Chelmsford (and friends) Alumni XC race

 I closed out the month with a return to Chelmsford High School for the “Chelmsford and friends Alumni XC race”. This was the 29^th running of the race put on by Keith O’Brien (Chelmsford Class of 1982). I started attending the race in 2005 and today would be the 13^th time I’d run it (along with 3 times I worked the race due to injuries).  So, not a bad attendance record!  This year I had no intention of racing but figured I could still enjoy the fun by showing up and putting in a workout level effort.

 

On race morning I did my normal 6 miles at the Methuen Rail Trail and then headed into work. I ditched out of work at 9:45 and was warming up on the course just after 10 a.m. Keith O joined me for a little bit of the course preview, and I kept running as I wanted to put in 6 miles before the race. After warming up I grabbed my number and switched into a dry shirt but did not switch into race felts choosing to be smart and stick with my Puma trainers. Kara stopped by and gave me my t-shirt from the All-Terrain-Runner series and then it was off to the line.  O’B gave a quick thanks to everyone and Richie Blake (doubling up as a racer and timer) gave us the “set” and “go”.  Off we went. 

I found myself in fifth place as we headed out around the big field. At ¼ mile we headed into the strong headwind, and I moved up to fourth place. I ran with the younger Haas (14 year-old Ella) to about ¾ mile before pulling ahead.  I was a little surprised to see 7:12 on my watch as I hit the mile.  I had thought sub-8 minute miles and maybe as fast as 7:30’s if I felt good.  Jason Bui and Kara were now well out of sight, and I was on my own.  I hit 2 miles in 14:24, for another 7:12 mile and I felt pretty good despite the heavy shoes and tough wind. I got some nice encouragement from Kara’s dad (Richard Molloy) who was out there competing at age 84, as I passed him on the reverse loop.  I hit three miles in 21:39 (7:15) and then kicked it in for 22:49 over the long (3.16 miles) 5k. Again, I was happily surprised to pick up 3^rd place and run a fairly easy feeling 7:13 pace.  

Had I raced all-out I’d likely have gotten third place anyway, so all in all it was a smart choice.  I picked up a bag of granola for finishing third which was a nice bonus.  Always great to go back and see the same folks year after year.  Thanks again to Keith for his hard work and dedication.

 

Place  Time                                 School                    Pace

1        20:34  Jason Bui      M45    Ayer                       6:31

2        21:57  Kara Haas     F55     Westford Academy  6:57

3        22:49  Dave Dunham  M61    Billerica Memorial              7:13

4        25:02  Ella Haas       F14     Chelmsford High                7:55

5        25:29  Jim Rhoades  M57    Lowell High             8:04

6        25:34  Glen Turgiss  M62    Chelmsford High                8:05

7        25:55  Keith O'Brien M61    Chelmsford High                8:12

8        26:29  Lee Panas     M63    Chelmsford High                8:23

9        26:43  Carolyn McHugh      F35     Chelmsford High                8:27

10      27:20  Amy Molloy   F45     Chelmsford High                8:39

11      27:32  Matt Shapiro M53    Chelmsford High                8:43

12      27:35  Glenn Stewart         M75    Division Avenue H.  8:44

13      27:52  Richie Blake  M56    Tyngsborough H.S.  8:49

14      28:15  Mark Gallagher        M61    Chelmsford High                8:56

15      29:29  Scott Graham          M67    Chelmsford High                9:20

16      29:41  Trish Gabor-Therrien F47   Magnificat H.S.                  9:24

17      31:00  Rick Fijalkowski       M58    Lowell High             9:49

18      44:24  Richard Molloy         M84    Lowell High             14:03

My prize

Rachel's Run

I ’d had Rachel’s Run on my calendar since it was announced as the “trail” leg of the USATF NE All-Terrain series. I’d only missed the XC race in the series with my injury back in August.  Oddly, Rachel’s has been in the series in the past as the XC leg.  Looking at the course it makes sense as you might call the course a rough cross-country race or an “easy” trail race.  I was a bit worried as my ankles and knee took a real beating after the XC race the previous weekend. I hobbled through my runs for a few days before things started to loosen up.  The short week (six days) turnaround is a little less than I need now into my 6^th decade of racing.  I was a little encouraged that I was feeling a lot better by Friday.  Part of that may have been finally getting back to work after 5 weeks out due to the Government shutdown.  It was good to get back to work and get back to my normal rhythms.

