The 28^th running of the Mid-Winter Classic in Cape Elizabeth was this morning in what were pretty ideal conditions for the area this time of year. Temperatures hovered around 20 degrees with wind speeds under 3 miles per hour. There were 686 finishers, just a few shy of last year’s record 691.

Speaking of records, the overall course record fell for the 3^rd time in as many years, this time with Dan Vasello cutting nearly a minute off to bring the record down to 51:09. His closest competitor was Judson Cake who finished 91 seconds behind him.

In total, there were 22 people who ran under an hour for the 10 mile course, including the top 3 women who had a much closer race. Kristin Barry led Sheri Piers by less than half a minute with her winning time of 58:42. They were followed by Shannon McHale who ran 59:42.

For myself, I ran 58:09, and while it was about the same time as I ran last year, I had to work much harder for it. I went out a little too quick and was stuck with the lead pack for the first few miles, but there was nobody near us and dropping off would have meant running alone. Of course, once the pack started to string out, I fell back fast. I had a few people around me most of the race to keep me honest, although the uphill stretches nearly did me in. Normally one of my strong suits, I just could not eke out any sort of decent leg turnover, although I made up for it on the flats and downhill stretches. I guess I am not 100% recovered from the 50 miler.

I’ll post links to the photographs and videos of the race as they become available.

(More Info: Full Results – Photos)