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| Off the start Photo by Roger Perham |
I woke up on Saturday morning with no plan (training or
racing) so I went to the coolrunning race calendar to see what was available. I
found the Ipswich Rotary 5K/10K Trail Ramble at Appleton Farms. My previous
history was a 4th place finish behind gents such as Mike Degennaro,
John Ayers, Patrick Rich back in 2005 in the 5K (the 10K did not exist). I ran
a warm up with Alex Vlahos from Ipswich and then added in another 12 minutes on
my own before lining up at the start. The race goes up hill over the
Newburyport line (rail road) and then down to Rt 1 where we took a right and
entered Appleton Farms. Aside from Mark Mayall and Alex, I did not know anyone
else. 5:39 at the first mile while the group of six was still collected. I was anxious
but chilled out next to the leader on the dirt road as we slowly pulled away.
We came to the point on the course where the 10K runners go left and the 5K
goes straight. The young man I was next to took a left and wished me luck in my
race (5K) and I yelled back the same to him. I peeked back a minute later and all
was quiet – maybe 40 yard lead. I pressed along –
the course now winding along beside what we used to race on back in 2005
(roads) this time on the trails. A few hills later popped me out to the road
back to the finish for one last dirt road sprint for the win in 17:21. 2nd
place, Fabio Piergentili, was 17:59. Alex finished 4th. I cooled down with Alex and then added in more miles to get in
10 for the day.
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| Finish Photo by Roger Perham |
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