September 2020

 5 years ago September 2020 - Not much going on during this month.  My glute/piriformis flare-up had me slowing down and back to Pinnacle Physical Therapy for the first time this year.  I also had a flare up with my ankle/posterior tibial tendonitis.  I did manage to sneak in a race at the end of the month which was just what I needed!

 

Had a nice ride with CMS teammates (Jim Pawlicki, Joe Shairs, and Greg Putnam) on the Labor Day holiday.  We put in 15+ miles on the Topsfield rail trail, then Doug DeAngelis joined in, and we ran another 11+ miles on the Topsfield and Independence trails.  Always great to get out there and connect with friends, especially this year (pandemic).

      

 

Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail Ride - I was looking for something interesting to ride after doing the Northern Rail Trail.  I came up with the Cross New Hampshire Adventure trail (XNHAT).  ​Of the 83 miles of the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail:​  ​40.4 miles paved road, ​ (only 10 miles on a primary road, 30 miles on quiet paved backroads), 11 miles dirt road, 15.5 miles dirt rail trail, shared with ATVs, 15 miles dirt rail trail, non-motorized only, ​1.1 miles paved recreation path. I put the word out and CMS teammates Kevin Tilton and Paul Bazanchuk were both "in", the only others to join in the fun were Jim Graham and Jeff Litchfield.  I got up at 1am on Saturday morning and was in Bethel Maine ready to run at 3:30 am.  I got in a nice 5m run on the rec path and north road (where we'd finish the ride).  Kevin showed up at 4:30am and I drove us over to Woodsville NH (Haverhill) for the start of our ride.  We met up with the others and went over the bridge to start at the Vermont border.  At 6:48am we were off and riding.  It was only 34 degrees but it was going to be a bright sunny day (sunrise was at 6:30am).

 

Total time for the ride was 7:20 with a moving time of 6:49 over 82 miles with 3,381' of climb.  Except for my ankle and rib (from a fall) everything felt pretty good. 

 

NHTI XC invitational:  I heard that NHTI (Concord NH) was having an open XC race.  They have a team but no races this season due to the pandemic.  The coach invited all former students and supporters to come out and race the team.  It was a very flat course, but there were a fair amount of turns and it was a mix of grass and dirt.  It would not be fast, but it'd be fast for cross-country.  Heats of 10 were set based on the number you were given.  I was in the second heat so that'd be one minute after the first group went off.  My heat had a good mix of kids from the XC team and supporters (including the president & CEO of Delta Dental - Tom Raffio).  The kids took it out pretty hard and by 200 meters in I was in fourth place.  I slowly worked my way up and by 1km I was up to second place.  We caught all of the heat 1 starters.   I just didn't quite have enough to get first (and he was looking back a LOT over the last 1.1 miles).  I was happy with the effort and the time was better than expected (18:54). A couple of youngsters from Bow started late and ended up running faster!

Results: 1 Ben Neff 17:46  2 Roanee Nickson 18:50 3 Connor Bernard 18:53 4 Dave Dunham 18:54 5 Garrison Hiltz 19:05

 

 

September 2015

 10 years ago September 2015 - I started the month with the USATF NE 20k championships.  My plan was to be conservative for the first 10k and try to attack the second half.  The first mile was a quick (mostly downhill) 5:51, and I eased up a bit as we hit the first hill.  I’d found a comfortable pace, but it varied wildly depending on how much up or down there was.  I was in 77^th place at 10k with a line of people in front of me to hunt down.  I reached the finish in 1:16:36 moving up 15 places in the second 10k and running a negative split (38:27 first 10k and 38:09 second 10k).  Our team did well, taking third place in the seniors. 

 

50+ Pl Pl       Time   Name                      Team

1        37      1:13:51         Christopher Lawrence        BAA

2        40      1:14:05         Wayne Levy            BAA

3        50      1:15:32         Dan Verrington                  CMS

4        52      1:15:38         Douglas Martyn                 WRT

5        54      1:15:41         Michael Cooney                 WRT

6        58      1:16:06         Jim Miller                GMAA

7        62      1:16:39         Dave Dunham                   CMS

 

Next up was the Lone Gull 10k which was the final race in the seven-race USATF NE road running grand prix series on Sept 20.  I found a spot on the line in the sixth row, right behind Dan Verrington and Byrne Decker.  I followed Byrne through a comfortable first mile as we weaved through a lot of fast starters.  Dan floated on by right around the mile.  I hit the headwind from just after four miles (to the finish) and was lucky enough to catch a few tall people to tuck behind.  I caught a few 50+ runners along the way; I only lost ground to a couple of people over the last few miles and hit the finish in 36:38.  Our team had a solid run taking second place in the seniors.  Splits: 5:44, 5:57, 5:46, 5:59, 5:51, 6:03, 1:18

Top 10 Seniors:

