Miles Over the Moon 4 mile - Salem

Krissy and I post-race

I won a free entry to the Miles Over the Moon 4 mile race courtesy of the North Shore Road Race Guide a few weeks ago. The race is unique with a  Friday night, 8:00PM start. I picked up my number, ran a warm up with Bradley Gates and Chris Nolin, showing them as much of the 1^st and last mile that I studied prior. The race opened up with a loop around the Salem Common on the road (not inside the common via the path). Four guys were immediately out quick wasting no time taking charge. Once the dust settled, I went by three runners within the first mile and was now in 4^th place cranking through a 5:19 mile on Derby Street. I noticed ahead that Jordan Kinley was dropping off the lead pack now down to 2 that included Dan Chruniak. I would maintain my place heading behind the Salem Willows and out of it hitting mile 2 with a 5:39 split. The hill at Deadhorse beach is a beast and provided me with a 5:44 split now heading back to the Salem Commons. A few turns later, I was on the Salem Common for a full lap around it on the stone dust path. I knew I would be close to 5:30 pace so I tried to stay with that stride while the legs tired. I saw the clock at 21:39 and I made a sprint to break 22 minutes. I would end up with a 22:00 bib time and 22:01 gun time. 4^th place, 1^st master runner. I was happy with the effort and it has been a while since I was in the 5:30’s for a race distance beyond 5K. My GPS measured out 3.93 so that calculated out to 5:36 pace per mile. I ran a 4 mile race in Salem (Frosty 4) over pretty much the same course on January 1 with a 5:50 pace per mile. A little progress since then! Full results of the Miles Over the Moon event. I ran a cool down with Dan (won with 5:00/mile average), 2^nd place runner Jon Lindenauer (new to the area from Hudson Valley who ran 5:03/mile pace), and Chris Nolin who was the 4^th place master over to the Pickering Wharf and more of Derby Street before the darkness fell on the evening.

Finish line in the Salem Commons
photo via video, KrissyK