Run to Fall 5K Trail Race

Sunday December 6, 2020

This race was postponed from November which I signed up for in order to have cross country tune up before the New England Cross Country Championships. Former CMS teammate Tim Cox and family have been hosting this rolling terrain cross country event for almost two decades at Coe-Brown Academy in Northwood, NH. About eight inches of snow had fallen the day before. Most of the snow was plowed along the trails with a 4 wheeler while even a few trees were reported to be cut down and out of the way. There were six heats of races during the day to keep everyone distanced out. I fell into heat # 3 which started at 1:15PM. I saw Dave Dunham and Dan Verrington cooling down from their 11AM race. I got schooled on what the course terrain and conditions were like. Dave lent me a pair of Kahtoolah Microspikes which helped a lot in getting traction on the course. The toughest part of the course was the opening and closing 150M where the snow was ankle deep but already beat down by the first two heats of runners.

I jumped out and settled into 2^nd place after a quarter mile. I got passed by 800m in by the eventual winner who would run 23:45. I moved up to second place and held that place until getting passed with 400 meters to go. I was gassed and maintained into the finish which was on the track buried by snow. I placed 3^rd in the heat and 23^rd overall with a time of 24:55 and 8:02 miles for the 5K distance. It was certainly a fun race even with the tricky footing. I benefitted with the Katoolah spikes. I am going to invest in a pair which is perfect for lightly packed snow. I headed out for another 3 miles on the course for a cooldown on the quiet course which waited another hour for the last two heats/races for the day.

USATF New England Cross Country Championships

During the year of the “Crona” racing opportunities have been limited but the USATF New England Cross Country Championships secured Mine Falls in Nashua, NH for November 21. The Central Mass Striders entered a team with a mix of age groups. I was familiar with Mine Falls as I raced a month earlier on said trails. The 5K course would be a fast one in the form of a lolli-pop with a tiny bump or two in the middle mile. Joe Shairs drove us for a quick 45 minute ride. We met up with CMS teammates for our first team gathering since March. We settled our gear in a team designated area on the far side of the field. The women’s race was just wrapping up as we grabbed our team packet with bib numbers from Steve Vaitones. It was a great November weather day with very light wind and plenty of sun giving temps in the 50’s.

All precautions and safety measures were excercised for the event. Waves of 20 runners were sent off at the noon start. 10 seconds in between waves and 20 minutes in between the 4^th and 5^th waves. Masks are mandatory everywhere until you are racing from the start to finish line. I took off in a wide start line of about 18 runners in my 7^th wave of peer performances based on seed time. I entered with a 22:00 5K seed. USATF New England, officials and volunteers did a great job keeping people comfortably spaced and orderly.

I pulled the mask down and onto my wrist after getting up to speed. I found myself in the rear which is as usual for me. I slowly worked my way up in the middle of gents by the 1^st mile showing a time of 6:34. The middle mile slowed down with narrowed trail in the woods making passing a little tricky but doable if calculated right. Also, needed to pay attention to the many roots and tripping hazards in this mile. I moved up a few spots through here putting me a few ticks trailing GBTC’s Jason Pollutro who looked to be the 4th place runner in the wave. Mile 2 went by with a 7:07. Now back on the final straight to the finish but a far mile, I got a good stride getting past Jason and a Greater Lowell runner with a half mile to go. I got to the finish line in 20:32, with a 6:35 effort for the final mile. Overall I placed 68 out of 87 runners, 7^th in the 40-49 age group. Our masters team led by Eric Blake’s 40+ age group leading 15:41 took 1^st place over HFC and GLRR. Our open team placed 2^nd behind Battle Road.  

I was pretty good with the effort. Eased into the pace and felt good to race. GPS stats: 3.03 miles, 6:46 pace per mile, 20:32 time. Splits: 6:36, 7:09, 6:35. I did a 1 mile warmup and then another .3 miles shortly before the start. I wore a light-ish New Balance trail waffle. I ran 1.6 miles for a cool down minutes after the race with CMS teammates.  

Photo credits to Tom D, GSRS and Dave Dunham

Results 

Team Results 

 

68

7

M4049

20:32

James

Pawlicki

M

46

CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS [02-0009]