Old Goat TC XC classic

 I was on the fence about racing this week but the USATF New England cross-country grand prix kicked off at the Old Goat TC XC Classic.  It seems weird having XC start so early, especially for a series that only has five races.  I was happy to see that CMS would have a team and it looked like we’d have a decent 50+ squad which is always fun.  I did not bike that morning figuring I wanted “fresh” legs, but I did go out for an easy 3 miles to loosen up a bit.  A 6am trot in the Industrial Park should have little impact on an 11am race.  Ugh, I hate races that start that late.  It really ruins the entire day.  We lucked out that it wasn’t super-hot although it seemed fairly humid as I got in a 3 mile warm-up with teammate Dave Harper.  The scenery in Sutton MA was pretty impressive as the farm was located pretty high up in the hills.  The course itself was also very nice with 99% of it being deep grass.  This would be true XC racing, road racing flats would not be the best choice for this course!

 

I went with my Inov-8 trail shoes, mostly because my spikes would be a bad choice due to a poorly timed blister I had on my heel.  It was nice to see a bunch of familiar faces from GLRR, GSH, and HFC lining up at the start.  A solid field of 114 took off on the multiple loop course.  I was hoping that I’d be able to break 7:00 pace considering my training and the footing on the course.  I headed out at what felt right and found myself well in the back (maybe a dozen people behind me), but I was focused on watching my footing and staying on my feet.  Teammate Scott Grandfield wasn’t so lucky as he got knocked down a quarter mile into the race and had to abandon.  I settled in and found that I was passing a few people by the 1km mark.  John Barbour (who I’ve been racing for at least 30 years) went by around the 1km mark.  He’d be the only person to pass me.  I locked onto him and we passed some people here and there as we clicked off the next couple of kilometers.  I pulled even with him near the 3k mark and he said “go get ‘em” and I promptly fell BACK.  Go figure, he surged a bit and that’d be the last I ran with him.  I was able to keep him close until 4km but had no kick.  He’d beat me by 15 seconds.  Now I have someone to aim for at the next race in two weeks!  Our squad did great despite our limited numbers.  We took 7^th in the open and 3^rd in the 40+.  Steve Brightman was the top 50+ finisher and Warren Angell was first in the 60+.

 

Pl            Time       Name                    Team                     City        St            Age         Pace

1             16:05     Colin Cernik          Tracksmith           Brighton MA         29           5:11

2             16:31     Jackson Kelly        Tracksmith           Boston   MA         25           5:19

3             16:36     Youssef Zerbouaa Battle Road TC    Cambridge MA    23           5:21

 

45           18:42     Steve Brightman  CMS       Providence           RI            54           6:01

72           20:30     David Harper        CMS       Leominster           MA         56           6:36

77           20:50     Warren Angell      CMS       Wakefield             RI            60           6:43

82           21:33     Dave Dunham      CMS       Bradford               MA         59           6:57

88           22:53     Stanley Mungai   CMS       Worcester            MA         26           7:22

96           24:09     James Pawlicki     CMS       Lynn                      MA         48           7:47