Wayland Cross Country Festival

My prior experience at the Wayland 5K cross country race was 17:27 and 15th place back in 2007. The race today was the third race of the New England XC Grand Prix. The course is a mix of running through athletic fields and trails around Wayland High School. There are a few hills to break momentum. I rolled out and clawed my way through a 5:31 mile. The big hill got in the way after 1.2 miles. I reached the top and picked off a few runners along the ridge and downhills back to the school fields. My momentum settled after mile 2 while just five seconds behind Mark Mayall, a master who was in between Joe Shairs and I. I passed maybe three more runners to the track where we had 300 meters before reaching the finish line. I ran 17:47 and 39th place. The race went by so quick. I felt good about the effort, maybe some fading after 2 miles but battled to the line, finishing just behind Brendan Lynch from HFC who is prepping for a marathon in November. I reminded him before the race of his awesome Chicago Marathon in 2003 where he ran mid 2:30's (I ran 2:38). It was awesome to see Antonietta and Larry O'Toole (xc and track teammates at Salem State) who were on hand cheering and coaching their kids in the earlier races. Meanwhile, CMS took one on the team chin today, placing 5th overall. Results

Salem State was a long time ago...
Antonietta O'Toole, Tom Derderian, myself, Larry O'Toole
Photo by KrissyK

CMS had solid performances with Tim Van Orden placing as the top 40+ male and Joe Shairs just behind him. These guys are going to have a great race next weekend at the USATF National Masters Cross Country Championships in Saratoga Springs, NY.