15 years ago - June 2011: The month started with a lot of promise and lofty goals and ended with a DNS (did not start) at the US Mountain championships due to injury.  I started off (06/05/11) with Rhody 5k (USATF NE 5k) in Lincoln RI.  We had a nice day with temps around 70 and low humidity. I may have pushed a bit too hard on the only hill on the course (leading up to the 2- mile mark). I just didn’t have the wheels to get moving after that and kicked in with a 16:36 which was only good enough for 12th in the 40+.  Our masters team did take 2nd place and I scored, which was a bonus.

CMS 40+

36      5/93   15:59 5:09 Greg Putnam              41 Wakefield MA     

49      9/93   16:15 5:14 George Adams           41 Gilsum NH         

56      11/93 16:24 5:17 Joe Shairs                  43 Peabody MA      

64      13/93 16:36 5:21 Dave Dunham 47 Bradford MA

69      17/93 16:44 5:24 Daniel Verrington        48 Bradford MA

89      23/93 17:33 5:39 David Quintal             48 Salem NH

100     26/93 18:03 5:49 John Pajer                  48 Leicester MA      

The following weekend (06/12/11) I convinced Steve Vaitones to add the 10,000 to the schedule for the USATF NE track championships in Weston, MA.  I then reached out to my teammates and we ended up making up most of the field of nine runners.  I settled into last place at the start and went around Dave Quintal before the 200 meter mark; he would be the only person I’d pass in the 25 laps around the oval. I ended up taking 7th and missed my masters best by 9 seconds. CMS dominated the event taking second through eighth place.

 

Switching gear again, this time head to the mountains (06/19/11) for the Mt Washington road race.  I’d stayed away from mountain racing so far this year. Based on my road times and the mileage I’d been putting in I felt I was in shape to run close to my masters PR (1:09:08). The heavy rain came down during our warm-up then stopped just before the race started. I slowly moved through some fast starters and by 2 miles found myself right behind Craig Fram. We were consistently running 4 seconds behind my stretch goal pace, so I knew I was going to be close to my 40+ PR.  Conditions were just about ideal with very little wind above tree-line. At 7 miles I knew I’d be very close to my 40+ PR and if I kept it together, I’d break Andy Ames age 47 record (1:09:33). I ended up finishing 17th and 3rd in the 40+ in 1:09:11, three seconds shy of my masters PR. I was surprised to later learn that I also scored (5th man) for the winning CMS open team. Our 40+ team also won, demolishing the field!

 

1 M2034 1:01:32 Rickey Gates               30 M Woody Creek CO       SSR

2 M3539 1:01:42 Tommy Manning         35 M Colorado Sprs CO     

3 M3539 1:03:31 Matthew Byrne           36 M Scranton PA   

5 M4549 1:04:33 Simon Gutierrez          45 M Alamosa CO   

6 M2034 1:04:45 Peter Maksimow          32 M Maintou Sprgs CO     CMS

10 M2034 1:06:59 Kevin Tilton               29 M North Conway NH     CMS

11 M4549 1:07:09 Francis Burdett          46 M Worcester MA CMS

12 M2034 1:07:22 Jim Johnson              34 M Salem NH       CMS

15 M5054 1:08:50 Craig Fram                52 M Plaistow NH    WHIRL

17 M4549 1:09:11 Dave Dunham           47 M Bradford MA    CMS

23 M4044 1:11:51 Tim Van Orden          43 M Bennington VT CMS

37 M4549 1:16:01 Ernest Brake             49 M North Sutton NH       CMS

40 M4549 1:16:41 Dan Verrington          48 M Bradford MA    CMS

47 M4549 1:17:52 David Quintal            48 M   Salem NH     CMS

89 M6064 1:27:01 Judge Jones              60 M Billerica MA     CMS

117 M4549 1:29:37 Stephen Peterson    45 M Chelmsford MA          CMS

  

The week after Mt Washington was a recovery week for me. My calf was definitely strained so I headed to Pinnacle Physical Therapy in hopes of a miracle. I was able to run (slowly) but it felt like a giant knot in my calf, needless to say I was worried about the prospect of running up/down Cranmore Mountain (site of the US mountain championships) on a balky calf muscle.  Over the weekend I visited some fire towers in Northern NH and my calf went into full blown spasm and that was the end of my mountain running for a while.

Looking back - June 2006

 20 years ago – June 2006: I raced four times during this month, all of the races were in the mountains.  I started the month (06/04/06) with a disappointing third place at Pack Monadnock.  The disappointment was due to being outkicked over the last tenth of a mile which would have gotten me tops in the 40+.  The following weekend (06/10/06) I directed the Northfield Mountain race and also picked up a top 10 finish and 2^nd place in the 40+.  I ran 40:12 over the 6.5 mile up & down course and Dan Verrington was top master 50 seconds ahead of me.  Next up (06/17/06) was the Mt Washington road race where I set a 40+ personal best (1:09:30) which was five minutes behind masters winner Simon Gutierrez.  I took solace as this was the USA mountain running championships and my club (CMS) took home first place!  My final race of the month (06/24/06) was the USATF NE mountain championships at Loon Mountain.  I placed 7^th overall (53:53) and 2^nd in the 40+ to Coloradan Andy Ames (52:05).

