Run to Win

The USATF Club Cross Country Championships were this past Saturday. Linda Somers Smith of Washington won the female master’s 6k race in 22:15, leading her Asics Aggie Running Club teammates to a victory of 1 minute and 14 seconds over Club Northwest. Tracy Lokken led the Front Line Racing Team to a 1 minute and 11 second victory over Fleet Feet Racing – Boulder by finishing the 10k course in 32:44. The open races were won by Amy Hastings in 19:59 for the 6k and by Matthew Downin in 30:13 for the 10k. The Boston Athletic Assoc. and ZAP Fitness took the team awards.

Dirigo had a showing in the men’s 10k, placing 5^th. Todd Coffin (33:41) and Dan Franek (34:19) led the way, placing 12^th and 26^th, respectively. Mike Payson (35:31), Pete Bottomley (35:32), and Tom Ryan (35:44) rounded out the scoring for a total of 170 team points. Dan Dearing (37:39) and Peter Hall (38:07) also competed. Tom Ryan was 2^nd in the 50+ bracket.

In the women’s 6k, Christine Reaser was 9^th over all in 23:22.

A 24 hour monsoon saved the race from not living up to it’s “Mudstock 2007″ name, leaving the course sloppy and wet. Over 500 master’s from 60 teams lined up at the start, leading to the largest field for any USATF cross country race to date.

(Full Results – Picture)

Yesterday morning was the Craig’s Cup 5k. The race also doubled as the Maine USATF championship cross country race. The results were a little late getting up. It was an absolutely beautiful day to run, with race temperatures in the low 40s. In the sun, it was very comfortable; the breeze and the shade made it a bit chilly but not too cold to need anything to warm you up during the race. The course was very soft; there was some mud on the trails in spots but it did not stick to your racing shoes. The grass was a bit damp but not enough to get into your socks. In other words, it was a course made for a good pair of spikes.
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I just got an email from one of my teammates at Dirigo, Peter Hall. He is interested in reading Coast to Coast, a book about my former teammates who set the transcontinental relay record in running from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Pete pointed out to me, however, that the record that they were shooting for was not in fact the record anymore.

I was surprised to read that the trans-america relay run record that RIT set in 1979 referred to as the record; it is not. In 1983 I was on a team called “Team St. Lawrence” which set the record, over I believe the same route, in 12 days 1 hour and 35 minutes. Our run would appear to still be the existing transamerica world record by 2 hours and 13 minutes over the 2004 RIT team time of 12 days 3 hours 48 minutes.

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The second of three races in the Craig’s Cup series was this Wednesday evening, September 20^th. Dirigo swept the board with the top four positions. Mike Payson, Josh Zolla, and Pete Bottomley repeated their 1-2-3 performance from the first race on August 30^th. Mike Payson dropped his time by 2 seconds to finish in 17:12, while Josh Zolla and Pete Bottomley ran 5 and 9 seconds faster in 17:50 and 17:52. Peter Hall came in fourth with a time of 19:17.

Emma Barclay beat Susan Weimer by 18 seconds to win the women’s race in 22:30.

(Photos | Race 1 Results | Race 2 Results)