On race morning I headed out before sunrise for an easy 3 miles to loosen up a bit.  The 9:45 start time for the race is at the early end of when I’d attempt a morning run first. I got to Tyngsboro at 8:30 and grabbed my number and said “hi” to many familiar faces.  Such a nice community and so many of my fellow Greater Lowell Road Runners present (I would be wearing GLRR colors for this race).  

I met up with CMS teammate Paul Bazanchuk and we headed out for a preview of the course. Paul noted that it was a bit more “rooty” than he had remembered.  There is also a tough little hill and a tougher (for me) downhill. The course was 1.6 miles and you did the loop twice.  Paul joined me for 2 miles then headed off to finish his prep as he was also returning from injury.  I completed two laps then quickly changed into Hoka XC flats and headed out for another loop.  I like even mileage and although 1.6 miles is a bit more than I’d usually do right before the start it would get me to an even number for the day.

 

I got back to start with just enough time to get a quick drink and head to the start.  It was 42 degrees and drizzling as nearly 100 runners toed the line.  I’d call it ideal conditions for a trail/XC race. I had trouble getting going and 100 meters in had to carefully make my way around a couple of 9-year-old kids who had shot out quickly.  Soon after Trail Troll Dave Hannon sauntered by and noted “I’m not sure what shape I’m in”.  He had beaten me here last year and my hope was to keep him in sight.  I could hear Kara Haas behind me as she chose to wear spikes and the distinct clicking gave her away.  I felt pretty decent getting up and over the hill and thought I was moving well as I neared the end of the first lap.  John Barbour and then Kara both blew by me as we hit the baseball field at the end of lap 1.  John had beaten me by 1:30 last weekend so I was also just hoping to keep him in sight.  I made it up and over the hill again in decent shape and even got to within a couple of steps of Kara by the bottom.  That left about 1 kilometer to go and John and Kara both kicked well as I struggled to just keep from falling apart.  I crossed the line in 23:05 and could not complain with only losing 15 seconds to my time from last year.  I took first in the 6069 age group (but Barbour was 24 seconds ahead winning the 7079). I was surprised to find later (when I finished the scoring for the ATR series) that I ended up taking second in the series!

 

I finished the morning with a nice 4 mile warm-down and then hobbled around the rest of the weekend as my right ankle and right knee became swollen and painful.  It seemed to be not as bad as the previous weekend, so I’m hopeful I can turn it around and race again this week.

 

 

Place  Time   Name            Gen/Age City St                 Div     Div/Tot          Pace

1        19:08  Jacob Wormald        M30    Nashua NH    M3039 1        5:59

2        19:44  Mark Rabasco          M31    Greenfield MA          M3039 2          6:10

3        19:52  Peter Caron   M27    Nashua NH    M2029 1        6:13

4        20:06  Willem Khoo  M19    Medway MA  M1319 1        6:17

5        20:35  James Bernard        M19    Uxbridge MA M1319 2        6:26

6        21:39  David Richardson M42       S Weymouth M4049 1        6:46

7        22:10  Chris Smith   M59    Woburn MA   M5059 1        6:56

8        22:14  John Paquet III       M31    Lowell MA     M3039 3        6:57

9        22:41  John Barbour M71    W Roxbury MA        M7079 1        7:05

10      22:45  Dave Hannon M54    W Roxbury MA        M5059 2        7:07

11      22:52  Kara Haas     F55     Chelmsford MA        F5059 1        7:09

12      23:05  Dave Dunham         M61    Bradford MA  M6069 1        7:13

13      23:42  Andrew Bragg         M56    Pepperell MA M5059 3        7:24

14      24:32  Trish Bourne F61     Tewksbury MA         F6069 1        7:40

15      24:45  Declan Rowley        M9      Westford MA M0112 1        7:44

 