Pack Monadnock

1 1:03:55      Paul Low       M        32      Belchertown MA                CMS

2 1:06:37      Randy Macneil         M        44      Epping NH   

3 1:06:40      Dave Dunham         M        42      Bradford MA            CMS

4 1:07:54      Erik Johnson  M        29      Newmarket NH       

5 1:09:14      Ken Tripp      M        36      Amesbury MA   

Looking back - June 2001

 25 Years ago - June of 2001: I raced five times, four mountain races and one road race. The first race (06/03/01) was a second place finish at Pack Monadnock. Eric Morse took the win in 59:07 and I took second place in 59:40. A week later (06/09/01) we tied on Whiteface Mountain an 8 mile climb in Wilmington NY. Neither of us wanted to try and break it open, so late in the race we decided to finish together. The 56:27 we ran is still the course record. Nikki Kimball also set a CR that day with her victory in 1:11:56. The following day (06/10/01) I did my only road race of the month, the Khoury’s 4.13. I finished 5th in 22:37 and have no memory of this race at all (maybe that is a good thing). The following weekend (06/16/01) I took second place on a hot and humid day at Mt Washington. The temperature was 86 at the base and 64 at the top as I ran 1:04:20 and picked up $500 for my efforts. The final race of the month (06/23/01) was the Ascutney hill climb where Eric (28:47) again beat me as I took second place in 29:39.

Week Ending 06/07/26

 Another week of limping on an arthritic ankle. Haven't been able to shake it (yet). I reached the Mendoza line (8 min miles) near the end of the week. Felt very good running on the Rockingham rail trail and balanced that with feeling terrible the next day on the Freeman rail trail. Such is the way of things. Had another very nice ride on Sunday, really enjoying the time on the bike. Hoping to ride the Lamoille on vacation.

Week - 84

Month - 84

Year - 1,846

Life - 168,846

Looking back - June 1996

 30 years ago – June 1996: I raced four times during this month.  Two mountain races and two road races.  I started the month (06/02/1996) with a win and a course record at the Pack Monadnock 10 mile.  My 59:13 knocked 17 seconds off of my record from 1992.

1 59:13         Dave Dunham         M 32   Bradford MA            CMS

2 1:01:28      Mike Casner            M 33   Parts Unknown        CMS

3 1:06:27      Ed Sheldon             M 31   Manchester NH       

4 1:07:00      Kevin Hynes            M 31   Wells ME                 CSU

5 1:07:55      Steve Peterson        M 30   Chelmsford, MA       CMS

 

The following weekend (06/09/96) I took on the hills of Litchfield (CT) and the 7.05 mile course.  I picked up $75 for my 7^th place (35:41) on a hot and humid day.  Admitted drug cheat Eddy Hellebuyck finished one second ahead of me.  Attempts to get the cash he stole from me have gone unrewarded.  Next up (06/15/96) was the Mt Washington road race.  I ran alone after 3 miles as Daniel Kihara ran uncontested to an amazing 58:21 despite 20-30 mph breezes and a windchill of 33 degrees on top.  My 62:24 brought me home 1:20 ahead of teammate Eric Morse.  

The final weekend of the month (06/29/96) I headed up to Northfield-Tilton NH for a 5k with a little bit of cash.  It was humid but only about 60 degrees.  Teammates Gary Gardner and Dan Verrington took it out hard.  I caught them after the mile and went on to win ($100) and set a course record ($50).  My course record held up until 2017 when the course was changed.

1 Dave Dunham      15:01

2 Dan Verrington     15:15

3 Gary Gardner       15:25

4 Scott Clark           15:31

5 Justin Freeman     16:06 

Looking back - June 1991

 35 Years ago - I raced six times in June of 1991, mixing it up with races from 5 to 26.2 miles and from the big fields at Mt Washington and the New England Athletic Congress (now USATF NE) 10km to the small (96 finishers) field at the Goffstown Gallop. I started the month with a win at the Nipmuck trail marathon.  My course record from that day still stands (although the race has moved to the fall).

1 Dave Dunham 3:01:51    2 Keith Turner 3:10:45                3 Rich Fargo 3:11:44

Six days later (06/08/91) I hit the roads with a third place finish at the NEAC 10k in Winthrop. This was the only race I can think of that was named for a hockey player (Mike Eruzione). It was a very hot day in the 90’s and a huge pack went through the 5k together. It was a two loop course because Winthrop isn’t big enough for a single loop 10k! Ed Sheehan took the win in 30:47 and I was three seconds back.

1 Ed Sheehan 30:47

2 Rod Ellsworth 30:49

3 Dave Dunham 30:50

4 Bob Hodge 30:53

5 Scott Clark 30:58

The following week (06/15/91) I picked up $600 for finishing second at Mt Washington. Derek Froude won the race in 1:00:36. I finished in 1:02:07 and noted in my training log “felt lousy, fifth place at the mile, passed Hodge (3^rd place 65:32) at 2 miles”. It was a muggy day with temperatures in the 60’s at the base and a 17 degree wind-chill at the summit.

The next weekend I doubled-up, running a 10 mile on Saturday (06/22/91) and a 5 mile on Sunday (06/23/91). I won at the Montpelier 10 mile running “as easy as possible to win” in 53:32. The next day I raced in Lowell MA at Cappy’s Copper Kettle, taking on Dennis Simonaitis, Craig Fram, Paul Hammond, and Buddy Bostick (among others). Dennis took the win, breaking 24 minutes and I was second ($300) in 24:02.

 

Montpelier – GLRR top team (1 Dave Dunham 53:32, 3 Art Demers 54:00, 5 Dave Lapierre 55:58)

Kappy’s – 1 Simoniatis 23:55 2 Dunham 24:02 3 Fram 24:14 4 Bostik 24:47 5 Hammond 24:47

 

The final race of the month was the Goffstown Gallop, which is a long running New England standard. Back at the 12th running, I took the win over the 5.2 mile course in 27:19. I don’t remember much about the race except that it was very hot that day and I went straight from the finish into Glen Lake.

USATF NE mountain series - standings after 4 races

 The updated USATF NE mountain series standings are posted here.