Pl       O'all    Name            Age    City, St                   Team  Chip

1        58      Douglas Martyn       55      N Andover, MA        WRT   35:02

2        68      Chris Lawrence        51      Lincoln, RI     BAA    35:25

3        75      Wayne Levy  50      Newton, MA  BAA    35:42

4        76      Michael Cooney       53      Chelmsford, MA       WRT   35:44

5        81      Jim Miller      57                          GMAA 36:04

6        82      Peter Bottomley      53      Cape Eliz, ME DIRIGO         36:03

7        83      Dan Verrington        53      Bradford        , MA    CMS    36:08

8        91      Dave Dunham         51      Bradford, MA CMS    36:40

9        94      Alejandro Heuck      50      Amherst        , MA    GSH    46:30

10      96      Henry Scollard         52      Cambridge, MA        WRT   36:51

 

Joe English Twilight challenge Freestyle farm ½ marathon - I was looking for the elusive win to continue my streak (1979-2014) and this second year trail race looked like a possibility.  They offered a six-hour run, a marathon, a marathon relay, and a half-marathon all contested over a 2.6 mile loop through the woods.  The unusual part would be the start time which was 5pm for the 6-hour, and 6pm for the marathon & half-marathon.  That meant that everyone would be running at least some of the race in the dark. 

There was a nice mix of dirt path (mostly dirt road width) and some grass, nothing rough no roots or rocks.  They clearly marked the course with flagging and glow sticks and had each kilometer marked as well.  The start/finish was located INSIDE of the barn at Freestyle farm, which was unique (and would be hopping during the race).  They had tables set up for water and lap counters for each of the events.  Conditions were just about ideal with clear skies for the full moon and temps in the low 60s.  I was thinking I’d run close to 7 minute pace based on the distance and the course.  The Scottish fellow (Christopher Busby) and Ryan Collins went by me at the first kilometer mark and I relaxed and settled into a pace I hoped I could maintain.

I concentrated on keeping the guys in sight. They were 30 seconds ahead at the end of lap two.  Busby struggled a bit on lap three and I began to close on him.  About halfway through lap three I caught him, but now I could not see the leader.  Collins had about 45 seconds on me as I finished the 3^rd lap.  It was getting dark during the third lap as it was now about 7pm and I grabbed a drink and my headlamp as I rolled through the barn with two laps to go.  The glow sticks were glowing and the “signal fires” were lit.  I slowed a bit and struggled over the final lap and never got any closer to Collins who took the win in 1:24:15, I crossed the line in 1:25:20 and Busby was next in 1:26:55.                          

                                                                                                    Top 3           

Pl Name                            City, ST                   Age    Time             Age group

1 Ryan Collins                                       30      1:24:15                   30-39

2 Dave Dunham                Bradford        , MA    51      1:25:20                   50-59

3 Christopher Busby Edinburgh     33      1:26:55                   30-39

4 Dave Herd            Lee, NH                  33      1:40:08                   30-39

35 finishers (5 in the 50-59)

Week Ending 09/14/25

 Struggling with knee and foot pain throughout the week.  I guess that kept my mind off my hand pain (laugh).  Got the cast off my hand and now with a removable brace, much easier to workout but a lot of stress on my wrists even when biking indoors.  I'm hoping I can be on the outdoor bike by next weekend. Slowly increased my running this week and started back to morning runs and doubles.  I'll take whatever I can get!

Week - 

Bike - 5:30 = 117.9 miles

Go - 5:30 = 77.0 miles

Total = 11:00 194.9 miles

Run = 55 miles (8:23 for 9:09 pace)

Grand total = 19:23

September 2005 and 2010

 20 years ago September 2005 -Not a bad month with 300 miles and five races including three races in 24 hours.  I started the month (09/13/05) with the Governor Dummer XC invitational.  The coach was also a Winners Circle Running Club member and they would kick off the season racing against WCRC.  I ran with Mick Grant for the first 3k then moved up into 2^nd place (the winner was out of sight) and ended up taking second in 17:56.  A few days later (09/16 & 09/17) I hooked up with the “Loco Banditos” for the Reach the Beach relay.  Teams of 12 alternated over the nearly 200 mile race.  I had a LONG wait to run my first leg as I was the 12^th man.  My first run was a 4 mile (24:29) at 10pm.  Next up was a hilly 6.9 mile (41:48) at 7am.  My final leg was the last 4.95 miles (definitely not accurate as I ran 24:29) at 2pm.  A week later (09/24/05) I ran my 40+ PR at the Eliot Festival 5km in Eliot ME.  Conditions were perfect and the field was full of fast people.  I finished 35^th running a 16:28.5.

 

15 years ago September 2010 – I got in 347 miles during this month but only raced twice.  I took ninth (2^nd 40+) at the Pemi Youth 5k (17:40) in Plymouth NH on 09/04.  A few days later (09/08/10) I finished in 6^th place and took tops in the masters at the Boston Scientific 5k in Oranmore Ireland running a 17:04.

September 2000

 25 years ago Sept 2000 – I had a decent month, covering 416 miles (despite a sprained ankle on the 18^th), I also raced five times with the last three races being “tune-ups” for my first Ultramarathon race.  I started the month with a win at the Hochgrat Berglauf in Oberstaufen Germany.  Dan Verrington, Paul Low and I were training and racing in Austria and Germany and chose this as our final race before the mountain running world championships.  I ended up with a win covering the 3.76 miles with 2,800’ of climb in 33:07. 

