Merrimack River Trail Race - Quick Report

The weather turned out to be better than expected and my race went as well as I had hoped, and better than I expected. I had hoped to beat my previous time but didn't really expect to, but in the end I finished more than a minute faster than the last time I ran this race two years ago so I'm very happy with the way it went. It would have been better if I had been able pick up the pace a little more over the last two, very flat miles of the course but I just couldn't get my legs to turn over quick enough.

I felt good throughout the race, except from the gasping for air part as I tried to run up some of the incredibly steep hills in the middle section of the race. At one point after turning around at the halfway mark on this out and back course I was running uphill while others were coming down towards me and a woman with a horrified look on her face asked me "Are you okay?" Had I been able to speak at the time I would have explained to her that this is what it looks like when you're going all out and she ought to try it some time.

Results and photos on the CMS Men's Open Racing Team site.

photos above by Jim Johnson and video HERE by Dave Dunham


splits: 6:38, 6:33, 7:29, 7:29, 8:39, 8:40, 7:51, 7:53, 6:57, 6:50

Note that the mile markers are not likely to be accurate and I was not wearing my Garmin

time: 1:15:05
distance: 10.0 miles
pace: 7:30
place: 37/228 - 16%

weather: low 40's, overcast

conditions: mostly dry trails with mud holes and puddles interspersed

gear: Inov-8 Mudroc 280, wool socks, shorts, singlet, Moeben (fleece) sleeves, hat, gloves