Looking back - Sept 2016

 10 years ago (Sept 2016): I raced three times over this month, a mountain race and two road races.  I started off with the Mt Greylock race which was now part of the USATF NE mountain circuit. Teammates Kevin Tilton and Dave Lapierre for the drive out.  Being part of the Mountain Circuit definitely helped the attendance as 167 turned out and more than half were USATF members. Teammate Matt Veiga shot out at the start with Tim Van Orden following.  A second pack formed, and I trailed by 15 seconds at the mile. Not much changed as we entered the park and the climb got a bit steeper.  I knew I was in 6^th place now and also knew that everyone ahead of me was CMS which meant I wouldn’t score for the team unless I moved up a place.  The weather was ideal, sunny, dry, and just a little breeze.  I ended up taking 6^th place and 3^rd in the 50+. CMS swept the team titles with take the first 6 places in the open, top 3 in the 50+ and top 4 in the 40+.

Pl       Time   Name                      Age    City, St                   Team 

1        55:14  Matthew Veiga                 29      Lynn, MA      CMS   

2        56:51  Tim Van Orden                 48      Bennington, VT       CMS   

3        57:43  Kevin Tilton           34      Conway, NH  CMS   

4        57:48  Erik Vandendries              51      Chestnut Hill, MA     CMS   

5        58:33  Ed Sheldon            52      Hooksett, NH CMS   

6        58:43  Dave Dunham                  52      Bradford, MA CMS   

20      1:10:11         David Lapierre                  52      Chelmsford, MA          CMS   

 

Next up was the USATF NE 20km championships (Seasons 20k).  My plan this year was to try and be competitive with my fellow Senior (50-59) runners.  Race day was just plain nasty, although not “hot” it was 75 degrees and the dew point in the 70’s made it about as humid as possible without actually raining.  Around the mile Jim Pawlicki strode by and I latched on.  Jim and I ran together, and he’d gap me on the uphill parts and I’d come back on the down.  I was 38:52 at 10k which was only 15 seconds slower than last year, before 8 miles it got ominously dark and then the skies opened up.  I pulled away from Jim Pawlicki on the climb after 10 miles.  I had my head up looking ahead at the line of guys in front of me when I heard Jim yell out “No!”.  I looked back and realized we missed the turn!  I started yelling “No, no, no” to the guys ahead who’d missed the turn ahead of me as I quickly reversed direction.  In all I ran an extra 50 seconds but others had it much worse. Jason Bui went back by me with 200 to go and powered to the line, I struggled in running 1:18:48 and taking 5^th in the 50+. 

Kicking for the finish

50+ (41 finishers)

1        1:12:12         Peter Hammer         50      M        BAA

2        1:18:31         Michael Cooney       54      M        WRT

3        1:18:34         Scott Anderson        51      M        WRT

4        1:18:39         Charlie Bemis 53      M        WRT

5        1:18:48         Dave Dunham         52      M        CMS

6        1:19:23         Robert Cipriano       56      M        SRR

7        1:19:52         Ed Sheldon   52      M        CMS

8        1:21:11         Martin Tighe 58      M        CMS

15      1:29:42         David Lapierre         52      M        CMS

16      1:30:54         Philip Savoy Jr         54      M        CMS

 

My final race of the month was the USATF NE 10km championships (Lone Gull):  I was gunning for a sub-36 and would be looking for teammates Ed Sheldon and Jim Pawlicki to key off of.  Right from the gun it felt “quick” to me.  Every time someone went by I’d want to latch on but it always felt just a little bit too fast.  I reached the mile in 5:40 which was right around the time I thought I could run but it felt a lot tougher than I’d hoped.  I was fortunate always having someone around me.  Jim Pawlicki caught me before 3 miles (17:15) and we strode through 5k together in 17:56.  I still felt I had an outside shot at breaking 36 if I could hold pace.  Jim took off on the final climb to the 6 mile mark (I suck at hills) and Charlie Bemis (WRT 50+) went by at the crest of the hill.  I gave all I had left but every step I lost ground.  I crossed the line in 36:11 (clock time) with a chip time of 36:06.  The 50+ field was strong and I did not crack the top 10 (finishing 11^th).  Our team took 3^rd behind Whirlaway and a strong Somerville Road Runners squad.

50+

DvPl   Name            Age    ChipTime GunTimeTown              Club

1        Peter Hammer         50      0:33:14         0:33:18         Needham          BAA

2        Greg Picklesimer     50      0:33:24         0:33:28         Brighton                  SRR

3        Pete Bottomley       54      0:34:58         0:35:04         Cape Elizabeth          Dirigo

4        Robert Cipriano       56      0:35:17         0:35:22         Brighton                  SRR

5        John Ayers    50      0:35:36         0:35:39         Hamilton                 WRT

6        Ed Sheldon   52      0:35:42         0:35:45         Hooksett                 CMS

7        Scott Anderson        51      0:35:47         0:35:52         Truro            WRT

8        Mark Reeder 56      0:35:53         0:35:57         Brighton                  GLRR

9        Douglas Martyn       56      0:35:53         0:35:59         North Andover          WRT

10      Charlie Bemis 53      0:36:00         0:36:05         Derry            WRT

11      Dave Dunham         52      0:36:06         0:36:11         Bradford                  CMS

18      Martin Tighe 58      0:37:43         0:37:51         Providence    CMS

23      John Pajer     53      0:39:56         0:40:04         Leicester                 CMS

24      David Lapierre         52      0:40:02         0:40:11         Chelmsford          CMS

26      Dan Verrington        54      0:40:03         0:40:12         Bradford                  CMS

27      Philip Savoy   54      0:40:28         0:40:37         Shrewsbury   CMS