Run to Win

188 runners made their way out in the fog and wind last night to compete in cool temperatures that hovered right around 60 degrees.

Claton Conrad took it out in about the same pace as last week’s race, finishing only 2 seconds slower in 16:13 for his 1^st trip around the Back Cove this season. Despite a guy yelling to me at about a mile and a quarter, there was no chance of anybody being able to “run him down” last night though, as I finished over a minute behind him in 17:14.

Abbey Gosling is establing a trend, winning the women’s race in 19:16. She is now 4 for 4 in the wins category for her participation in the race this year; 2 more races and she should debut nicely on the leader board.

Kellie Stratton knocked 2 minutes and 17 seconds off of her cumulative time on the leader board this week, but it wasn’t enough as Julianne Baroody ran her 6^th race and came onto the leader board with an almost 12 minute lead.

Nathan Augustine did not improve his time at all, but he has the distinction of having run in all 8 races to this point, a distinction held by only 7 people.

Seth Differ came onto the leader board in the lead for the men this week, with about an 11 minute lead over Nathan. I expect that the leader board is going to be shaken up quite a few times over the next few weeks until it settles out for the rest of the season and becomes a battle between fewer players.

(More Info: Full Results – Leader Board – Complete Runner’s List)

This year’s Lewiston/Auburn Triple Crown 5k Race Series has now gotten underway with this morning’s YMCA Fit Fest. The race saw some tremendous growth, with over twice as many finishers this year as there was last year (534 and 249, respectively.)

Henry Gaudion made the trip all the way from Dover-Foxcroft to win the race in 16:33, only 3 seconds behind his 5k PR from cross country season. He’s going to have a great senior year and some good college running to look forward to!

Henry had taken over the lead about 2/3 of a mile into the race as he came up on my shoulder with my fellow Dirigo runner Dan Crooker (4^th, 17:12) and we ran down the rabbit that had gone out way too hard.

We all felt pretty comfortable with the 5:11 first mile, and other than a short surge down a steep hill on Locust Street Henry and Dan were seemingly running away with the race.

By the second mile, though, I’d started to reel Dan in and tried to work my way up to Henry. I though with about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile to go that I might be able to do it; I was feeling strong. Henry dropped a hammer, though, and ran a 4:51 3^rd mile (which was realistically about 5 flat given that the 3^rd mile marker was a bit early.)

Henry wound up beating me by 13 seconds as I came through in second place in 16:46, with 3^rd place Ryan Fitzsimons of Turner another 22 seconds back from there.

Despite coming into the race with some lingering injuries, last year’s Triple Crown champion Tina Meserve won the race pretty handily in 19:55.

The battle between 2^nd and 3^rd was much tighter, though, with Kacie Herrick of Portland edging out local runner Kelley St. Hiliare by only 3 seconds to take 2^nd place in 20:38.

The next race in the Triple Crown Series is Emily’s Run on July 26^th.

(More Info: Full Results – Triple Crown 5k – Photos – More Photos)

Tonight was the 2^nd of 19 installments in this year’s Back Cove Weekly Series. The weather was pretty ideal for running, with temperatures in the mid-60s and a slight breeze.

There were 175 finishers this week.

Curtis Wheeler took the lead in the race about 1.25 miles into it, beating Blaine Moore by 12 seconds with a time of 17:19.

Jamie Young led the women with a time of 22:43.

Before the race, I was deputized to start the video camera at the finish line after I finished, so check out Maine Running Photos sometime tomorrow for that to get posted. It took me a few minutes to find the camera bag and get it set up but I’m pretty sure I only missed the first 7 or 8 finishers. I’ll find out when David uploads it.

He has quite a few pictures up from the race (including the great shot above) so check out his pictures from the link below.

This week I managed to forget to restock my desk with various snacks so I literally ate nothing but breakfast and lunch today. I even forgot to pack a banana. On a brighter note, I ran the 5+ miles to the starting line and then found another trail that cuts about 4/5 of a mile of roads out of the run on my way back. I was a bit tired today.

(More Info: Full Results – Photos – More Photos)

This year’s Weekly Back Cove Race Series began this evening and will continue for a total of 19 weeks through next September. It was very nice out this evening with temperatures in the low 60s despite a pretty strong headwind after you come over Tukey’s Bridge.

