I wasn’t planning on running the USATF NE 8km championships (North Shore RunFest, Salem MA), but CMS was running short of a full team in the 60+ (and 50+). Prior to this race I’d run 192 New England championships since 1987, but I had only run three last year and had not done a road championship since the 8k champs last August.
USATF New England championships I’ve run:
Indoor Track 10
Outdoor Track 2
XC (cross country) 12
Road 145
Mountain 15
Trail 8
Total 192
I gave myself plenty of time to get to the race as Salem isn’t the easiest to get to and parking can also be an issue. I planned out my parking spot so that I would be on the outside of the course to ensure I wasn’t stuck post-race. It wasn’t all that inconvenient as I was within ¼ mile of number pick-up and the starting line. I saw so many familiar faces during pick-up and during my warm-up on the course. CMS had a tent near the starting line, but I just stopped by to say “hi” since I would just be keeping my gear in the car. I got many warm hugs from friends I had not seen in quite a while. I did not feel very good on the warm-up, funny but Dan Vassallo and company went blowing by just as the speed enforcement sign registered me as traveling at 4 mph! I know I was going faster than that but boy was that embarrassing. Dan later made my day by introducing me to a friend “I’d like you to meet Dave, he is a real guy”. I headed back to the car for some hydration and changed into race gear. It was warming up quickly and seemed very warm in the sun. It had shot up to 75 degrees and had that feeling like you needed a drink right after you finished having a sip. I brought a bottle of water with me as I did another mile and got to the starting line with 5 minutes to go. I counted back 20 rows figuring that’d be around 300th place, which is where I thought I’d be if I could break 33 minutes (which was my goal).
Nearly 800 took off at 9 a.m., and it was something of a mess back where I was. The first 1km (.6 miles) loop featured five turns, very narrow streets, some speed bumps, a few cars that got stuck in the road, a coned lane that was WAY too narrow, and a huge dead rat! It was very tight where I was and my goal was to not take a spill in the congestion and the obstacles. I made it safely then picked it up trying to find a groove. Two annoying guys were chatting right behind me until I pulled away after 2 miles. Nothing is wrong with doing a workout at a race but just shut up. No one is impressed that you can chat while racing. Anyway, I found my groove and was consistent in my pace losing just a couple of seconds on the small climbs. After 2 miles I focused on the group in front of me aiming to get up with a couple of the 60+ age group runners I could see ahead. I picked off about 20 people from the mile to the last ¼ mile of the race. I think five guys went by me in the last ¼ mile as they kicked for the finish. I had no kick, although it sure felt like I picked it up (the last mile was my fastest). I was disappointed when I saw the clock and it was already over 33 minutes. My official time was 33:09 which is my fastest 5 miles this year but disappointing, nonetheless. I was happy with how consistently I ran, the splits were very even, I just can’t seem to get going any faster. Mile splits: 6:37, 6:35, 6:37, 6:38, 6:34. I was 251st out of 788 and 10th of 62 in the 60+ age group.
Pl Time Name Age Pace Team
1 28:32 Gregory Picklesimer M60 5:42 SRR
2 29:51 Scott Grandfield M61 5:58 GSH
3 30:30 Norm Bouthillier M61 6:06 Whirlaway
4 30:44 Charlie Bemis M63 6:09 Whirlaway
5 31:56 Alex McHenry M61 6:23 Green Mtn
6 32:13 Constantino Rago M64 6:27 BAA
7 32:17 Christopher Smith M60 6:27 SRR
8 32:40 Barry Sussman M61 6:32 Notch
9 33:07 David Teszler M60 6:37 Heartbreakers
10 33:09 Dave Dunham M62 6:38 CMS
11 33:23 Tony Bates M67 6:41 Green Mtn
12 33:37 Nick Persampieri M66 6:43 Green Mtn
13 33:51 Daniel Healey M65 6:46
14 34:06 Richard Jordan M63 6:49 Notch
15 34:48 Terry McNatt M61 6:58 CSU
My warm-down after the race consisted of a mile on the busy roads of Salem with a bonus stop at the Bewitched statue which is a virtual Geocache. After that I headed to Peabody for a very short hike to visit the town high point and then on to Lynnfield for a longer (3/4 mile) hike on the trails of the Bow Ridge Conservation Area & Kallenberg Quarry which featured a bunch of mountain biking trails that took me to the highest point in town.
