Broken Ground O-meet

 I had not done an Orienteering meet since last Spring but signed up for a membership with Up North Orienteering (UNO). I was one of the founding members of UNO over 30 years ago. I’d fallen away from orienteering as my ankles and knee kept reminding me that I really need to stay on flat even surfaces. I still love reading maps and navigating so the pull to go back to a meet has been there. This meet at Broken Ground (Loudon NH) was especially interesting as I’d snowshoe raced here a couple of years ago and had never seen the O-map. New maps are always exciting!

 

I got in my morning run with the Chelmsford group before heading north for a nice run with the Turtle Pond group. Post-run, I spotted a sun halo, I think this is the first time I’d seen this weather phenomenon.  Good sign? It was a perfect afternoon to head into the woods with temps in the upper 50s and bright sun.

I selected the Red course which was 6km (straight line), I always figure that the distance in K’s is about how far I’ll end up running in miles. In retrospect, I probably should have done the Green course (5k) which was also advanced, just shorter. I had a lot of trouble on the first two controls. It isn’t unusual for me to struggle early with figuring out the map and the mapper. A lot of the “yellow” (which is open forest) was open but had a lot of previous logging which made for poor footing and very slow going. The first two controls I had to re-orient myself a couple of times before figuring out exactly where I was. Looking at the splits afterward I could see that of the 9 competitors on the Red course, I was 9^th and 7^th for my first two splits. Then on the third control I ran the 2^nd fastest split! It seems like after that I’d have one really bad split (9^th) and follow that with a 2^nd or 3^rd place split. Was that confidence, a lack of concentration? Not surprisingly, my best split of the day was the 10^th which was also the longest leg of the day. I ran trail almost the whole way and had an easy point to attack the control from. So of course, my worst split of the day was the next one where I ran 8 minutes slower than first place. Yikes!

 

I had a lot of fun out there and ended up finishing in 6^th place. I hope to get back out there later this season (or in the fall) but I really paid the price with incredibly sore ankles the next day. An easy run and a very nice 2 hour bike ride loosened things up and got me ready to head into the next week.

Week Ending 04/26/26

 Not a bad week, some quick running including a “tempo run” on Friday. I also got in my first Orienteering meet in a year (and paid the price with very sore ankles after). Closed out the week with a great 2 hour ride that included a visit to the farm with Highlands Cattle and a bunch of goats. Great fun!

 

Week – 92

Month – 327

Year – 1,378

Life – 168,378

Looking back - April 2021

 5 years ago I was trying to recover from a hip/glute/oblique injury which would eventually turn out to be a torn labrum.  I originally signed up for the Cheap Marathon ($35) with the hope of breaking three hours.  Unfortunately, the injury ended any plan of a spring marathon.  I moved down to the half marathon.  I still wasn’t ready to race but figured I’d seed myself at marathon pace (6:52’s) and do the half as a hard workout.  With very few runs over 6 miles it’d be interesting to see if I had the stamina to keep an even pace through 13.1 miles.

 

Race morning was cloudy and cool (40s) and seemed just about perfect for racing.  It was great seeing so many GLRR friends (and others) and I even had a few moments to catch up as I was seeded 64^th in the 500 runner field.  They were starting two runners every 10 seconds, so I’d have a chance to run with someone.  I had the race broken down into four parts.  Part 1 to the Windham Depot (mostly uphill for 2.9 miles) then part 2 to the turn after Roulston road (mostly downhill for 2.4 miles) then reversing those sections.  After the Depot I started reeling in some fast starters and even ran with a guy from 3 to 5 miles.  A bit after 5 the little 10 year-old kid from GLRR and his dad went hammering by!  I decided to pick it up a bit and go with him.  I ran my fastest mile of the day (6:27) and the kid was still pulling away, so I settled back down into my pace which was in the low to mid 6:40s.  The kid and his dad were the only half-marathon runners to pass me.  I didn’t fall apart but my last five felt like more work with miles of 6:43, 6:42, 6:37, 6:41, and 6:53. I ended up running 6:42 pace (1:27:53) so 10 seconds a mile faster than planned.  In a bit of a surprise I won the 55-59 age group and took second in the 50+. The GLRR kid set a new American Record for 10 year old with a 1:23:20. 

