Run to Win

This week last year was all about racing, specifically focusing on the New England Mile. Alas, the NE Mile no longer exists, but at least it went out with a bang. I also delved a little into politics and into cross training last year.

• Early in the week, it was announced that we had secured a $1500 bonus for breaking 4 minutes in the New England Mile. If it happened, then it would be the first time that a native Mainer had done so on Maine soil. Standout runner Louis Luchini and Pete Bottomley appeared on the Kid’s First radio show before the race, discussing the father/child competition and general running. Shortly after the show was announced, though, Pat Tarpy announced his intention to race. Not only did he intend to race, but Tarpy won the race in 3 minutes and 54 seconds, winning the race and taking home the prize money. After the race, he was asked when he knew that he was going to win the race. “Yesterday,” was his reply.
• In other racing news, the first Back Cove 5k Leader Board was announced. I expect that this year’s first leader board (which will be announced on Wednesday evening) will be much larger. Not only have there been over 100 runners every week, but there have been quite a few people that have run all 5 of the initial races so far.
• For cross training, I suggested that you pay attention to your lawn and do some yard work. You can get a good workout that way and your spouse will love you for it.
• Delving into politics, I tried to determine whether the NCAA had the right to kick a blogger out the baseball finals so that he couldn’t “scoop” the paid media sponsors. I never did see what agreements that he had to sign in order to get his press pass.
• This week two years ago I concentrated mostly on topical news, both local and national. I also shared my recipe for grilled catfish and tried to determine how many pushups I was capable of doing (46).

Spectators at this year’s Boston Indoor Games got to see some more records set, continuing last year’s trend. Meseret Defar took the spotlight, leading Kim Smith into a world record pace in the 2 mile with a time of 9:13.94. The former indoor world record of 9:23.8 was set at the 2002 Boston Indoor Games, and Smith watched Defar cross the line in 9:10.5. “It’s nice to beat a World record (best),” said Smith, “it’s only too bad that Meseret was there first.”

Craig Mottram also had a good day. He broke the American soil record in the 3000 meter by almost a second after he ran 7:34.5, which also lowered the Australian national record. “It was a good time, and I’m happy with it. I’m running as well as I’ve ever done, in about the same shape as I was this time last year. I just need to keep a lid on things, keep turning the screws, and keep getting ready for Beijing.”

Local runners Dan Franek and Pete Bottomley competed in the Masters’ Mile to open the meet up. Both men run for my team, Dirigo Running Club. Dan Franek came in 2^nd place with a time of 4:31.37, and Pete Bottomley was 8^th with a time of 4:40.81.

The Boston Indoor Games is the second of five meets in the indoor Visa Championship Series.

(Sources: 2008 Results – USATF – IAAF)

I got this note in my email the other day and thought that I should pass it along:

The Portland City Council will be recognizing the tremendous accomplishment of some of our running comrades (Todd Coffin, Mike Payson, Rob Pierce, Tom Ryan, Dan Franek, Mark Goettel, Peter Bottomley, and Christine Snow-Reaser) for winning SILVER in the recent USA Cross Country meet in Ohio. The PPH failed to recognize this MASTERS TEAM for its achievement. However, we can show up at the Council meeting to pay homage to these outstanding athletes.

Anybody that is interested in cheering on the masters runners from Dirigo who did so well at the national cross country meet in December can do so tonight at 7:00 pm at the Portland City Council meeting.

Pete Bottomley wrote an excellent race report of the masters’ race if you’d like to refresh your memory about how everyone did.

The following article was written by Pete Bottomley, the Director of Sales & Marketing at Coast of Maine Organic Products, Inc. Pete is a masters runner for Dirigo, R.C. and competes in mostly middle distance races in Southern Maine. He ran his first marathon this past April in Boston, and this past December traveled out to Ohio to compete in the USATF Club Cross Country National Championships where he placed 5^th in 35:59.7 in the 45+ division (19^th overall) on the 10 kilometer course.

A Clean Engine Runs Better

My recent experience with body detoxification and complete nutrition

I decided late last Summer to look at training and my health in a new way. With my favorite running season (cross country) and my 46^th birthday rolling rapidly towards me on the calendar, I knew that I didn’t want to leave anything on the trails this autumn…It was time to try some new approaches, abandon a few habits, sacrifice a little and train harder.

