Seasons 20K road race

I was rolling along with Dave Dunham early in the race. I did not feel sharp but planned on rolling hard down the hills and press in the middle of the race. The hills continued with the humid air and cloud cover. We were racing the Seasons 20K, race number five of the New England Grand Prix, touring the back roads of Acton. I couldn’t believe the splits consistent in sixes, slower than what I wanted. I said to Dave “it is what it is.” He was quiet but steady company. We went back and forth through the hills until I was gassed out shortly after the wind and rain that passed through after 7 miles? It felt good, temps dropped a few degrees. Runners ahead including Dave and several Whirlaway guys ran past Shaker Lane (after 10 miles?) which was coned. I followed the runners for a few seconds trusting them for just that long before telling/asking Matt Germain “isn’t the course back over there?” He agreed and we yelled ahead for the guys to come on back to the course. Maybe 15 seconds were lost for me but far more for the guys ahead to had to come back to the course. I kept with Matt and Dan Chruniak for as long as I could back out on Rt 2A but relented in the final mile. I crossed the line in 1:18:21 (1:18:18 chip time) good for 43^rd but should have been maybe 15 to 20 spots behind that if the guys did not run off course.  My teammates of Todd Callaghan, Ed Sheldon, and Dave Dunham lost a minute to two minutes out there with the course mix up. Oh well. Our masters team came in 2^nd place in a good battle with Whirlaway. While reflecting, my time was almost five minutes slower than last year, 1:18:18 vs 1:13:23. Not sure what to make of that while my effort on Sunday was “race pace.” Full race results

Charlie Bemis leading the charge after the rain fell. I am way back in our pack starting to fade before Shaker Lane.
Photo by Paul Hammond

Coming into the finish area with Joe Navas chasing. He was impacted by the Shaker Lane missed turn three miles earlier.
Photo by Paul Hammond