Merrimack River 10 mile trail race
4/10/10
4/10/10
(photo of Kevin Tilton and Ben Nephew courtesy of Krissy Kozlosky)
This was one of my first trail races after moving down to the Boston area in 1998. Although is more like a road race compared to many of the races I do, it’s nice to actually run fast on trails once in a while. Prior to this year’s event, I was expecting that the race was going to be very crowded up front, as many of the local guys were running extremely fast on the roads. Kevin Tilton had run 1:11 for a half marathon, Jim Johnson had run 1:10, Greg Hammett had 3 minute PR with a 1:11, and I had finished as the tenth man for CMS at that race in 1:15. Geoff Cunningham, who had a great snowshoe season, was also planning on running, along with several other guys with solid race results this spring. While Jim said he wasn’t racing due to Boston next week, he also told me he wasn’t racing Northern Nipmuck, so I figured he’d be on the start line. In recent years, I’ve had a hard time breaking 60 minutes, and I thought that we could have 5 or more guys break 60 this year.
By the time we got to the start, Greg was out with an injury, and Jim actually wasn’t racing (Merrimack). You couldn’t really tell that we were missing anyone in the first 400 meters, as everyone launched into the tight singletrack. I was able to get up to Kevin pretty quickly, and was relieved to find the pace comfortable, unlike the recent road half marathon. As Kevin ran down a narrow line of sandy soil, his X-talon 212’s were actually throwing up small clumps of dirt onto my quads. It was quite the strange feeling. We hit the short mile marker at 4:59, which was probably more like a 5:09 first mile. I just tried to keep things as relaxed as possible and save some energy for the short, steep hills in miles 4-6.
We went through 2 miles in about 10:34, which unfortunately confirmed that the first mile was short, but at least I was feeling better with the pace than last year, when I barely crept under 60 minutes by 9 seconds. It was pretty windy on the more exposed sections, but I was hoping we would end up with a tail wind on the way back. I was still right in back of Kevin through the third mile in about 16:35, and as hit some minor hills in the next mile, I was able to keep up with Kevin, who is a much stronger climber. The quad busting power line hills started just after running through 4 miles in 22:25, which was only a few seconds faster than last year. I lost a second or two to Kevin up the two steep hills, but I was more concerned with how I would feel on the way back to the finish. I had also noticed that I was running downhill considerably faster than Kevin, so I could afford to drop back a bit on the uphills. The 5th mile to the turn around was a bit soft in spots, and I slipped a few times in my 230’s. I had thought about wearing the 212’s, but most of the course was firm, flat dirt, where the 230’s really do well.
I think we lost some time here, and we hit the turn around right about 29:15, which was frustrating. Due to fatigue and oncoming traffic, it’s almost impossible to run even splits at Merrimack, and hitting 5 miles in 29:15 didn’t predict a time much under 60 minutes with a typical loss of 60-90 seconds in the second half. As we headed back towards the oncoming runners, I hoped that we would be able to avoid any major collisions, which is a very real possibility on a trail that is only 6 inches wide. Kevin was really starting to push the uphills, and while I could keep pace with him on the climb, he was able to recover faster and get back up to full speed more quickly at the top. As we weaved our way through runners up and down the power line hills, I was able to gain back lost time on the downhills. It wasn’t until then that I remembered that he had a sore ankle, so the tentativeness on the downhills was a preventative measure. Just after 6 miles, I started to get some tightness in my stomach. Kevin started to inch away as I tried to work out the cramping. I think I hit 7 miles in about 42:10, and Kevin probably had a 10 second lead through miles 7-8. My stomach muscles relaxed around the 8 mile marker, and I tried to work back up to Kevin. Both of us were having a hard time running into the wind, again. Yes, you can have a headwind in both directions on an out and back course. It is actually pretty common at Merrimack. The wind comes laterally off the river, but it feels like a headwind both ways.
At nine miles, I was only about 5 seconds in back of Kevin, and while I really wanted to make a charge in the last mile, it had taken a lot out of my legs just to get close. Kevin seemed to have a bit left for that last mile, and I was left trying to minimize the damage. We both ran strong last halves, with Kevin running 59:05 with me in 59:16. I was hoping for something in the 58’s, but we did have the wind, and I was happy to be able to run a solid last 5 miles and hang on to Kevin for most of the race. CMS had another strong showing at one of our “home” events, taking 8 out of the top 10 spots.
I saw all sorts of Inov-8 models on the course, from 212’s and 230’s to 280’s, 295’s 310’s and 315’s, and everyone seemed happy with how they handled the course. The X-talon 212’s took both wins, as Gina narrowly missed the course record in her first try at the Merrimack course. I don’t think I’ve ever been to race that had more pictures taken, and I think the current count is about 3000 posted photos from 6-7 different photographers. Steve Petersen, Dave Dunham and the rest of the Merrimack crew did a great job with the race as always.
