Run to Win

Dirigo RC had a good showing this weekend with strong performances in the Philadelphia Marathon and the New England Cross Country Championships.

Sheri Piers and Kristin Barry both ran very strong marathons in Philadelphia, starting and finishing together in 2:45:36! They were 59^th and 60^th overall, placing 8^th and 9^th for the women’s race. There were 2726 women in the race and 6677 finishers overall. The 2008 qualifying time for the women’s Olympic Marathon Trials is 2:47:00 or better for a “B” standard, which both Sheri and Kristin made with ease! Now there will be two more great runners to cheer on in April on the day before the Boston Marathon.

Speaking of Boston, this weekend was the 2007 USATF New England Cross Country Championships. Dirigo won the Masters 8k championship race after being led by strong performances from Todd Coffin and Pete Bottomley. The men’s open team was led by Kirby Davis in the 10k.

The Maine Marathoner was last weekend and was won by Dan Vassallo as he powered through to a 2:26:54 in his first marathon. He beat Byrne Decker’s course record from last year by 3 minutes; Byrne finished in 3^rd this year, 9 minutes from the front. The winning relay team was the Dirigo Masters team, who finished just ahead of 2^nd place in 2:32:39. Stephanie Crawford had a 9 minute lead on second place, winning the women’s race in 3:01:16.
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The Pat’s Pizza 5 Mile Classic at the Yarmouth Clam Festival was this morning. Pat Tarpy came back to Maine to attempt to set the course record. Two years ago, he ran a course record 24:29 but was soundly beaten by Matt Lane, who ran an impressive 23:48. This year, having already run the fastest mile on Maine soil, he set his sights on breaking Matt’s record. He went out strong and on pace, but fell back a little in the last mile to finish 8 seconds shy in 23:56. He has, however, now broken the course record from before the course was certified. Jeff Caron took second place but was over a minute back in 24:58.

The women’s race was much closer, with Kristin Barry and Sheri Piers repeating last year’s 1-2 finish. They were only 7 seconds apart, running 28:56 and 29:03, respectively. I didn’t see Joan Samuelson at all today, but she came through a hair under 30 minutes, just as she has for the past few years.

Despite the coolest weather since I began running this race, I did not do quite as well as I had hoped to. My goals were about a half minute to 45 seconds faster than I ran, which shows that I should have followed last year’s strategy of running negative splits. My last two miles were a solid and even effort, but they were both about 9 seconds per mile slower than they were in 2006. I came through in 28:02, which will hopefully serve as a good wake up call for my legs so that I can perform well in two weeks at the Beach to Beacon.

There were also 290 children who completed the kid’s 1 mile fun run, and 917 finishers in the 5 mile race.

(Full Results - Clam Festival - Fun Run Results - Photos)

Every year, the Portland Sea Dogs put on a 5k race on Mother’s Day. The team mascot, Slugger, drives in the pace car with his mother around the course, which is one loop. It is a fun race that usually has less than ideal conditions. Not today, though. The weather was beautiful, with a slight brreeze, no clouds, and temperatures in the mid to high 50s.

The good weather contributed to a record turn out, sealing this race as the largest 5k in Maine. There were 1439 finishers of almost 1800 registered for the race. There were around 1300 runner pre-registered. All of the runners that have made this event as well attended as it has been allowed for there to be professional photographers on the course, and for bagpipers to be hired. They did the awards ceremony outside of the stadium this year, though, which was a little odd. There is a 1:00 game against Binghamton, which must be the reasoning behind that.

Louie Luchini decimated the field in 14:30, averaging 4:41 per mile and beating the course record by 42 seconds. Ethan Hemphill came in about a minute later in 15:27. Kristin Barry and Sheri McCarthy-Piers repeated last year’s top two for the women’s race, finishing in 17:35 and 17:49 respectively.

I had a better race than I could have expected. I was there a few hours early to register and to run the course backwards at a very slow 9:00 to 9:15 pace. There were no dead animals on the course this year. After standing around for a while I got a few more miles of slightly quicker warm-up in, and then got ready to race. I managed to come through in 16:43, which is a slightly quicker start than I normally have at this time of the year. Less than a month out from my marathon, I will take this as a sign that this year I will go below the 16 minute barrier. My best remains either 16:07 or 16:09 from an indoor track race in college. I managed to place third in the 25-29 category, and the trophies remain the only ones that I have that have a baseball in them.

(Full Results - Photos (1) - Photos (2))

The Safe Passage 5k was this morning in Cumberland, Maine. A record number of participants showed up this morning, not least because of the passing of Hanley Denning this past Winter. She started the Safe Passage program, which provides education to the children who live in the Guatemala City garbage dump. The race raised about $18,000 for the program. There were 563 finishers, and both the men’s race and the women’s race saw course records.

The race was won by Ethan Hemphill in 15:14, which is 14 seconds than last year’s record setting run. There were 4 Dirigo runners in the top 5. The women’s race was won by Kristin Barry in 17:15, which lowered the women’s record by 23 seconds.

(Results - Photos)

The 2006 Maine Marathon, Marathon Relay, and Half Marathon was this morning in Portland, Maine. The rain held off for the day and stayed down in New Hampshire, leading to ideal marathon weather. A problem with the starting mats made it impossible to capture net times, however, so only the gun time was available.
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The Dan Cardillo Memorial 5k was this morning in Falmouth, Maine. Dirigo racing club swept the field with the first five finishers. Ethan Hemphill won the race in 15:39, followed a minute later by Josh Zolla and Bill Mariski. Blaine Moore and Rob Fast were not far behind. Sheri Piers ran a 24 second course record in 17:33, bettering Kristin Barry’s time from last year. Christine Reaser and Mary Pardi were a minute and a half to two minutes behind her. There were 268 finishers on an absolutely beautiful day in the mid 60s with a slight headwind on the course.

Update: Dan Cardillo Pictures
(Full Results)

The 2006 Yarmouth Clam Festival official results are now available.

In a repeat of their victories at the Portland Sea Dogs Mother’s Day 5K, Ethan Hemphill, 34, of Freeport and Kristin Barry, 32, of Scarborough claimed top honors at the 25th annual Clam Festival Classic 5-Miler.

Hemphill overcame a challenge from Gorham’s Mike Downing, completing the course in 26 minutes, 15 seconds — nine seconds ahead of Downing. Yarmouth’s Christian Muentener, the 2003 champion, placed third in 26:32.

Barry’s time of 28:46 was good enough for a 31-second victory over Sheri Piers of Falmouth. Erica Jesseman, 17, of Scarborough rounded out the top three in 29:34.

See yesterday’s write-up for my own thoughts and memories of the Yarmouth Clam Festival Classic.