March 2000

 25 years ago – March 2000: I finished my first full season of snowshoe racing with a win at the Moody Springs 8.5 mile race.  A week later I did the USATF NE ½ marathon in Melrose MA as a workout. Mark Behan and I ran with Petey, finishing together in just under 1:21. Two weeks later I gave my best at the Merrimack River trail race but couldn’t beat Ben Nephew. On a perfect 50 degree morning a field of just under 300 runners took off along the banks of the scenic River. Nephew pulled away in the early miles and curiously I caught him around 6 miles. The surprise was that I’d made up ground on the “rougher” and hillier section of the course. I thought I’d use my leg-speed to motor on by, but Ben thought otherwise. I hung with him but just couldn’t quite get ahead. He ended up winning in 58:31 with me 3 seconds back. This gave me the dubious distinction of having been on the losing end of the two closest finishes in the history of the event (I also lost by 1 second to Craig Fram in 1995). Pelham High School runner Patrick Moulton finished in 4^th place overall breaking his Junior (age 19 and under) by 4 minutes.

 

1        Ben Nephew           M2039 1        MALDEN        MA      58:31            5:51

2        Dave Dunham                   M2039 2        BRADFORD   MA      58:34            5:51

3        Robert Hoppler                  M2039 3        PLAISTOW    NH      1:00:55                    6:06

4        Patrick Moulton                 M0219 1        PELHAM        NH      1:01:41                    6:10

5        Greg Loomis            M2039 4        FRAMINGHAM          MA      1:03:14                    6:19

6        Richie Peres            M2039 5        PLYMOUTH   MA      1:03:50                   6:23

7        Matt Pimentel                   M0219 2        ANDOVER     MA      1:04:02                    6:24

8        Mark Behan             M2039 6        NEWTON       NH      1:04:07                   6:25

9        BJ Bottomley           M2039 7        NASHUA        NH      1:04:40                   6:28

10      Ken Clark                M2039 8        SOMERS        CT      1:04:57                   6:30

20 years ago: March 18, 2005 - My injured hip left me unable to run at all from mid-December through the beginning of Feb. Once I started running, I started looking for fun things to do. I sent out an email looking for suggestions and then settled on a run up Mt Kearsarge. I'm pretty familiar with the road to the summit from racing up it many times since the first organized race back in 1995. I had never been up the road in winter and was hoping it would be in good shape from the snowmobiles that zip up and down it throughout the winter. Richard Bolt was immediately interested in the run, as was Alan Bernier. Dan Verrington, my training partner on most days, was also up for the run. We decided that we would be better suited for a sunset run, rather than getting up to Kearsarge in the early morning hours. run).  We had perfect weather, clear skies and views for miles upon mile. We could see the alpenglow and the shadow of Mt Kearsarge projected over the landscape. It was very windy and cold on the summit and the sweat from climbing was quickly cooling us down. We took some pictures and enjoyed the panoramic view. As we made our way down the crescent moon was bright enough that we cast shadows when we got into the tree-lined sections of the road. Our total time was 1:22:53 form 8 miles with nearly 2,000' climb and descent.

Me, Dan, and Richard                                                      Al, Dan, and Richard