There were 239 people pre- registered for the series, 101 of whom ran tonight along with 45 people who registered this evening at the start.

I didn’t know what to expect this evening and figured that I would run at a fast pace that felt relatively comfortable. After the first mile I was surprised to still be in the lead and looked down at a 5:15 on my watch. I would continue to hold the lead through not quite 2½ miles as Dan Franek came up on my shoulder and then managed to run away from me about ¾ of a mile from the finish line. I had almost reeled him back in by the end of the race, but he edged me by a second, 16:59 to 17:00 flat.

Still, I was expecting maybe an 18:30 given that it’s only been a week and a half since my marathon (and 3½ weeks since Dan ran his marathon.)

Katie Davisson won the women’s race in 21:29, finishing 18^th overall. She beat Erin Bean by 41 seconds.

The shirts look great this year, by the way. I’ll be remembering my checkbook next week so that I can make my donation to Portland Trails and pick a few shirts up. They are dark blue with the logo up above on the fronts.

Registration should open again tomorrow morning if you’d like to enter your info ahead of time so that you can just pick up your bib before next week’s race.

(More Info: Full Results – Photos)

It has now been a week since the second running of the Cox Sports Marathon in Providence, Rhode Island. This is the race that I won last year, and I was looking to repeat again this year.

New Course Analysis

The course this year was completely different than last year, with a different start and finish line and much more extensive use of the local paved trail system. Rather than going north of Providence through Pawtucket, the course spent more time towards the South near Barrington. All in all, I rather liked the new course despite taking some of the hills away. There were a few problems with the new course, though.
(Click here to continue reading…)

Greg Meyer will be speaking at the Maine Running Company this Thursday, April 16^th, 2009. Greg Meyer is the last American man to win the Boston Marathon with his 2:09:00 in 1983. He has formerly held 2 world records (15K and 10 miles) and 10 American records (8K, 10K, 15K, 25K, and 10 miles.)

He will share his experiences with Boston, and along with the Maine Running Company coaches (Mike Gaige, John Rogers, and myself) he will be discussing how you can get ready for your first marathon or half marathon.

If you have some spare time and are in the Portland, Maine area this Thursday evening, I recommend stopping by. The normal training group run will begin at 6:00 and the 1^st Time Marathoner clinic will begin at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome.

The event is free, but if you are planning on attending, please register in advance at the Maine Running Company.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask…about me!

Well, maybe not everything, and you may not have been afraid, but Amy over at Runner’s Lounge took the time to ask me a dozen questions about my running so if you are interested in taking a peek, you can do so here: RunnersLounge.com

The interview covers some running history, gets some of my favorite tips out of me, and lets me get on a pulpit and remind people to volunteer at races.

The L/A Bridge Run was this morning, concluding the 1^st Annual Lewiston/Auburn Triple Crown racing series. Conditions for the race were favorable, with temperatures in the low 60s, overcast skies, and only a very light breeze albeit with a bit of humidity mixed in.

Ethan Hemphill returned again this year to claim the victory, splitting the distance between his performances from the last two years to finish in 15:29, 20 seconds ahead of Nicholas Wheeler. The race was a little closer on the women’s side, where Lauren LaRoche’s 18:40 was only 15 seconds ahead of Tina Meserve.

There were a few guys that went out for the cameras at the beginning of the race but who quickly faded (all but one not even making it to the bridge before falling back,) but a lead pack of 5 runners quickly formed and put a little distance on the field after going through the first kilometer in 3:05.

Towards the end of the second kilometer, I was behind the pack which had whittled down to 3 guys with a few others starting to string themselves out. I ran it in 3:12, slower than I wanted to go but still on pace.

Everything fell apart by 3k, though and I barely managed to hang on for the rest of the race. I got passed by a few guys and finished in 6^th place overall with a time that was at least 45 seconds too slow. Most of the people that I spoke to felt that they had all run slower than they thought they would going into the day, but that is small consolation.

I did secure a 3^rd place finish in the Triple Crown Series, however.

Here were the final standings for the 3 races:

(Full Results – Triple Crown Results – Photo Credit: Erin Moore – Penta Photos: Kids Race – Start Line – Finish Line 1, 2, 3 – DCY: Photos & Video)