Yankee Homecoming 10 mile road race

It has been four years since I lined up for the Yankee Homecoming 10 mile in Newburyport. I ran a time of 56:45 (5:41 pace per mile),22nd overall. I was pretty stoked with the effort, likely my best for the year.

There is a lot that I appreciate about this Tuesday night race in late July or early August. I have my 10 mile road personal best here back in 1997, running 53:34. There is decent crowd in downtown Newburyport to cheer runners on. I signed up months ago and knew a few other CMS guys were going so I pushed for a more guys two weeks before the race so we could potentially score teams. We for sure had enough for a masters team, who would then also score down to an open team.

I warmed up with CMS t’mate Nick Taormina. We traded notes on approach to the race. I was cautious to tackle this with any aggression, having a 1500M and 5.5 mile road race under my belt over the weekend. We agreed low 6 minute miles would work early in the early going. I nailed the expectation , 6:10, a step behind Nick at mile 1. The downtown area got crowded as we ran through the 5K runners. Nothing too hard but you had to keep your head on a swivel and make sure you avoided slower traffic ahead. I caught up with Nick at the end of Merrimac St and mile 5 (31:27, 6:13 pace).

Dave caught me along Pine Hill Road (Maudslay State Park was to our right) at 6.5 miles. I engaged and locked in with him. We caught a few runners from there and along Rt 113. Dave dropped me at 9 miles and opened the gap to 7 seconds to the finish line. I was just about out of gas at the finish which finished in front of the school (climbing up the driveway and a little dip to the finish line) to the sound of Andy Schachat announcing the finishers as they rolled in. 

I placed 43^rd with a chip time of 1:03:05 (approximately 31:27 at the half way point). Nick finished less than a minute after I did. The masters team placed first and I was the 5^th guy. Chris Mahoney, Patrick Rich, and Kevin Hankens, all masters, scored down to help Dan Vassallo (2^nd overall, 52:33) and DJ Raboin (58:05) with the open team win.

59th YANKEE HOMECOMING 10 MILES (2018 results)

NEWBURYPORT, MA     TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2018

Place No.   Name                Guntime Chiptim Age Club

2  Dan Vassallo          52:34   52:33  5:16 33   CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS

10 Chris Mahoney     57:28   57:26  5:45 40   CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

14 Dj Raboin             58:06   58:05  5:49 26     CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

15 Patrick Rich          58:07   58:06  5:49 41    CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

21 Kevin Hankens     58:46   58:46  5:53 40    CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

40 Dave Dunham  1:03:00 1:02:58  6:18 54  CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

43 James Pawlicki 1:03:07 1:03:05  6:19 43  CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

49 Nick Taormina 1:04:06 1:04:01  6:25 45   CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

60 Pat Fullerton   1:05:23 1:05:18  6:32 29   CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS                   

MALE MASTERS 40+ 

1. 5:00:21 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS       (1:00:05)

==================================================

  1    57:26   1379 Chris Mahoney       40 

  2    58:06   1876 Patrick Rich        41 

  3    58:46    929 Kevin Hankens       40 

  4  1:02:58    621 Dave Dunham         54 

  5  1:03:05   1740 James Pawlicki      43 

Yankee Homecoming 10 mile - Newburyport

The Central Mass Striders team heading to the Yankee Homecoming 10 mile road race in Newburyport only had four men on the day of the race. Five are needed to score. I decided that morning to fill in as the 5^th guy. I left work 3:00, picked up Krissy, and sat back for a quick ride up Rt 95. I signed up at registration and made sure I made contact with Jason Porter, Dan Verrington, Nick Taormina, and Patrick Rich to confirm we were all there for a potential scoring team. I tried to recall the last time I ran the race. 2008 was the last time I was there and it was a USATF New England Championship event. I ran 56:48 (5:41) and placed 48^th. My expectations last night were to get under 58:00. I got a light warm up running from the parking lot to the high school to hear the 5K go off at 6:00. I jogged around Anna Jaques Hospital, did some light stretching, and got into the starting line three rows from the line two minutes before the starting gun. The start is flat and easy to find room on the wide street. I heard a 5:28 1^st mile split. A nice downhill to the water and heard a 2^nd mile of 11:00. I was in the back of a solid group of at least 10 guys including Jason Porter (CMS), Caleb Evanter (GBTC), Matt Germain (SISU), and Robert Cipriano (SRR). I did not know the other guys as they were all new young faces to me.

Heading up the driveway to the finish line
Photo by KrissyK

Photo by KrissyK

My pace was quicker than what I felt I could sustain for 10 miles but just went with it knowing that I would be positioned very well if I kept with that group for as long as possible. I was really pumped to be in that competitive group. We took on the first real climb up toward Maudsley State Park and a water stop just after 5 miles. I heard a split of 28:10. That was a good half way split considering my all out five mile race for the year was around 27:43 in May. The pack thinned out on that hill and I slipped off that group. I got back into the back of that group crossing the Rt. 95 overpass behind Eric Williams (Whirlaway) and Caleb Evanter. We took a left into residential neighborhood to the left of Maudsley and watched Caleb take off with authority. I started to feel the effect of my quicker than usual pacing. I hung in there and battled anyone around me leaving the Maudsley area up a hill where I felt I was running so slow. I crossed over Rt 95 once again with less than 2.5 miles to go. I was beat and just looking for the finish line. I ran with a young guy into the last mile. I lost a few spots in the last mile as my wheels were coming off. It was a good sight to see the orange cones leading us into the Newburyport High School driveway. I maintained stride up the driveway and into the finish to a delighted sight of the clock ticking in the 56 minutes. I finished with a time of 56:47 (5:41) – chip time of 56:45 – 22^nd place overall. I was very happy with the time and effort. I had absolutely nothing left. It has been a while since I had a ten mile time that quick. I caught up with some competitors and headed out for a cool down with Patrick Rich and Steve Dowsett who ran us past his house off High Street. I ran another mile with Jason Porter and Dan Verrington. CMS placed 4th overall. My stomach was a mess so I headed back to find Krissy and get some nourishment as I was very light headed.  I will post up some photos that Krissy took once they are uploaded. 

Full Results

KrissyK 2014 Yankee Homecoming 10 mile and some 5K photos

Last turn to the finish
Photo by KrissyK