35 years ago – November 1989: Bothered early on in the month with a minor hamstring strain (1 day off) total of 302 miles for the month and two races. My goal for this month was the USA XC championships in San Francisco. On 11/12/89 I ran the New England (NEAC) championships over a 10km course in Smithfield RI. I was feeling very stale and had a very disappointing day. The course was muddy, and temps were in the 40s, which should translate into a perfect day for XC racing. I finished in 17th place (32:15). Two-time Olympian Bob Kempainen won in 30:51. Two weeks later I had one of my worst races. I finished 78th over 6.4 miles at XC championships at the Polo Fields in San Francisco. It was pouring rain and 60 degrees. I felt awful the entire time.
30 years ago – November 1994: Cortisone shot in my right foot (4 days off) no races during this month.
25 years ago – November 1999: Another cortisone shot in my left ankle and two weeks in the boot, no races.
20 years ago – November 2004: I had trouble with a sore hip all month but managed 315 miles with no days off and three races. I kicked off the month (11/14/04) with a trip to Georgia with my CMS teammates. We were on a quest to take home the team title at the 50km USA championships. Our team was stacked with 2:24 marathoner Kevin Beck, USA trail marathon runner-up Ben Nephew, and 2002 50km USA champion Dan Verrington. I was the scrub on this team despite a sub-3 hour personal best, but that best was ancient history by 2004. My fitness level had me aiming for 6:30s (about 2:51 for the marathon) the other guys were aiming for low 6’s. We ended up taking 2nd-5th place and winning the team title. I was fourth man and didn’t score for the team despite finishing in fifth place. Strong team indeed! I picked up $100 for 5th place.
1 Mike Dudley – 3:05:34 (2:37 at the marathon split) Age 34 Marietta GA
2 Kevin Beck – 3:06:22 (2:37 at the marathon split) Age 34 Concord NH
3 Ben Nephew – 3:11:14 (2:39 at the marathon split) Age 29 Foxboro MA
4 Dan Verrington – 3:16:42 (2:43 at the marathon split) Age 42 Bradford MA
5 Dave Dunham – 3:27:15 (2:52 at the marathon split) Age 40 Bradford MA
Two weeks later (11/25/04) I finished in 4th place at the Winners Circle XC race at Maudsley. I got $50 as top master, running with Kevin Beck most of the race and moving up from 10th in the early going.
1 Al Bernier 16:37 CMS
2 Jim Pawlicki 17:00 CMS
3 Kevin Beck 17:05 CMS
4 Dave Dunham 17:09 CMS
Three days later (11/28/04) it was time for another XC race, this time at the Andover Country Club. This race was classic XC, all on cart paths and grass of the golf course. I ran back and forth with Dan Verrington, but he got the better of me (by 3 seconds). Al Bernier picked up his second win in 3 days.
1 18:04 Alan Bernier 30 M DOVER NH CMS
2 18:14 Tom Doody 42 M PELHAM NH GLRR
3 18:19 Eric Beauchesne 34 M CHELMSFORD MA GLRR
4 18:21 Terry McNatt 39 M NEEDHAM MA CSU
5 18:31 James Pawlicki 30 M BEVERLY MA CMS
6 18:35 Greg Putnam 35 M READING MA
7 18:40 Dan Verrington 42 M Bradford MA CMS
8 18:43 Dave Dunham 40 M Bradford MA CMS
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