5 years ago (June 2020): We were mired in the ongoing pandemic during this month. I can’t complain about running as I was able to get out there and keep rolling along. I got in a workout and even a race! I started the month with an early morning sunrise stealthy run to the summit of Maiden Hill, with great views of an early sunrise.
Alpenglow on the top 5:09am June 1st sunrise
I got a cortisone shot in my ankle and took a few days off from running and tried to put in some interesting bike rides.
This was my attempt at Strava art. Pretty classy?
Further Sunrise run activities followed. 06/13 – I chose this date as it is the earliest sunrise. It had been a long time since I’d been up Wachusett Mountain for a sunrise (March 27, 2005 with Dan V, Richard B, and Petey). Dave La and Jeff Gould joined me. We caught a view of a satellite before we started our run. We hit the top in 30 minutes, so there was plenty of time to pick a spot to watch the sun come up. About a dozen others were spread out on the summit. A fun start to the day.
Sunrise run #2: 06/20 – I picked this date as it is the first day of summer .The plan this time was an ascent of Belknap Mountain. This run would commence at 4:30am to gets us on top before the 5:04am sunrise via a 2 mile climb of about 1,200’. I was up at 2:30am and got to the base of the Carriage road at 4:10. Petey and Dave Lapierre were already there (as was a family who were just heading out to catch sunrise on the summit of Piper). Scott Graham and his pal Justin showed up a few minutes later. At 1.2 miles we got onto the Green trail and it was light enough that we didn’t need to use headlamps. I was first to the top and got to the top of the fire tower just a moment before the first glimmer of sun broke the horizon. Scott was the last one up getting up the tower before the full sunrise had taken place. The haze made it hard to see too far but we could see Mt Washington (& many others).
We spent about 10 minutes on top then headed down the Yellow/White trail to the old Piper trail to the North peak of Piper. There was some sketchy running on Vista but also some of the nicest trail of the entire day. Then it was back up 600’ from Swett to the Pipers before dropping down the White trail and then finishing the run with ¾ of mile on the Carriage road. In all we covered 8.5 miles with 2,100’ of climb and descent. A great start to Summer!
I've been itching to get back to racing and finally got the opportunity. My CARS series teammates (Scott Clark, Jim Angell, Darin Brown, Ernie Brake) were interested in racing so we discussed some of the different CARS courses and settled on the Over the River and through the Woods 5km course. This is a pretty flat course but slightly slow due to 1 mile of it being cross-country. I arrive a little early to mark the XC part to ensure no one got lost. At 7:15am we gathered up and went out on a preview of the course. At 8am (with no fanfare) we took to the line and with a "runners set, go!" we were off. I found myself leading right from the start with Scott and Jim right behind me. I hit the mile in 5:51 with the guys right on my heels. I couldn't hear anyone as I hit the second mile with a 6:06 (11:57). I held on for a 16 second win over Jim with Scott another 14 seconds back and Darin taking it home exactly 1 minute back. A solid effort by all. Darin gave me a copy of his book as first place prize and then we headed back out to sweep the course and take down the markings I'd put out. Again, it was nice to have some socializing time with the gang.
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