separate time for the kayak.  I had no real goal pace as I wasn’t experienced enough to have any idea. I navigated the shallows without running aground and was again on the nice part of the course.   I “kicked” it in and covered the last ½ mile in 6:11. I almost fell in the water getting out as my legs were wobbly.  The last 50 meters dragging the kayak up the hill was not easy!  TI ended up finishing in 4^th place overall.  I won my category (Individual Kayaker 50+) and was the first finisher in a recreational (rather than a racing) boat. I guess I can say I won a World Championship!

 World Run Paddle Biathlon Championships - Concord NH - July 19, 2018 (2.4 mile XC race & 2.5 mile paddle)

Place Div/Tot  Name                           Ag S Category                                    Time   

===== ======== ==================== == = ==== =====

    1   1/3    CROSBY TAYMORE           25 M KAYAK INDIVIDUAL 18-49          42:40

    2   1/2    DAVE DUGAS                   65 M CANOE TEAM 50+                      44:59

    3   1/2    HANNAH RUBIN               20 F CANOE TEAM 18-49                    46:10

    4   1/2    DAVE DUNHAM             54 M KAYAK INDIVIDUAL 50+      48:12

    5   1/2    DENAE DOSTAL               36 F CANOE TEAM COUPLE 18-49       49:43

    6   2/3    JOHNNY SANCHEZ           23 M CANOE TEAM 18-49                   50:21

    7   2/2    AMY THORNTON              31 F CANOE TEAM 18-49                    50:23

    8   2/2    KEVIN PASCOE                 53 M KAYAK INDIVIDUAL 50+            51:41

    9   2/2    PETER HEED                    68 M CANOE INDIVIDUAL 50+            53:23

   10   1/1    DAVE KENNEY                 44 M S.U.P. TEAM 18-49                     55:59

   11   1/1    JONATHAN MCDONALD    13 M CANOE INDIVIDUAL 13-17          1:00:16

   12   1/1    EUGENE CONN                32 M CANOE INDIVIDUAL 18-49          1:06:58

   13   2/2    RACHEL KEAN                 19 F  KAYAK INDIVIDUAL 18-49          1:14:01

   14   3/3    THOMAS KEAN                21 M KAYAK INDIVIDUAL 18-49          1:14:02

   15   1/1    JULIE NICKNAIRKEAN      51 F  KAYAK INDIVIDUAL 50+            1:14:20

   16   1/1    BECKY MCDONALD          49 F  S.U.P. INDIVIDUAL 18-49           1:17:28

 Then it was back to the roads for the - Bill Luti 5 mile 07/21/18: Short turnaround for this race.  I was sore from paddling and even feeling the lingering soreness (ankles and hip) from the trail race.  I hadn't run the Luti race in 10 years but was excited to be back.   I was focused on my fellow CARS runners and my 50+ competitors.  Scott would be in the mix along with Brian Ruhm (GCS), Alex McHenry (GMAA), Charlie Bemis (WRT), and Rob Edson (UVRC).

 I had a lot of back and forth during the race with Mark Laprade and Jacqueline Slimine.  I made one last move on the grass and kicked it in for all I was worth on the last 100 meters of track.  It wasn't pretty but it was a 29:37, pretty close to what I'd hoped for. I ended up taking 26th place overall and first in the 50+.  

MALE AGE GROUP:  50 to 59

Place O'All Time     Name                     Age Sex Race# Hometown                  

    1    26   29:37  Dave Dunham          54 M      17 Bradford MA            

    2    31   30:18  Scott Clark               52 M     198 Gilmanton NH           

    3    33   30:39  Brian Ruhm              53 M     473 Hollis NH              

    4    34   30:47  Alex McHenry           52 M     275 South Burlington VT    

    5    38   31:21  Charlie Bemis           55 M     450 Derry NH               

    6    44   32:02  Rob Edson               54 M     439 Canaan NH              

    7    49   32:31  Charles Whalen        56 M     350 Bretton Woods NH       

    8    50   32:35  Paul Donovan           53 M     385 Hollis NH              

    9    53   32:46  Dan Dipiro               52 M     299 Manchester NH          

    10  64   33:39  John Singelais          59 M     373 Temple NH              

 

Overall results

Place Gun  Chip Pace Name      Age Sex Cat

1 25:07 25:06 5:02 Neal Darmody 28 M MTOP3 Bow NH

2 25:25 25:24 5:05 Brian Harvey 31 M MTOP3 Cambridge MA

3 26:01 26:00 5:12 Justin Freeman 41 M MTOP3 Campton NH

Quick change of pace - Mount Borah (Idaho State High Point) 07/27/18: Eric Morse and I have been working on visiting the highest point in each of the lower 48 (I’ve also got Hawaii).  For many of the states we’ve run to the top and back.  As we get down to the final few we won’t be able to run them as most of what we have left have technical aspects (climbing, glaciers, etc.).  With four left (ID, WY, WA, MT) I’m hoping to do one each year, but the more difficult ones may require multiple attempts.  Thus far we’ve only been unable to complete one climb (due to a delayed flight of all things!).  

I was a bit nervous about this trip as I’m not good on technical climbing and Mt Borah has a feature called “Chicken-out Ridge”.  We got a guide through Sawtooth Mountain guides which helped easy the worry as the days ticked down to the climb.  I headed up to Eric’s house Wednesday after work and we were up at 3am on Thursday for a pre-flight run with Murdoch (super running dog).  Our 6am flight got us into Salt Lake City by noon and we were in Pocatello Idaho by 3 pm for our afternoon run.  Although it was hot (90s) and the altitude was around 5,000’ we still had “fun” running an out/back course on the Lower City Creek Trail.  Mostly it was nice because there was a bit of shade.  A few hours later we rolled into Arco ID (the first town to get its electricity from nuclear power) and after our long day we were sacked out by 8:30pm.