 

1 Dunham 33:07 USA   2 Low 33:45 USA    3 Green 33:55 AUS    6 Verrington 34:34

 

The following week I missed my goal of a top 10 finish at the World Mountain Running Championships (Bergen, Germany) taking 12^th over the 7.3 mile course with a brutal climb of just under 5,000’ in 51:33.  Thirty countries were represented in the men’s race with 140 finishers.  The day started with an open race which included Dan Verrington (who traveled as the ‘alternate’).  He ended up in third place running 54:43. Eric Morse noted (somewhat tongue in cheek) “I’d rather be last in the championship race than first in the open race”.

 

1 47:29 Jonathan Wyatt NZL

2 49:48 Hans Kogler AUT

3 50:16 Alexis Gex-Fabry SUI

4 50:31 Thomas Gregor GER

5 50:39 Sergio Chiesa ITA

6 50:47 Raymond Fontaine FRA

7 50:50 Billy Burns  ENG

8 50:59 Martin Cox  ENG

9 51:18 Helmut Schmuck   AUG (former world champ)

10 51:25 Massimo Galliano ITA

11 51:30 Uli Steidl   GER

12 51:33 Dave Dunham     USA

15 51:44 Antonio Molinari  ITA (former world champ)

17 52:05 Marco De Gasperi ITA (former world champ)

30 53:27 Richard Shelley   USA

37 53:59 Eric Morse USA

63 55:57 Matt Carpenter    USA

81 57:54       Paul Low      USA

94 59:21 Scott Gall  USA

 

Not sure who I was flipping off here

Next up was a trail race with Steve Peterson at Pisgah Mountain.  Keith Schmitt hung with us until late in the race at which point I told Petey “I’m going to make sure one of us wins”.  Soon thereafter I got nervous that Schmitt might be able to outkick both of us so I pushed the pace and dropped both of them.  I won over the 25k distance (15.5 miles) in 1:37:52 and Petey took second in 1:38:38 and Keith took third in 1:38:56. 

The following weekend I won the Clarence Demar Marathon in Keene NH with a 2:29:10. My goal was to run as “slowly” as possible to get the win.  I was starting a three week stretch of racing a marathon, marathon, and 100k and the marathons were more of a tune-up for the big race. 

1   2:29:11 Dave Dunham 36M Bradford, MA

2   2:37:09 Alden Hall       30M Washington, DC

3   2:39:27 Jeff Day          30M Olmstead, OH

4   2:40:21 Eric Beauchesne 30M Chelmsford, MA

5   2:24:02 George Adams 30M Keene, NH

 

I followed that up with my second marathon win in six days taking first at the hilly NH Marathon with a 2:43:10.  I won despite three bathroom stops, which really freaked out the lead police vehicle as he had no idea why I left the course and went into the woods.  I think he figured it out by the third time.  This was my final preparation for the Chancellor 100k and it also earned me a bunch of “rat points” in the Hockomock Swamp Rat series.

 

September 1995

 30 years ago Sept 1995 – I raced twice during this month and the results were pretty disappointing.  On 09/10/95 I raced the World Mountain running championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.  This would be my worst performance in a mountain race as an open runner.  I ended up placing 46^th in 57:19 over the 7.45 mile course.  I never found a rhythm on this very technical course that was constantly either steep up or steeper down.  I took no solace that I was the top USA finisher.  Two weeks later I headed to Keene NH for the Clarence Demar marathon.  Dan Verrington, Byrne Decker and I went in with our goal being a “B” standard Olympic trails time of under 2:22.  Conditions were good, and after a 2 mile warm-up we headed out “strong to 6 miles with Dan, Byrne, and Mike O’Brien”.  Byrne fell off the pace and O’Brien fell back at 10.  Dan and I knew at halfway that we wouldn’t qualify (1:10:45 for the faster first 13.1 miles), so we slowed to 6-minute pace.  Byrne went by at 17 and was 10 seconds ahead by 20 miles.  We caught him soon after when he stopped in the woods, Dan also stopped to change out of racing flats, and then I stopped to do the same!  I caught back up to Dan at 23 and we ran together to the finish.  It seemed like neither one of us wanted to push for a win and just before the line I 

eased back and Dan crossed the line a step ahead of me for the win with both of us timed in 2:30:25.  Byrne took 5th place in 2:34.  None of us qualified for the 1996 trials.  Dan ran a 2:21:10 at Vermont in 1996, which was after the trails.  Byrne would come close in a few years later running a 2:22:53.

 

1   2:30:25 Dan Verrington 33M Bradford, MA

2   2:30:25 Dave Dunham   31M Bradford, MA

3   2:33:40 David Herr        30M Canaan, VT

4   2:33:48 George Adams  25M New Milford, CT

5   2:33:56 Cathy O’Brien    28F Durham, NH

6   2:34:16 Byrne Decker    28M Londonderry, NH