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Mount Washington Road Race (06/20/2009) | |
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Mount Washington Road Race Jackson NH 6/20/09 “It’s just one hill”, try telling that to the brave souls from CRC who made the journey up to Mount Washington this past weekend to run the Mount Washington Road race on Saturday. It was truly a great race and a fun weekend had by all. If you were unable to attend the race this year, I highly suggest you mark it on your calendar for next year. CRC had its strongest showing ever at the monster of a race. There were several PRs set on the mountain and as usual there were several Mount Washington first timers making their way up the 6000 plus foot climb to the clouds. The conditions at the base of the mountain were clouds and a light sprinkle here and there. At the summit it was a completely different story. The sun was shining, there was little to no wind and the view was unbelievable. At times it felt like you were walking in the clouds as the clouds hung about a thousand feet below the summit. Enough with the description about the amazing views, now down to the nitty gritty of the day. We were all there to either watch a great race or run a great race. That is exactly what happened. Mount Washington first timer Jenn Campbell blazed a trail up the mountain capturing the third overall spot in the women’s race while also finishing as the first New Hampshire female taking home some bonus cash and hardware. Jenn, wasn’t the only CRC to have a banner day. Hank Scollard (1st CRC), Chad Carr (Race PR), Bernat Olle ( Race PR), Dave McClain (1st timer) and Dave Loutzenheiser (Blazing fast) combined to lead the men’s CRC open team to a fourth place finish. The team took home a handsome award plus all five members get an automatic entry into next year’s race. The women’s team comprised of Jenn Campbell, Katie O’Connor and Kristina Buenafe finished in eleventh place. Joe Shapiro, Joe Skuza made their Mount Washington debuts in fine form as Ting Chen crushed his time from last year. Katie O’Connor made a return appearance to the race after a few years off from running it. Katie along with Kristina turned in great times and in true CRC fashion. Peter Barzdines continued his streak and completed his twenty second consecutive Mount Washington race. Ryan Leonard raced an impressive time while recovering from a week of being sick. Last year Pat Gookin caught the Mount Washington bug while volunteering at the summit, well this year in attempts to shake the bug, Pat charged his way up the mountain to an impressive finish where he was heard after the race at the cookout saying “this race is harder than a marathon.” Finally, representing CRC in fine form Fabio with his winning spirit once again cruised up the mountain in style to the cheers of the CRC crowd manning the finish line water table. This was a great race, but what made the race really special was all the amazing CRC volunteers. This year we had the largest volunteer turnout ever. So a very special thank you goes out to Jay Salony, Meredith Stanford, Lisetta Shah, Johnny Sadoff, Rachel Kalinsky, Alexandra Miller, Marcy Gookin, Amanda Brewster, Javier Cheung, Aaron Blum, Katie Turck. Kaitlin Anelauskas, Sarah Lindenfield. I also want to send a personal thanks to Niall OBrien and Ed Beagan for answering my call for last minute help. All the volunteer were AWESOME!!!!! After the race, we all traveled back down the mountain and had a blast at the post race cookout. Aaron and Javier manned the grill while the rest of the festivities carried on with good food, race stories and a quick game of corn hole. Now as a volunteer I was only able to see the race from the comfort of the summit, so I felt you all deserve to see the race through the eyes of some of the runners. Chad Carr and Hank Scollard agreed to share some of their racing experiences with all of you. From the eyes of Chad Carr: One of the attractions of running for me, and for most of us, is the challenge of pushing ourselves to accomplish things that seem impossible at first thought. The Mt. Washington road race certainly presents that challenge. In Saturday's race, I was most struck by the sense of solitude during the run. At times, the mists of the clouds allowed only about 20 yards of visibility so there was a sense of being entirely alone on the mountain. Spectators were few and far between, so the only sound was my own breathing. With no one around, it was a true test of mental strength to perservere up the mountain. Near mile 7 I finally emerged from the thick blanket of clouds to the spectacular sight of blue skies, sunshine, and visibility for over 100 miles. The horizon appeared as it does from an airplane -- a layer of clouds with an occasional mountain top peeking through. While the views were spectacular, the increased visibility also meant that I was then able to see the enormity of the task ahead. With Mt. Washington, you don't get over the hardest part of the race until you've crossed the finish line. Fortunately, crowds of spectators -- including the always loud and encouraging CRC -- were there to cheer us up the final 22% grade stretch. After crossing the finish line and catching my breath, I was able to walk around and take in the 130 miles of visibility and reflect on the journey from the valley thousands of feet below. In this race, there is no doubt that reaching the top is a true victory. Hank’s experience: This was my third consecutive Mount Washington, and while there is certainly a routine to this event (the palpable silence at the start, the sense of dread upon approaching the notorious hairpin at Mile 5, etc.), each race does provide several unique moments. For me, the 49th running of this race will be remembered for: -The ghostly shroud of fog, which made it seem as though you were running in no-man’s land, when in fact your competitors (Chad, in my case), were never more than a dozen yards or so away -Being feted as the second female runner at the halfway mark (no, it’s not the first time that’s happened; yeah, I’m fine with it) -The CRC Race Crew preventing me from yet another patented wrong turn, just before the wall at the finish http://picasaweb.google.com/cambridgerunning
Report entered by Mike McKechnie |