After meeting Greg Rich last week at the Essex Turkey Trot, he offered an entry to this race that he could not use. Race director Erik Krathwohl granted the transfer on Wednesday so I was all set for the Thanks for the Trails 5K trail/cross country race hosted by ECTA - Essex County Trail Association.
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| Half way to go and no company |
I was familiar with the course, running it once a long time ago as it was called Gabe's Run. It was a wet and muddy day then. Today, the opposite, dry, sunny, and frozen with temps around 18 degrees. Little to no wind which was perfect. I lined up at the start after a warm up with Matt Curran. Pretty much the same outfit and clothing as yesterday, 3 thin layers on top, shorts below - the minority with 98% wearing pants.
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| Staying ahead of the chatter group on the other side of Patton's tank |
I jumped out and settled into 4th place after 100 yards. The front of the race thinned out quick with positions declared. No battles, each man for themselves. I had chatter behind me, a group of guys that had Harvard jackets on after the race. The gent in front of me already had 10 seconds on me half way through the race. The chatter behind got quiet and then was back at me heading up Sully's Hill. It was tough sledding with loose leaves making the footing tricky and the incline forced the heart rate to spike. I crested with the group of guys just about on my heels but I did not let them pass. One of them said to the group, be careful of the footing as we headed down the hill back to the field, now we are in the last mile of the race.
I bolted down and out onto the fields, getting rid of the chatter behind. I charged the field, starting my kick early so as to not having to deal with a battle down the stretch. I crossed over the field we started on (also played some High School baseball there at Patton Park as well) and into the finish line with a time of 18:47 and 4th place. GPS locked my distance down for 3 miles. Splits were
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| Finishing under 19 minutes for the 3 miles |
I had my CMS windbreaker and pants right there at the North Shore Timing van. I collected Matt Curran and Team Gloucester guys for a 2 mile trot. Awards were quickly getting way by the time I got into a dry top. My age group win scored me an ECTA beer glass. After the awards were over, I traded it in for a left over ECTA fleece hat. Fitting with the cold temps.
Roger Perham photo link below. All others above by Krissy.
https://rogerperhamspictures.shutterfly.com/running
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