Pack Monadnock

This was a tough race today. I ran this 10 mile in 2007 clocking in at 1:06:25 where the first half was cautious with a 30:48 five mile split. Today, I went through 5 miles about a minute quicker (29:51). Peter Asaro from Gloucester and of William & Mary had just caught up to me before 5 miles after I passed Ben Nephew before the 4 mile mark.

I was spent after a climb in the 5th mile. I was crawling up each of the hills that followed. Peter must have had 30 seconds on me when I got out to Rt. 101 (7.5 miles). I could see Andy McCarron ahead of him by another 40 seconds and barely see Jim Johnson ahead of Andy. As spent as I was, I managed to catch Peter about 100 yards from the finish in Miller State Park (not an easy task in the last mile here unless someone is walking). However, I was drained and couldn't find any energy to pass him. I settled for 7th place in a very competitive field in the trek from Wilton, NH to Pack Monadnock in Temple, NH. My unofficial 1:06:44 is about :20 behind my previous effort in 2007. The delta today was going out harder and crashing harder in the 2nd half. I will chalk this up to a learning experience and solid effort on a day that I knew four miles from the finish line that it was going to get ugly.

The CMS held serious court in the race today. Without seeing the results yet, it looked like Justin Fyffe (3rd), Jim Johnson (4th), Andy McCarron (5th), myself (7th), Ben Nephew (8th), Dave Dunham (9th), Dave Quintal (12th), Tim Mahoney (13th), and Tim Van Orden (14th) all had solid races.

Bottom row (3): Andy McCarron, Todd Callaghan, Tim Mahoney

Top row: Dave Dunham, Justin Fyffe, Jim Johnson, Dave Quintal, Jim Pawlicki, & Ben Nephew

Photos by Kristen