Place  Div     Div Pl  Name            City, St                   Bib #  2.9m   6.3m          9.7m             Finish Time

32      M50-54           1      Jim Rhoades  Lowell MA      749     19:06  40:49          1:02:54                   1:23:30.1

42      M55-59           1      Dave Dunham         Bradford, MA 764     19:18          42:14  1:05:14                   1:27:53.1

52      M50-54           2      Ted Coyle     Scituate        MA      767     19:35          42:35  1:06:26                   1:29:49.9

56      M50-54           3      Eric Beauchesne      Chelmsfd, MA          750          19:20  43:01  1:07:40                   1:30:41.4

62      M50-54           4      Tyler Perrin   Litchfield, NH 787     19:55  43:25          1:07:46                   1:31:19.7

67      M55-59           2      Boris Dzikovski        Chelmsfd, MA          795          20:07  43:52  1:08:33                   1:32:52.2

86      M50-54           5      Joe Loureiro  Andover, MA 205     20:39  45:33          1:12:02                   1:38:40.4

110     M55-59           3      David Audet  Concord, NH 775     22:53  50:05          1:17:39                   1:43:56.4

115     M50-54           6      Didier Weizman       Dedham, MA 819     22:02          48:22  1:16:09                   1:44:18.9

116     M55-59           4      Bill Newsham Brookline, NH          875     23:53          51:27  1:19:26             

Looking back - Aprill 2011

 15 years ago – April 2011: I raced four times during this month.  Mostly I was trying to get close to my masters (40+) personal best for 5km.  I started April as I have done a number of times in the past, by racing in Concord NH. The State Employee Association (SEA) 5km race always seems to have a decent field and times are usually pretty speedy due to the flatness of the course. I just wanted to stay on my feet and keep Dan Verrington and Rod Viens in sight. Rod had a solid run taking 5th and top master in 16:39. Dan had a bit of an off day as he typically would beat me.

 

SEA 5km - 04-02-11

1        15:54 Greg Hammett - CMS

2        15:59 Mackenzie Kilpatrick

3        16:00 Justin Montgomery

4        16:36 Jeff Goupil 16:36 – CMS

5        16:39 Rod Viens – CMS 40+

6        16:54 Graham Hayslip

7        16:55 Dave Dunham – CMS 40+

8        17:18 Dan Verrington – CMS 40+

 

The following week I returned to the NH seacoast for the 30th Red’s Shoe Barn. I hadn’t raced at Red’s in Dover, NH since 1999 but it fit perfectly in the schedule this year. There were no major hills but it seemed that every mile had some “up” in it  At the start JJ bolted to the front and I settled into fourth tucking in behind Fergus Cullen. When I saw the mile split (5:42) I accelerated and would run the rest of the race alone.  In the end I kicked with everything I had left and crossed the line in 27:49…a new 40+ PR by a scant couple of seconds.

Red’s 5 mile – 04-10-11

1        25:25   5:05 Jim Johnson   33M CMS

2        27:20 5:28 Nathan Huppe 31M RR

3        27:49   5:34 Dave Dunham          47M CMS 40+        

4        28:10   5:38 Brian Ruhm    45M GCS

5        28:16 5:40 Fergus Cullen 38M

 

The following week I ended up going up to Rochester for the Girl’s Inc. 5km. I’d done this race 6 years previously and recalled that the course was flat and fast. I also knew that they had kilometer marks on the course and I’m a huge fan of that.  Bob Wiles took off at the start and would run alone and unchallenged to a new course record. I settled into third place and for most of the first mile I stayed tucked behind Jason Bigonia. We had a good back and forth until the last ½ mile when he buried me.

 

10th Annual Girls Inc. of New Hampshire 5K 04-16-11

1 15:22 Bob Wiles   33M    Kittery, ME    CMS

2 16:40 Jason Bigonia        34M    Newcastle, ME        

3 16:44 Dave Dunham       47M    Bradford, MA CMS 40+

4 18:28 Josh Smith  21M    Rochester, NH        

5 18:30 Tom Doherty        26M    Dover, NH    

 

I headed back to the track on April 23rd for only my fourth outdoor track race in the last 16 years. Well, it was wet and raw at the Tufts invitational…but the wind wasn’t bad. I There were less than 20 guys on the line (and apparently a few were just “pacing” others and had no plans to finish). At the end of the first turn I was squarely in last place.  I settled in with four guys from Tufts and we ended up working together for most of the race.

