Mount Greylock Road Race

The email for the 8 mile road race mentioned Mount Greylock as the highest point, 3,491 feet, in Massachusetts. This appealed to me and I never been to the mountain so I was all in as long as it did not put a big dent into my Labor Day weekend. The race was part of the Mountain Series so I was bound to see a lot of CMS runners.

I picked up Dave Dunham on Saturday afternoon and we drove a bit less than 3 hours to Field Farm in Williamstown. We ran four miles with Tim Van Orden. At the end of the run, we sampled the apples. An hour later we visited Olympic Pizza for dinner. I grabbed a pint of ice cream on the way back to the hotel.  

I was up at 5:04AM, before any alarm. Dave and I walked to Dunkin Donuts for coffee. The race was less than 10 minutes away so we had plenty of time to reach the 8:30 start. There were over a dozen CMS runners milling around getting bib numbers and warming up. Colin Carroll filled me in on the secret Williams College training in the mid-2000’s which included some Greylock intervals. I ran a 2 mile warm up with David Lapierre and Dave. Numbers for the race were over 250 strong, well up from the 187 finishers with rain last year.

I got on the front row at the starting line. I had echoes of “miles two and three are tough” given to me from Tivo and Dave. They were spot on. A used a bit of caution in there trying not to red line. The course lightened up in the second half, offering some flat sections and downhill which surprised me as it did not amplify while looking at the course profile a few weeks ago. Paulo from SRR was the only runner I would pass after 4 miles. I could see Chris Smith (SRR) and Brian Ruhm (Gate City) over the last three miles but all I could do was get 5 seconds of Brian on the last climb to the finish which was 150 yards from the summit. I placed 17^th with a time of 1:03:08.07. Now I have a time to beat next year. I got 7.69 miles on the GPS so keep that in mind if you decide to run the race for the first time in the future. 2018 Mount Greylock Road Race results

JAMES PAWLICKI
43rd Annual Mt. Greylock Road Race
Overall: 17 out of 286
Male 40 - 49: 2
Time: 01:03:08.07
Pace: 7:53/mile
Speed: 7.6mph