Complete age group records, top times, stats, and more information on the River race can be found at: http://rivertrailrace.blogspot.com/ Please check this site for links to MANY pictures taken at the race.
This was one of my first trail races after moving down to the Boston area in 1998. Although is more like a road race compared to many of the races I do, it’s nice to actually run fast on trails once in a while. Prior to this year’s event, I was expecting that the race was going to be very crowded up front, as many of the local guys were running extremely fast on the roads. Kevin Tilton had run 1:11 for a half marathon, Jim Johnson had run 1:10, Greg Hammett had 3 minute PR with a 1:11, and I had finished as the tenth man for CMS at that race in 1:15. Geoff Cunningham, who had a great snowshoe season, was also planning on running, along with several other guys with solid race results this spring. While Jim said he wasn’t racing due to Boston next week, he also told me he wasn’t racing Northern Nipmuck, so I figured he’d be on the start line. In recent years, I’ve had a hard time breaking 60 minutes, and I thought that we could have 5 or more guys break 60 this year.
By the time we got to the start, Greg was out with an injury, and Jim actually wasn’t racing (Merrimack). You couldn’t really tell that we were missing anyone in the first 400 meters, as everyone launched into the tight singletrack. I was able to get up to Kevin pretty quickly, and was relieved to find the pace comfortable, unlike the recent road half marathon. As Kevin ran down a narrow line of sandy soil, his X-talon 212’s were actually throwing up small clumps of dirt onto my quads. It was quite the strange feeling. We hit the short mile marker at 4:59, which was probably more like a 5:09 first mile. I just tried to keep things as relaxed as possible and save some energy for the short, steep hills in miles 4-6.
We went through 2 miles in about 10:34, which unfortunately confirmed that the first mile was short, but at least I was feeling better with the pace than last year, when I barely crept under 60 minutes by 9 seconds. It was pretty windy on the more exposed sections, but I was hoping we would end up with a tail wind on the way back. I was still right in back of Kevin through the third mile in about 16:35, and as hit some minor hills in the next mile, I was able to keep up with Kevin, who is a much stronger climber. The quad busting power line hills started just after running through 4 miles in 22:25, which was only a few seconds faster than last year. I lost a second or two to Kevin up the two steep hills, but I was more concerned with how I would feel on the way back to the finish. I had also noticed that I was running downhill considerably faster than Kevin, so I could afford to drop back a bit on the uphills. The 5th mile to the turn around was a bit soft in spots, and I slipped a few times in my 230’s. I had thought about wearing the 212’s, but most of the course was firm, flat dirt, where the 230’s really do well.
I think we lost some time here, and we hit the turn around right about 29:15, which was frustrating. Due to fatigue and oncoming traffic, it’s almost impossible to run even splits at Merrimack, and hitting 5 miles in 29:15 didn’t predict a time much under 60 minutes with a typical loss of 60-90 seconds in the second half. As we headed back towards the oncoming runners, I hoped that we would be able to avoid any major collisions, which is a very real possibility on a trail that is only 6 inches wide. Kevin was really starting to push the uphills, and while I could keep pace with him on the climb, he was able to recover faster and get back up to full speed more quickly at the top. As we weaved our way through runners up and down the power line hills, I was able to gain back lost time on the downhills. It wasn’t until then that I remembered that he had a sore ankle, so the tentativeness on the downhills was a preventative measure. Just after 6 miles, I started to get some tightness in my stomach. Kevin started to inch away as I tried to work out the cramping. I think I hit 7 miles in about 42:10, and Kevin probably had a 10 second lead through miles 7-8. My stomach muscles relaxed around the 8 mile marker, and I tried to work back up to Kevin. Both of us were having a hard time running into the wind, again. Yes, you can have a headwind in both directions on an out and back course. It is actually pretty common at Merrimack. The wind comes laterally off the river, but it feels like a headwind both ways.
At nine miles, I was only about 5 seconds in back of Kevin, and while I really wanted to make a charge in the last mile, it had taken a lot out of my legs just to get close. Kevin seemed to have a bit left for that last mile, and I was left trying to minimize the damage. We both ran strong last halves, with Kevin running 59:05 with me in 59:16. I was hoping for something in the 58’s, but we did have the wind, and I was happy to be able to run a solid last 5 miles and hang on to Kevin for most of the race. CMS had another strong showing at one of our “home” events, taking 8 out of the top 10 spots.
I saw all sorts of Inov-8 models on the course, from 212’s and 230’s to 280’s, 295’s 310’s and 315’s, and everyone seemed happy with how they handled the course. The X-talon 212’s took both wins, as Gina narrowly missed the course record in her first try at the Merrimack course. I don’t think I’ve ever been to race that had more pictures taken, and I think the current count is about 3000 posted photos from 6-7 different photographers. Steve Petersen, Dave Dunham and the rest of the Merrimack crew did a great job with the race as always.
Complete age group records, top times, stats, and more information on the River race can be found at: http://rivertrailrace.blogspot.com/ Please check this site for links to MANY pictures taken at the race.
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