Double-D running blog: Derry NH

I decided late last year to take on the marathon distance after a six year absence. Sometimes training partner (and long-time friend) Scott Spence had gotten the bug to run NYC marathon and I thought "that sounds like fun". The qualifying time for 60+ is 3:34 which I felt was within range. I didn't do any specific marathon training but kept my mileage a bit higher than usual (averaging 86 miles per week thus far in 2025). Even though my mileage was okay, I had only done 3 runs longer than 10 miles. I prefer to run shorter but more often (usually 3 times a day). I was still feeling a bit unsure of myself the week prior but Scott said something along the lines of "nothing to lose" and then on Monday I previewed the course putting in 13.13 miles at 7:46 and feeling pretty decent. My goal of sub 3:30 (barely) meant hitting 8:00 miles.

The Cheap Marathon course is very familiar to me as I'd been running on sections of it since the late 80s. The logistics of getting 600 marathoners and another 450 in the half marathon meant that the starts would be staggered based on projected finish time. My 3:30 had me seeded 310th (bib number 410) which was a bit surprising. Last year a 3:30 would be 150th place in a bit smaller field. The 7 second stagger would keep things from bottling up on the narrow rail trail.

In my mind I had the course broken down into 4 distinct parts run twice. About 3 miles on the Derry Rail trail to Windham Depot, then 3.5 miles on the Windham Depot before returning. There would be a 3/4 mile section at the end that went onto streets to complete a square and get us back out onto the trail. The first 2 miles of the course had a moderate climb...rail trails typically don't climb/descend in steep grades. Then it was over 4 miles that was mostly downhill. That meant mostly uphill on the way back! Temps were 43 degrees with heavy cloud cover and an E to ESE wind at 10-15 mph. If there was going to be wind this was the ideal direction. That meant most of the downhill (outward bound) was into the wind and most of the uphill return featured a tailwind.

I got to the race an hour plus before my start time and checked out the starting area and greeted race director John Mortimer. Mort and I had run on this trail back in the early 90s when he was in High School and I was living in Londonderry. He puts on some great races! I did a little 1 mile warm-up with a stop at the secret bathroom which had no line. This was a good opportunity to dial in what I would wear for the race. I was on the fence between t-shirt and arm sleeves or t-shirt with light long-sleeve underneath. I ended up going with the light long-sleeve and gloves and would be pleased with the choice.

The first runners were off at 7:30 as I was getting in a last couple of sips of water at the car before making my way to the start. By 7:50 I was off and running. I took a few checks at my watch in the early going as I tried to dial in the correct pace. It was a bit surprising to be passed by 4 people in the first mile. Some must not have put in accurate times as I was out in 8:05 and 7:59 for the slightly uphill opening miles. Mostly I was trying to relax, there was a LONG way to go. I had some good tunes going on the shuffle and got into a groove. The next four miles were a bit quicker than I wanted but I was feeling comfortable just nervous when spotting mile marker 19 and realizing it would be a long time before I saw that sign again and I'd still have a long way to go. Another 8 people passed me over the next few miles. I very rarely ran with anyone but had a guy by my side from 9 to 12 miles. He said something to the effect of "you are running very even, I hope you don't mind company". I did not, but he fell off on the hilly road part that got us to the half-marathon. I was 1:25 faster than my planned 8:00 pace but started feeling better as I headed out onto the second and final lap.

There were more people out there now as the half-marathoners were mixed in. They were going a bit slower than I was so there was quite a bit of passing to do. I also enjoyed watching the leaders coming back and checking out when the 200's, 300's, and 400 bib numbers started coming into view. I kept running my own race and not worrying about what anyone else was doing. I was a little concerned about running out of gas and thoughts of my Mt Washington finish flashed in my mind (collapsed at the finish). I had taken a gel at 6 and a chomp at 13 along with four sips of water and a couple of swigs of Gatorade. I really started counting down the miles when I got under 10 to go and started pushing a bit once I got to 20 miles and my final return trip. I had some of my fastest miles of the day over the last 10k and never felt terrible. I was definitely feeling tired by 22 and my knee had been aching since the half but otherwise everything was holding together well. Over the second half of the race I passed 53 people to finish in 199th and 1st in the 60-64 age group. My seconds half was a minute faster than the first half marathon (1:23:24 & 1:22:23) for a 3:25:47.5. I could not have been happier with the run and glad to have it behind me!