 

USATF New England XC championships

 I was hoping I was ready to return to racing as I hadn’t toed the line since getting injured back in mid-August.  The USATF NE cross-country championships was on my calendar for a while and I was (sort of) looking forward to this.  I put in a couple of workouts leading up to the race but was feeling sluggish as I have for these last 3 months.  On race morning I hit the road early to try and loosen up with a 3 mile run.  It was much slower than I’d hoped for as the effort and time did not match.  I was hopeful I’d feel better at Franklin Park.

 

I got to the race site a little early and had plenty of time to walk around a bit and check out the new course.  Construction at White Stadium meant some of the course needed to be rerouted. It really wasn’t much different from previous versions except we’d be on a bit more pavement and would be taking on Bear Cage hill three times over the 8km (5m) course.

 

It was nice seeing so many familiar faces setting up team tents and catching up on goings on.  Teammate Ernst Linder joined me for a loop of the course and Scott Mindel fresh off a 2:27 marathon the day before (!) caught us at 1.5 miles and ran with us and Tim Van Orden for another loop.  The course was in decent shape despite the rain overnight.  There was some standing water and a bit of mud but most of it could be avoided.  I’d be extra cautious on the turns as they tended to be slick.  I struggled through the warm-up again feeling that it was much faster than the 9+ minutes per mile we were doing.  I switched into Inov-8 trail running shoes which I hoped would give me enough support and more importantly keep me from slipping.  My main goal was to not get hurt and I also hoped to be under 35 minutes as that seems to be what my training and workouts would indicate.  A far cry from the 31:39 I’d run for 5 miles back in August!

 

81 runners made up the masters field (40+ age groups) and I found myself well back in the first 100 meters heading out into the Wilderness section of the course.  I kind of found my rhythm and passed a few people.  After ½ mile I would only pass another 3 people and that was before the mile.  After that, I ran the race alone with no one within 30 seconds of me. It was a little tough with the wind gusting to 30 mph, but mostly it was not terrible.  It just felt more like a run on my own than a race.  The XC championships tends to just draw the most serious of the serious runners so after a certain time there just aren’t many runners out there.  I figured I’d be running mostly alone so it was not a surprise.  One guy flew by me at 4 miles but other than that there was no passing one way or the other.  I only looked at my watch once (at the mile) as I felt like I was running as hard as I could and the time really wouldn’t make a difference.  I chugged into the finish in 35:18, well over my goal and way back in my age group.  I never felt good during the race and struggled to just keep going.  It was nice getting encouragement along the way and I gave what I had on that day.  I limped through a 1 mile warm-down and called it a day.

 

Our team had a solid race taking 4^th, but only 7 points out of first.  With three scoring and a small field the team scores were pretty low.  Teammate Erik Vandendries had a solid race taking 2^nd in the 60+ trailing only my college teammate Jason Cakorous.

 

60+ Team results

1 HFC           20

2 GSH           22

3 GLRR         24

4 CMS           27

5 BAA           36

 

60+ Individual results

1        31:12  Jason Cakorous      HFC

2        31:36 Erik Vandendries     CMS

3        31:54  Mark Hixson            GSH

4        32:10  Constantino Rago    BAA

5        32:50  Alejandro Heuck      GSH

6        33:41  David Westenberg   GLRR

7        33:44  Robert McCormack   HFC

8        33:58  John Barbour          GLRR (70+)

9        35:18  Dave Dunham         CMS

10      35:35  Barry Sussman        Notch

16      39:03  Ernst Linder            CMS

 

 

 