 

Tufts Spring Invitational - Medford, MA, April 23, 2011 5,000 Meter Run

1 15:34.2 Antoine Gisore   New England College

2 16:01.2 Tyler Andrews    Tufts

3 16:23.2 Aaron Ladd                  BAA

4 16:29.6 Andrew Haskell  Tufts

5 16:34.7 Steven Ndisabiye          New England College

6 16:37.6 Erik Antokal                 Tufts

7 16:46.3 John Lawrence   Merrimack

8 16:47.1 Dave Dunham    CMS 40+

9 16:54.5 Samuel Hutchinson       Tufts

10 17:03.7 Peter Lewis                Tufts

I had the pleasure of watching Eric Morse and Murdock win their first race together! April 17, 2011.

Looking back - April 2006

 20 years ago – April 2006: I raced four times during this month, three of those were trail races.  Dan Verrington and I were taking part in a trail series (we’d both win some trail shoes for completing the series).  I started off the month (04/01/06) with the SEA 5k in Concord NH on a warm and sunny day.  I (barely) managed a top 10 finish taking 9^th in 17:21. Dan topped the master’s category running 16:22.  Next up (04/08/06) was the Merrimack River Trail Race.  Paul Low took down my course record running 56:30.  Petey (Steve Peterson) took me down holding me of the whole race and taking it to me by 2 seconds as I finished in 12^th place in 1:03:58, again Dan topped the master’s with a 1:02:29.  The following weekend (04/15/06) Dan, Rob Smith, and I headed to Union CT for the Northern Nipmuck trail race. This was a very tough 16 mile out/back run with 3,200’ of climb and descent, and it was warm and muggy on race morning.  I was outside of the top 10 (12^th) at the 8 mile turn and started catching people soon after.  I caught Rob at around 12 miles as we both power-walked one of the tougher climbs.  I struggled over the last four miles but managed to finish in fourth in 2:18:48. Dan took second in 2:13:14 and Rob was 5^th in 2:19:54. The final race of the month (04/23/06) was the Muddy Moose 14 mile in Wolfeboro NH.  I picked up a nasty cold and was still feeling sick on this 45 degree drizzly morning.  I found myself in 7^th place in the early going and caught up to Dave Hannon and Paul Young on the steep “escarpment” climb.  We ran back and forth for the next 10 miles with me leading on the ups and them taking me on the downs.  I finally gapped Dave around 12 miles and dropped Paul with about a mile to go to take 5^th place in 1:37:44. Dmitry Drozdov took the win in a CR 1:29:20 and Dan was top master in 1:33:07.

1 56:30         Paul Low       32      CMS

2 59:35        Kevin Tilton   24      CMS

3 59:39        Greg Hammett        28               

4 59:44        Ben Nephew 30      CMS

5 1:01:29      Dan Verrington        43      CMS

6 1:01:30      David Hinga  30      Whirlaway

7 1:02:04      Matt Germain 24      Sisu

8 1:02:05      Ryan Miller    23      Sisu

9 1:02:46      Philip Galebach        14               

10 1:02:55    James Pawlicki        31      CMS

11 1:03:56    Steve Peterson        40      CMS

12 1:03:58    Dave Dunham         42      CMS

13 1:03:59    Ken Tripp      36      WCRC

14 1:04:54    Matthew Curran       48      Team Gloucester

15 1:05:15    Kevin Sullivan          35      MVS

Looking back - April 2001

 25 years ago – April 2001: April had some big highs and lows for me. I had been training hard preparing to go after the American record for 50km at the Chicago Lakefront 50k. Conditions were not ideal (a little warm for me – 75 degrees) and windy (20-40mph) but I had company through the first 25k and ran comfortably alone through the marathon in 2:30:04.  I crossed the finish line in 2:57:36 to break the record. I was later upset to learn that although the race had been certified and all the paperwork was in place, the course came up just under 50 meters short of certified. That was definitely an unwelcome surprise as I had really dogged the race director about having the proper measurement and all of the paperwork in line. In the end they neglected to add the 1% of “extra” distance on at the end which is required for a certified course. I didn’t race again for three weeks but made the most of the final weekend of the month by running three races within 24 hours (I was looking to score points in the all-important Hockomock Swamp Rat series). I took third at the Les Pawson 5m (27:37) on Saturday, running as easy as possible in anticipation of a hard Sunday. Early in the day I took 11th (30:45) at the James Joyce Ramble 10k, which served as the USATF NE championship. I didn’t warm-down, just jumped in the car and drove to Groton where I took fourth in the 10km in 34:31. I like to say that this was the day I went from being a 30 minute 10k runner to a 34 minute 10k runner. Sort of joking, but that really was about the end of my “fast” racing. I’d have some glimmers of past glory but a combination of health issues and just plain getting older led to the inevitable slow-down that we all have if we stay at it long enough.