100 Hats road mile race

 100 Hats – I’ve done the 100 Hats race a few times and always enjoy the Friday night race.  It is rare to get to race a mile on the roads which makes this race stand out.  Another unique factor is that the race is capped at 100 entrants and the race director knits 100 winter hats.  The hats have a variety of themes and you get to choose your hat based on how quickly you can get back into the gym after you finish the race.  Plenty to choose from if you are quick, not so many choices if you are in the back of the pack.

I got out of work a little early and got to Bishop Brady (Concord NH) an hour before the 4 p.m. start time.  Conditions were very nice with temps in the 50’s a light breeze and sunny skies.  I’d already run 9 miles, 6 at 4:30 a.m. and my usual lunch 3 at 11:30 a.m.  I headed out for an easy 3 miles to loosen up.  I’d felt good at lunch and now I just felt nervous and tired.  An all-out mile is a bit of a stretch for me.  This was going to hurt.  I changed into racing flats and headed out for another mile which included checking out where the 200 meters to go was, just to give myself an idea of when to “kick” (laugh – I really have just one speed).

I lined up next to Bill Newsham who had recently turned 60 and has always had good leg speed.  We stayed to the right side as there was a sharp left about 20 yards into the race and it could get dicey with some of the youngsters sprinting out.  Best to stay out of trouble.  I nearly tripped on my own feet at the start and took a little bit to stabilize.  By the ¼ mile mark I was in 8^th or 9^th place and could sense someone hanging right on me a half-step behind.  I figured it was Bill but wasn’t too surprised when Kara Haas eased up along side me.  We hung together through the little uphill and passed a couple of guys on the up and a couple more on the down.  I moved slightly ahead of Kara as we passed the ½ mile mark now in 4^th place.  I got one guy right after the ½ and then Kara got back on my shoulder as we passed the top lady and we moved into 3^rd/4^th.  Kara then made her move and was gone as I also passed a guy (to remain in third place).  Kara took a few looks back, but really didn’t need to as I hit 200 to go and knew there was no way I’d be catching anyone.

I was pretty disappointed with the time (5:56) as I was hoping to break 5:50 and had run 5:45 last year.  There aren’t too many chances to do a mile, but I hope to get at least another crack later this year.  This was my third time doing this race and each time I’ve finished in third place!

Pl	Time	Name		Sx	Age	Club	City	St	Age Graded Time
1	5:45	Jorge	Guerra	M	18		Concord,	NH	5:45
2	5:52	Kara	Haas	F	54	GLRR			5:01
3	5:56	Dave	Dunham	M	60	NEDD	Bradford	MA	4:49
4	5:59	Eloise	Burns	F	15		Concord,	NH	5:42
5	6:06	Bill	Newsham	M	60	GBTC			4:57
6	6:09	Ryan	Busby	M	35		Concord,	ME	6:02
7	6:18	Miles	Lavoie	M	20		Concord,	NH	6:18
8	6:19	David	Audet	M	60	NMC	Concord,	NH	5:08
9	6:22	Silas	Frary	M	25		Concord,	NH	6:22
10	6:24	James	Aiken	M	51	GDTC			5:36
11	6:30	Payton	Bryson	F	18		Concord,	NH	6:28
12	6:31	Steven	Lavoie	M	45		Concord,	NH	5:58
13	6:33	Elin	Haas	F	10	NEDD			5:34
14	6:33	Mike	Haas	M	52	NEDD			5:41
15	6:37	Michael	O'Neill	M	51	Millenium	Millennium		5:46