Notes
With Boston a week away and a wedding the night before this race, was hoping to put in a solid effort but not over-do it. Weather was cold and wet at the start. The zero percent chance of rain that I used to pack the night before (had to come straight from the hotel from the wedding) left me without a jacket or extra layers of clothes. Rain started picking up during the warm-up and continued through the first mile or so of the race. It wasnt a washout like An Ras Mor, but enough to chill the bones and get you wet.
Lots of familiar faces out there, including Pick, Quintal, and the HFC guys. Goal was to stick with Pick during the race (as long as it didnt turn into a suicide mission). Gun went off and after the first quarter mile of settling through the crowd, pulled up alongside Pick and moved towards the back of the lead pack. Pick kept leapfrogging and I settled in with Danforth letting the leaders create about a 10 yard gap on us. I was surprised how close everyone was as we hit the first mile. Danforth and I came through together at 5:28 per my watch (the splits being called out had us at 5:15 which could not have been accurate). Mile 1 was a little slower than I had expected, especially since it felt like we were working harder than the time would suggest.
Hung with Danforth over the next mile, where the leaders began to finally string things out. It seemed like everyone was taking a turn at the lead with Quintal, Pick, and TJ taking the reigns at different stretches. Mile 2 clocked in at 5:24 per Garmin (announcer had us at 10:48) and I began to lose Danforth.
Was definitely feeling tired by the turnaround point and could tell there was one runner just behind me with a little gap after that. Goal was to maintain 7th place and possibly pull back in some of the runners ahead, but making up ground would be tough with how I was feeling. Mile 3 I unfortunately could only watch as the pack began to separate further with Danforth making a run to reel them in.
As we passed the clubhouse the HFC guy (Scott) behind me began to make a move on me pulling even and ahead briefly a few times. Up ahead, TJ was pulling away with the lead with the Greater Boston kid giving a little chase. Pick and Quintal were still battling things out with Danforth now in the mix. Then another random guy in a blue tshirt right behind (met him after the race and is actually a pretty cool guy looking to get back into doing some track workouts. Seemed interested in SRR). I fought to keep Scott from pulling away. Each uphill he would push (usually my move) and I would then bring him back on the flats. We hit the four mile mark side-by-side.
As we rounded the little pond and made our way up the path back towards the start, I made a move and pulled ahead. I could tell Scott was tiring and my goal was to create enough gap now to avoid having a sprint finish. Up ahead things continued to string out. I could see 6th place getting a little closer, but still way too far to catch this late in the race. I knew once I got to the tunnel, there would be a nice downhill stretch along with the flat finish. Kicked up the pace a little running on fumes and settled into the final straightaway that always seems to last forever. Reminds me a bit of Boylston street where the finish line is in sight, but just takes forever to get there. Kept my ears open for in case Scott tried to make a move on this stretch but was able to hold a few second gap to close out at 7th.
Ended up with a 5 mile PR (my 5M and 10K PRs are still both pretty soft compared to my other times). Would have been nice to finish closer to the leaders but still happy with the result. Finished strong over the last few miles despite sucking wind for most of the race. Mile 1 was slow, but it was the last four miles where the pack separated from me. Not sure I could have gone much harder those last 3 miles.
Place Name City Bib No Age Gend Age Group Time Pace
1 TJ Unger Roslindale MA 909 35 M 1 Top Fin 25:47.0 5:09/M
2 Adrian MacDonald 1642 25 M 1/126 20-29 25:57.0 5:11/M
3 Lee Danforth 1737 30 M 1/226 30-39 26:10.0 5:14/M
4 Gregory Picklesimer Newton MA 1264 47 M 1/194 40-49 26:17.0 5:15/M
5 Michael Quintal 1675 36 M 2/226 30-39 26:19.0 5:16/M
6 Joe DeGutis 1867 36 M 3/226 30-39 26:27.0 5:17/M
7 Christopher Klucznik Somerville MA 1333 31 M 4/226 30-39 26:55.0 5:23/M
8 Scott Wisnaskas Brookline MA 1339 34 M 5/226 30-39 26:57.0 5:23/M