We were up at 3:30am and got the coffee flowing and had a bit of Gatorade as we completed the hour drive to the trailhead.  We got there about 20 minutes before our scheduled meeting time which gave us a few minutes to complete final preparations.  Our guide (Marc) showed up a few minutes later.  He had our additional gear (poles, helmets, harnesses) and quickly made sure we had our other required gear.  Off we went at 5:06am under clear skies and a full moon.  The temps in the mid-40s felt great as we started climbing.  The trail starts at 7,000’ and we were at sea-level 24 hours before so it was a bit of a chore but nothing crazy.  Marc set a very good speed and we chatted away for the first 1:45 in which we covered the 3 miles to “Chicken Out Ridge”.  We roped up and 12 minutes later we were past the ridge and over the snow section.  Marc was great guiding us carefully and talking us through wear to go.  Having the rope gave me a lot of confidence and I wasn’t really scared at all (just slow trying to find footholds and bend myself…boy I’m not very flexible).  We still had a mile to go and another 1,000’ to climb.  A couple who were aiming for a PR came up on us and passed by as we closed on the summit.  We hit the top 3:27 after we had started.  The running couple were the only ones on top at this early hour.  We spent 16 minutes taking pictures and I had another gel and some Gatorade (I’d drink a liter of water, a little Gatorade, and 3 gels over the entire hike).  Then we were off for the second part of the hike (and the part least liked).  Marc kept reminding me to not “pat the dog” which is using your hands on the rock for more balance, but I just am not stable enough to avoid patting the dog constantly.  My running gloves developed holes from overuse!  We roped up again at the snow crossing and started meeting up with people on their way up.  It didn’t slow us much as the ridge seemed a bit easier in this direction.  Soon enough we were over the ridge and back to un-roping.  At that point the pace increased and Eric and I both basically jogged as Marc set a fantastic pace while not breaking into a run.  The last few miles seemed to take forever as the constant down was taking a bit of a toll.  We hit the trailhead 2:57 after starting our descent for a total round trip (including all stops) of 6:40.  We were happy, and Marc even more so as he noted it was his fastest time on this peak while guiding.  It certainly left plenty of time for our afternoon runs!

 

Last up - Yankee Homecoming – This was the 11^th time I’ve done the 10 mile Yankee Homecoming race in Newburyport but the first time I’ve done it in a decade.  I’m not a fan of night races and being on a Tuesday in the summer aren’t exactly selling points for this one.  Team manager Jim Pawlicki was looking to fill out the masters team and I was hoping to race this week so the stars just aligned.  

Wow, everyone just took off at the start.  I checked my watch at ½ mile and I was 3:07 so it was “quick”.  I could see all of my 50+ foes up ahead and pulling away.  I passed 5 miles in 31:50 (6:22 pace).  My 6:20 goal seemed reachable although there were a couple of tough little hills in the second half.

The final little uphill in front of the school hurt but I managed to kick to the line and cross in under 1:03 (barely) with a 1:02:58.  My second five miles was 31:08 (6:13 pace) and I ended up taking 2^nd place in the 50+ trailing only Charlie Bemis who smoked a 1:01:24.

CMS took home the overall win and the masters (40+) as well.  I was fourth man on the 40+ team so I guess I did help fill out the squad.

 

1          Ruben Sanca       51:26     5:09      M30      CHELMSFORD, MA           Whirlaway 

2          Dan Vassallo       52:33     5:16      M33      PEABODY, MA                 CMS

3          Garrett Kenyon    53:04     5:19      M24      BEAVER DAMS, NY          

 

CMS finishers                                                                                                                           

10         Chris Mahoney    57:26     5:45      M40      WESTFORD, MA               CMS

14         Dj Raboin           58:05     5:49      M26      LUNENBURG, MA             CMS

15         Patrick Rich         58:06     5:49      M41      S HAMILTON, MA             CMS

21         Kevin Hankens    58:46     5:53      M40      SALEM, MA                     CMS

39         Dave Dunham     1:02:58  6:18      M54      HAVERHILL, MA               CMS

43         James Pawlicki     1:03:05  6:19      M43      LYNN, MA                       CMS

60         Pat Fullerton       1:05:18  6:32      M29      HAVERHILL, MA               CMS

49         Nick Taormina     1:04:01  6:25      M45      GLOUCESTER, MA                        CMS

                                                                                                           

Top 50+                                                                                                                                     

1          Charlie Bemis      1:01:22  6:09      M55      M5559   DERRY, NH         Whirlaway 

2          Dave Dunham     1:02:58  6:18      M54      M5054   HAVERHILL, MA   CMS

3          Joe O'Leary        1:03:03  6:19      M50      M5054   MEDFORD, MA    SRR

4          Christopher Smith 1:04:17  6:26      M52      M5054   WOBURN, MA      SRR

5          Paul Crochiere     1:04:38  6:28      M59      M5559   AMESBURY, MA  

6          Chris Kealey        1:05:15  6:32      M50      M5054   NWBRYPRT, MA   WCRC

7          Titus Nzwili         1:06:26  6:39      M53      M5054   DRCHSTER, MA   GBTC

8          Douglas Cook     1:07:02  6:43      M54      M5054   BILLERICA, MA    GLRR

9          Spiro Agnew        1:07:03  6:43      M50      M5054   GLOUCESTER, MA           

10         Joe Gurczak        1:07:56  6:48      M51      M5054   NWBRYPRT, MA   WCRC

11         Paul Hammond    1:08:29  6:51      M58      M5559   LEXINGTON, MA  WRT