Top 20 runners from the 2018 Mount Greylock Road Race

1 TURNER ZAMORE 238 00:53:11.62 6:39 9.0mph M 34

2 CAMERON COGBURN 377 00:56:21.80 7:03 8.5mph M 32

3 COLIN CARROLL 230 00:56:23.94 7:03 8.5mph M 33

4 MARK RABASCO 407 00:57:51.51 7:14 8.3mph M 24

5 TODD CALLAGHAN 358 00:58:08.91 7:16 8.3mph M 48

6 ERIK VANDENDRIES 336 00:58:11.02 7:16 8.2mph M 53

7 TIM VAN ORDEN 392 00:58:54.51 7:22 8.1mph M 50

8 BRANDYN NARO 315 00:59:11.95 7:24 8.1mph M 31

9 DAVE DUNHAM 328 00:59:56.53 7:29 8.0mph M 54

10 MEGHAN DAVIS 387 01:00:40.27 7:35 7.9mph F 16

11 HEATH BREWER 282 01:00:52.08 7:36 7.9mph M 34

12 KASSANDRA MARIN 406 01:01:29.05 7:41 7.8mph F 28

13 MICHAEL NARCISI 322 01:01:57.11 7:45 7.7mph M 34

14 KIM NEDEAU 242 01:02:32.25 7:49 7.7mph F 39

15 CHRISTOPHER SMITH 308 01:02:40.20 7:50 7.7mph M 52

16 BRIAN RUHM 391 01:03:03.32 7:53 7.6mph M 52

17 JAMES PAWLICKI 331 01:03:08.07 7:53 7.6mph M 43

18 PAULO AMARAL 295 01:04:00.11 8:00 7.5mph M 37

19 DAVID CORBETT 228 01:05:06.91 8:08 7.4mph M 34

20 DAVID LAPIERRE 264 01:05:34.51 8:12 7.3mph M 54

Mt Wachusett Road Race - King of the Mountain 3 mile

The USATF Mountain Series scored the up portion of the race (3 miles to the summit) so that was my focus. My hamstring has been sore so racing down the mountain was not an option. Heading up one mile hill was a strenuous grind, just steps behind Dave Dunham. We got into the park and he pulled away. I settled in for the rest of the race up the auto road. It was hot, and any shade was sought after but limited. Chris Smith went by after 2 miles and made some ground on the seniors. I was ready to end the race and finally got to the summit in 22:38, 22^nd place. I had 9 CMS runners ahead of me which within a race hosted by the Central Mass Striders, was pretty cool. We have two new Seniors that made their debut: Ed Sheldon and Jeff Hunt. I waited at the top for five minuntes, drank a few cups of Gatorade and headed down the mountain with Tim Mahoney and Dave Lapierre. I opted to not go through the finish at the base as the run down was too casual. I headed over to the Wachusett Brewery with Stephen Laska for a plant tour and some samples. Then we headed over to West Boylston for lunch. On the way over there, the fuel pump on the Rabbit decided to fail. Needless to say, I and the Rabbit got towed home.  

The heat got to both the Rabbit and I

Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race

This was race # 1 within the USATF New England Mountain Series. This was the 5^th year of the race in Huntington, VT, home of Kasie Enman. Her house and property host the race via Sleepy Hollow Inn and XC Ski resort. This was my first time there and was excited about car pooling with Matt Veiga and William Jackson. Matt made the 3 hour trip each way look easy. After arriving super early and warming up on the last mile of the course with Chris Smith (SRR and training partner this past Tuesday for 5 X 1K) and some CMS guys, the race took off up the hill.

The temps were in the low 50’s and a few light drops of rain dropped upon but overall, dry aside from mud here and there. The course, as I saw the profile was three up and down efforts through a 6.3 mile course on wide xc ski trails and single track. I went out conservative, based on my placing after 400m, but the breathing was heavy (welcome back to racing).

There were spots of slick mud that were easy to navigate on the flats and climbs with my ol’ New Balance 100’s. However, it was dicey on the steep drops after the mile. I lost a lot of time on the first stretch going down, getting gapped by Chris Smith and Dave Dunham. I mean from next to them and then out of sight after 3 minutes. I gingerly moved my way down the hills preferring to stay on my feet. From the bottom of that hill (1.75 miles?), I took a more aggressive approach and reeled in runners one by one. Up, down, flat, did not matter. I felt strong and carried momentum where I could but respecting the miles ahead. I was not familiar with the runners in the race other than teammates so it was cool to have them as a beacon after not seeing them and then I would see a CMS singlet coming back into my target.

Much respect from competitors on some single track which was really appreciated when they stepped aside once I was on the heels for 30 seconds. Dave Dunham, was my last beacon to catch with 800m to go on a downhill stretch, giving him a love tap on the ass as I went by.  It was easy to cruise down the hill but had to deal with a 100 yard up hill to the finish in a field. I just held Dave off at the end. My time was 49:51. Overall, I was as happy as I have been in the last seven months with my racing effort. 22^nd overall,  6^th guy in his 40’s. The post race after a 1.5 mile cool down was capped with a Burrito bar. It was a good appetizer before Matt, William, and I stopped in Richmond, for some sandwiches at Hatchet. 

Loon Mountain Race - New England Mountain Running Championship

Krissy and I headed up to the Loon Mountain Race (6.6 miles). The ride to 60 Mountain Road in Lincoln, NH was about 2 hours. After getting my number and talking to Scott Mason about his GTI, I went out for warm up just shy of a mile. I changed into my racing gear and CMS singlet. Krissy headed to the top of Loon Mountain with Scott to work their craft behind the lenses. I got on the starting line with several team mates who have been crushing it within not only the USATF New England Mountain Series but the All Terrain Running Series. I have hit all of the ATR races so far but nothing to speak of in terms of an outdoor track 5,000m. Thus, I need to get to the remaining races which should not be a problem as long as I stay healthy.

There was a new start this year at LMR which was behind the lodge instead of down at the river. As a result, they extended the finish line back to the top of the gondola or about three minutes beyond the top of Upper Walking Boss. My expectations for the race were really simple, give my best effort and don't give in to walking until UWB as it is just inevitable. I started out huffing and puffing right away and I really thought I was taking it easy. There were some ups and downs and we hit the nordic trails which I really like. Dave Dunham and I traded spots in there. It was wet and muddy in several areas. Any standing water was ankle deep. I put on a little hustle to pass Dave and get after Kasie Enman and Kim Nedeau. I clocked my fastest mile of the day in 7 flat.