The first big change I made, and the one described herein, was to finally take the advice of a health and wellness mentor of mine (Mike Senechal, NMT) and order the Isagenix 9-day cleanse program through him. Mike had lobbied me for two years to do it and I wish I had acted right away…The results were astounding and served as the catalyst for what was one of the best competitive seasons of my career!

Here’s what I’m going to share with you:

• Why you should cleanse
• How it works
• My cleansing experience
• The importance of clean food
• The protein factor
• How to get started

This is a short overview to deliver some basic information and hopefully give you something to think about as you plan your next meal!
(Click here to continue reading…)

The following race recap was written by Pete Bottomley, the Director of Sales & Marketing at Coast of Maine Organic Products, Inc. Pete is a masters runner for Dirigo, R.C. and competes in mostly middle distance races in Southern Maine. He ran his first marathon this past April in Boston, and this past weekend traveled out to Ohio to compete in the USATF Club Cross Country National Championships. Pete is also the race director and primary fund raiser for the New England Mile.

Dirigo splashed onto the front pages of the National running scene this past weekend at the USATF XC NATIONALS in West Chester, Ohio.

Our team was represented by Christine Reaser in the Women’s Masters and Todd Coffin, Dan Franek, Mark Goettel, Mike Payson, Rob Pierce, Tom Ryan and me in the Men’s Masters. I don’t know how to describe the course other than to say it looked like the Alaskan tundra, but more stark and the permafrost was melting! The recent 3-4 inches of slushy snow obscured the bumps and ruts in the prairie trails on which we would race the next day.

We went to bed wishing we had brought 1” spikes and hopeful that the snow would be gone by race time.

In the morning, the snow was still there and we headed over to the course telling each other that this situation was actually perfect for us Mainers!!!
(Click here to continue reading…)

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.

Last weekend was the USATF Masters 5k Cross Country Championship Meet at Saratoga Springs, New York. Dirigo did not field a team this year, although we did send two runners. After two great performances, the Dirigo guys spent some time hob-knobbing with the Genesee Valley Harriers as they get ready for the 10k championship race in Ohio this November.

Pete Bottomley ran a strong 15:50 to place 2^nd in the 45-49 category, cutting 12 seconds off of last year’s time and placing 5^th overall with an age graded time of 14:17. Tom Ryan also put in a strong performance, placing second in the 50+ division with a time of 16:33 and placing 4^th overall with an age graded time of 14:15.

(Full Results)

Photo by David Colby Young
Photo #68 of 124The Elliot Festival Day 5k was this morning in Elliot, Maine. There were 683 finishers this year, including Kay West (pictured right) who finished below the USATF age group guidelines time in 1:28:53; she was the oldest finisher at 97 years of age!

The weather conditions were near perfect for running, with clear skies and cool temperatures in the mid-60s. The course is slightly aided with about 5 feet of total elevation loss.

Ethan Hemphill did not face the stiff competition that he had last year, but bettered his time to win the race in 15:08. There were 20 finishers under 17 minutes, when Mariko Holbrook came in to win the women’s race by a healthy 26 seconds.

Team results for this race are based upon an age and sex graded time, so despite winning the race Ethan did not even score to help Dirigo in their almost 2 minute win over Whirlaway Racing. The age graded times of Tom Ryan, Mike Payson, and Pete Bottomley were all faster than Whirlaway’s first runner.

Dirigo had a good showing at the race; my time was not even fast enough to make it into the team results. I failed to meet my goal of running under 16 minutes. I was right on pace through 2 kilometers (6:24) but wound up running at about the same pace as I have for most of this season. My 16:37 was a 1 second season PR.

In a reversal of last year specifically, and just about any race with a downhill finish generally, I managed to out sprint TJ Hesler by about 4 seconds coming into the finish line. I did not manage to keep up with Chris Gatchell, who ran a personal best 16:16 (congratulations!)

(Full Results – Team Results – Race Photos: Set 1 – Set 2 – Set 3)