Jones Group 10-Miler

Sunday - Part II of my weekend double took place in Amherst, MA. This would be the 1st race in the USATF NE Grand Prix series, a "challenging race along scenic, hilly rural roads (some dirt)" according to the website. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

I left my acidotic RACING membership at home and went with my Gate City Striders card instead. I met up with a bunch of Striders in Nashua and we all piled into 3 vehicles for the roughly 2hr drive to hilly Amherst. 33 of us made the trip which was pretty amazing considering the doom and gloom forecast we've been hearing about for a couple of days. Turns out the weather held out for most of the race and was only a minor inconvenience for the ride home. (photo credit - Mike Wade)
Generally I have some sort of a goal going into most races. I don't always 'share' my goal but that's a different story. I can honestly say I had NO goal going into this race. I really, truly had no idea what pace I would run.

With so many fast guys (and girls), I was careful not to get too close to the front. With very little hoopla we were off. Right from the start I spotted a few familar faces; Todd Brown (CT) who I ran with for 90% of the Baystate Marathon and Keith Schmitt from Dover,NH who I ran with for about 90% of the Boston Prep race. Both were masters runners and both were close enough to my pace that I felt pretty comfortable where I was. Technically I trailed a small pack they were running in for the majority of the race. I could never quite catch up to them and was stuck in no mans land for much of the race.

The first two miles were relatively fast (6:03 and 5:48) but I knew the hills were coming. The next 2+ miles were net uphill with a couple of steep sections and my times slowed a LOT (6:41 and 6:52). I struggled on the hills and my legs were definitely fatigued from snowshoeing the previous night. Mile 5 and 6 were mostly flat (6:20 and 6:14) with part of this section on an iced over dirt road (which made traction challenging with racing flats). Mile 7 (5:56) was nearly all downhill and mile 8 (6:08) was mostly flat. I was feeling much better after running a couple of easy terrain miles. I was also gaining on the small pack in front of me which now included fellow GCS team mate Joe Rogers. I have never beat Joe in a race so to be this close to him was puzzling to me. Right around mile 8 I decided to pick up the pace and I passed Joe with my definition of 'authority'. I had also caught up with Todd after pushing pretty hard up the hill to mile 9 (5:58) and was close to Keith but he was doing a good job maintaining his lead. Mile 10 (6:21) had a nice double up hill climb with about 1/2 mile to go before finally peaking, providing for a fast downhill finish (except for a strange, awkward loop around a parking lot). Overall I was pleased with my run, a little sore today but pleased.

The group that finished around me are listed below, including some of my GCS team mates.

Place Div/Tot  Div   Time     Pace  Name                   Ag S Race# City/state              Team
===== ======== ===== =======  ===== ====================== == = ===== ======================= =====
101   6/86   F2039 1:01:51   6:12 Christy Carrara        33 F   279 Hudson MA               NBB
102  28/131  M4049 1:01:59   6:12 Ron Moreau             43 M    29 Natick MA               BAA
103  29/131  M4049 1:02:13   6:14 Keith Schmitt          40 M   692 Durham NH                  
104  30/131  M4049 1:02:14   6:14 Kevin Delaney          40 M    82 Arlington MA            CSU
105  67/122  M2039 1:02:18   6:14 Ben Ndaya - Mizuno     32 M   697 Lowell MA               RUN
106   3/109  M5059 1:02:20   6:14 Ephraim Ezekiel        51 M   342 Newton MA               WHIRL
107   4/109  M5059 1:02:20   6:14 Jon Waldron            51 M   667 West Newton MA          CSU
108  31/131  M4049 1:02:21   6:15 Andrew Biancheri       40 M   168 Westborough MA          GLRR
109  68/122  M2039 1:02:23   6:15 Pat Ard                24 M   336 Raymond NH              WHIRL
 110  32/131  M4049 1:02:26   6:15 Steve Wolfe            44 M   164 Merrimack NH            GCS   
111  33/131  M4049 1:02:29   6:15 John Chapin            42 M   315 Arlington MA            SRR
112   5/109  M5059 1:02:42   6:17 Tom Offenbacher        52 M   177 Westborough MA          GLRR
113  34/131  M4049 1:02:46   6:17 Ted MacMahon           43 M   460 Harvard MA                 
114   7/86   F2039 1:02:48   6:17 Carly Graytock         30 F    17 Cambridge MA            BAA
115  35/131  M4049 1:02:50   6:17 Joseph Rogers          41 M   156 Lyndeborough NH         GCS   
116  69/122  M2039 1:02:55   6:18 John Barrett           39 M     1 Needham MA              BAA
117                1:02:55   6:18 Todd Brown                M   646                         NMC
118  70/122  M2039 1:03:04   6:19 Max White              25 M   616 Jamaica Plain MA        GBTC
119   8/86   F2039 1:03:07   6:19 Lara Johnson           27 F    21 Boston MA               BAA
120  71/122  M2039 1:03:09   6:19 Andy Brown             26 M   709 Belchertown MA             
121  72/122  M2039 1:03:15   6:20 William Wheeler        29 M   402 Belchertown MA             
122  73/122  M2039 1:03:27   6:21 Brian Walsh            34 M   699 Ludlow MA               GSH
123   9/86   F2039 1:03:37   6:22 Tammie Robie           34 F   357 Milford NH              WHIRL
124  74/122  M2039 1:03:37   6:22 Will Paulding          30 M   741 Deerfield MA            SMAC
125  10/86   F2039 1:03:38   6:22 Jennifer Campbell      25 F   726 Newmarket NH            CRC
 126   1/42   M6099 1:03:41*  6:23 Bill Dixon             61 M   170 Brattleboro VT          GLRR
127   1/59   F4049 1:03:44*  6:23 Simonetta Piergentili  44 F   353 Wilmington MA           WHIRL
128  11/86   F2039 1:03:54   6:24 Tara Vance             25 F   129 Jamaica Plain MA        GBTC
129  36/131  M4049 1:03:57   6:24 Brian Reeves           45 M   485 Shirley MA                 
130  75/122  M2039 1:04:03   6:25 Frank Pilhofer         35 M   154 Nashua NH               GCS   
131  12/86   F2039 1:04:08   6:25 Michelle McCreary      25 F    80 Cambridge MA            CRC
132  37/131  M4049 1:04:11   6:26 Peter Fratini          43 M   217 Westfield MA            GSH
133  38/131  M4049 1:04:12   6:26 Jonathan Wyner         48 M    96 Arlington MA            CSU
134  76/122  M2039 1:04:14   6:26 Marco Iannello         28 M   443 Springfield MA             
135  77/122  M2039 1:04:19   6:26 Brian Tinger           31 M   700 Somerville MA           SRR
136  39/131  M4049 1:04:25   6:27 Michael Wade           40 M   163 Nashua NH               GCS   

Now as a running club, we did ok considering we're competing against some incredibly strong teams from all over New England.

Gate City Striders Team Results
Mens Open - 7th (14 teams)
Mens Masters - 7th (13 teams)
Mens Veterans - 5th (12 teams)
Mens Seniors - 2nd (5 teams)
Female Open - 6th (9 teams)
Female Masters - 5th (10 teams)

Now, what to do next....