Heading down to Upper Walking Boss
Photo by KrissyK

I never did catch Kasie but got as close as a few seconds. I appreciated any shade on the course. I was slow on all climbing but resisted walking among those that had to. I was just waiting for Upper Walking Boss which is a devil including some 40%. I was running with Alex Hall from Whirlaway. While we were walking up, I tried to crack some jokes - making it up on the fly to cope with the misery. Some worked, some didn't. I kept it light. Had to. Running or hiking up this is insane. Kim Nedeau was the only runner to go past us on UWB. We seemed to get to the top sooner than in the past. Why? We did not have the switch backs up. Why? They did not mow it. I am OK with that.

Alex and I got into a trot before we got to the top and we hauled ass to the finish which took another three minutes of a steep down hill and a little steep hill up into the finish where Krissy was. I finished 25th overall with a time of 1:06:28. That is 10:05 average mile pace if you are keeping score at home. Josh Ferenc crushed it running 8:37's!

Head down and up into the finish
Photo by KrissyK

CMS did pretty well getting 6 guys in the top 17. Todd Callaghan (7th), Scott Leslie (11th), Chris Mahoney (12th), Dave Dunham (13th), Erik Vandendries (16th), & Matt Veiga (17th). I got some water and chatted it up with some of the guys I battled with. Then I headed over and hung out with Krissy and cheered on the next 45 minutes worth of runners into the finish. We headed down in the gondola and took a quick soak in the Pemigewasset River before hitting the road to beat some of the traffic.

Loon Mountain Race New England Mountain Running Championship 2015 results

US Mountain Running Championship - Loon Mountain

KrissyK photos of the men’s race

Loon Mountain Men’s race results

The skinny:

53^rd place

Time: 1:03:36.7

First time I had to walk: 39 minutes

I walked/hiked 90% of upper walking boss

Loon Mountain was hosting the 2014 US Mountain Running Championships and I had the day open so I committed to it. CMS was going to have plenty of guys there and I had to get them some gear so I was a man on a mission. I have some history at Loon and each time I get to Upper Walking Boss, I curse it. A 40% grade will do that to a sane person, trust me. The course was changed this year with more cross country early on which I loved. There was mud, elevation changes, flats, and more importantly, shade. The serious climbing was all in the 2^nd half of the race. Even in the 2^nd half, there is a little bit of down hill to break up the pain. 

I was doing pretty good, passing folks, slowly, on the climbs and caught up to Ethan Nedeau before the descent to Upper Walking Boss. However, I drove that descent with no aggression and he put 20 seconds on me. I checked out a bit while allowing the legs to recover from the ascent before. I collapsed to a crawl and started the hike and walk up the ‘boss as did most ahead of me. It seemed acceptable and running seemed useless as either effort gained the same distance (not entirely true but my legs fell for it). About eight guys passed me on the way up and I did not care too much about it. I don’t mean that negatively. I was in a world of suffering and walk or run, it was tough. Ask anyone who did it. The top of Upper Walking Boss did come quicker than I remember in the past. That was a good thing. Looking back down on the ‘boss gave me a 2 second sense of accomplishment but I still had to crest the top and finish it up. I was completely on empty on this one folks. I won’t lie. 1:03 and 36 seconds. 

On the way down to find the Upper Walking Boss
Photo by KrissyK

The scenery all around – surrounded by mountains on a clear sunny day was absolutely worth it. I met up with CMS teammates for some chat, photos, and a slow jog to the Gondola with Arthur Besse with whom I talked into doing such the race 18 hours earlier. He handled himself just fine helping the masters team take the win. The CMS men’s open and senior teams also took team wins! Good stuff. I caught Krissy who was wrapping up her photo session of the day for a nice Gondola ride down. I soaked the legs in the ice cold river. It was ice cold and won’t lie that I refused to take that for more than a minute on the legs. We went back to check out the awards and get a bagel before heading out for a traffic filled ride home. I am glad I went and was very happy and proud to see the guys run so well at Loon.