CARS #3 - Canterbury XC

 I was not feeling great this week after doing a workout on Wednesday which was probably a day later than I should have done it with a Saturday race looming.  I did a 3 mile run at 5:30am to loosen up a bit and although it was hot like Friday, it was still quite humid.  I hit the road early and arrived at Canterbury for the Shaker Village 5k XC race a solid hour before the start.  I’ve done this race many times but rarely has the course been the same.  This time it was altered due to cows using one of the fields and a tree down on one of the trails.  I was happy to see that meant cutting out the newer loop which was very technical with many twists and turns, stream crossings, and a lot of rocks.  It is still a stretch to call this a cross-country race when it is closer in spirit to a trail race.  At least this time we’d have over a mile of either dirt or paved road.   The course was a 1.5 mile loop that we’d do twice, so I headed out to warm-up on the course and check out the markings.  It was very clearly marked and really only had maybe a ½ mile each loop where you had to be cautious and keep a close eye on your footing.  I switched into racing flats and did another 2 miles.  I went a bit longer than normal as this was the first time I was using the Hoka XC flats which Joe Shairs gave me after using them at Nationals and not liking them.   They felt pretty good to me and I was ready to race.

 

We lined up and Sam Wood (who had helped mark the course) mentioned using caution on the bridge crossing (just a couple of planks) as they we slick.  I had noted that on the warm-up and would be careful crossing them. Over 125 shot out at the start and I found myself in 8^th place after 23 seconds as we took the first turn and got onto the loop.  I moved up to 7^th place before we hit the single-track and settled in a bit behind Mary Klene.  She had beaten me by 30 seconds at NHTI and also had done a low 18 5k earlier this season so that was about where I should be.  I could see Sam up ahead, I was hoping to keep him within sight.  I made it safely through the woods and saw Mary and Sam both pull away on the climb (6% grade for ½ mile).  I got through the first loop in 10:27 and was starting to feel better as we started the second time around.

 

I closed the gap a bit on Mary as it seemed she was a bit more tentative than I was on the singletrack.  That is kind of funny since I think I’m very tentative. I was very cautious approaching the bridge and as I crossed one of the boards broke!  I pinwheeled my arms and made two more steps before falling.  I was lucky I’d made it across and landed on dirt instead of the large concrete edge of the bridge.  I got up quickly cursing myself for losing ground and worrying about possibly getting caught.  Soon after I reached the dirt road and saw that Mary had caught Sam and I hadn’t really lost any ground on either of them.  I slowly reeled in Sam as we were lapping people.  As I approached him I thought I heard him speaking to me but he was saying something like “keep grinding”, “get up the hill” and as I passed him “go with him”.  I have a lot going on in my head as well but generally will save my breath and just think it.  I got by Sam and worked the final ¼ mile to ensure he didn’t get back by with a kick.  I was happy to see that despite falling my second loop was 3 seconds faster than the first.  Negative split!  Now I just have to keep on icing my dinged up knee.

Place  Time   Name            Sex     Age    City, State               Div/Pl Division

1        18:42  Matt Chorney M        36      Jackson, WY            1        MOPEN

2        19:20  David Chorney         M        37      Concord, NH           2          MOPEN

3        19:44  Nicholas Gosling M   42      Meredith, NH           3        MOPEN

4        20:13  Andrew Strauss M    21      Amherst, NH           1        M2029

5        20:30  Mary Klene    F        41      Manchester, NH       1        FOPEN

6        20:49  Dave Dunham         M        61      Bradford, MA           1          M6069

7        21:00  Sam Wood    M        38      Laconia, NH            1        M3039

8        21:36  Silas Frary     M        25      Concord, NH           2        M2029

9        22:01  Mahalie Burdette F   16      Concord, NH           2        FOPEN

10      22:16  Scott Lemire M        47      Weare, NH              1        M4049

 

                   MALE MASTERS AGE GRADED CARS RESULTS

Place Time    Agtime  Agegrd% Name                     Sex Age Hometown                  

    1   20:49   16:42   76.91 Dave Dunham              M    61 Bradford MA            

    2   19:44   18:28   69.60 Nicholas Gosling         M    42 Meredith NH            

    3   22:44   19:21   66.38 Benjamin Strauss         M    54 New Boston NH          

    4   22:16   20:03   64.08 Scott Lemire             M    47 Weare NH               

    5   26:18   21:40   59.32 Bruce Dyke               M    58 Chichester NH