Q) What is your background in running, and how did you end up in New England?
A) I've always been a New Englander. Born and raised in southern New Hampshire, I've never lived permanently anywhere else. My running background dates back to middle school when my parents signed me up for cross country in sixth grade. It was also the first "sport" I ever played. I had a pretty big backyard as a kid and was always running around it, but if we're being honest, I hated cross country on day one and wanted to quit. My parents didn't let me, and 20 years later, here we are.
Q) What were your goals and expectations going into the four Mountain Running Circuit races in May? Were you expecting to run as fast as you did?
A) Honestly, my goal going into this season was pretty minimal. I picked up what I will call a minor injury (swollen right knee, reportedly inflammation from overuse via one PT meeting) while training for the Boston Marathon. It never stopped me from running, but I didn't do more than four or five workouts in my marathon build. As such, I had a strong engine, but no great turnover, which I suppose doesn't matter quite as much in the mountains. I also rolled my ankle the week of Sleepy Hollow, which certainly slowed me down on the technical Vermont trails a few short days later, but fortunately, the rest of the month consisted of road races. Long story short, I really didn't expect to run as fast as I did, namely Ascutney, but wound up a little disappointed in most of my performances as I largely didn't think my previous performances at these races were great. This year was my first time on the new Sleepy Hollow course. Pack was essentially a PR, as I was about 20 seconds off my race PR, but the current course is about 0.1 miles longer than it used to be. For Wachusett, my ascent was my third best at 20:32 (behind a pair of 20:16s), and my up/down time of 38:44 was 10 seconds off my PR. And for Ascutney, I was actually a bit disappointed that we didn't summit, as I was having a very strong race and would have likely run about a 40-50 second PR.
Q) You finished first in the 10k at Wachusett Mountain. How did that race go? Did everything go according to plan? A)Mt. Wachusett. That was a good day. Wachusett is always one of those races that seems to just attract some strong local talent, and this year was no different. Admittedly, I was a little less intimidated on the start line as I have been in years past (notables including Scott Mindel, Eric Blake, and Matt Rabasco) were not in attendance, and while I was/am not too familiar with Chase Gardner, I know that Battle Road doesn't mess around and if they have a singlet at a race, they'll be in contention. Not to mention the other series regulars of David Plotkin, David Perloff, and Brian Malgar, whom I'd been battling the previous few weeks. Wachusett is unlike any other mountain race in that it is actually pretty "fast." Obviously, no one is going out and running 5:20s like a normal 5k, but to be running in the mid- to upper- 6s while climbing 300-400 feet per mile. No one really took the race out, so I took it upon myself to try to set an honest pace. Came through the mile in about 6:44 and had about a 10-second lead (based on conversations with others post-race). Mile two was similar in about 6:47, though Chase passed me just shy of the two-mile mark. From there, he pulled away from me just a little more with each passing step. The third mile was certainly my slowest at 7:44, which does include some downhill as the summit timing mat is only about 2.85-2.88 miles into the race. I have previously won the race to the summit before, but never the up/down, so when I saw that Chase had stopped, I got a little more fire in my eyes, but was still unsure of the outcome. I knew that both David (Plotkin) and Brian were strong downhill runners, and my lead wasn't insurmountable. With that being said, I actually had my best ever downhill run on that course, but even so, I wasn't overly confident that I could pull off the win until about a half mile to go. Wachusett doesn't have a ton of course support compared to other races, and that is not a knock on the race; it just is what it is. It's a closed course with minimal turns, at a mountain. There are water stops and course marshals at turns, but otherwise limited spectators. As such, I didn't really have much indication (cheering) that I was solidly in the lead, and I generally try not to look back unless I am really hurting, not to mention the final 1.5 miles are on trails, and eyes have to remain forward to avoid a fall. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked when I came out of the woods with about 200m to go and knew that I had the victory in the bag. This truly is one of my favorite races of the year, and not just because I've seen success here.
Q) After your strong start to the Mountain Running Circuit, how are you feeling going into the remaining 5 races? Have your goals changed? A) The remaining five races, haha. Myself (and I think many mountain goats) really do have a love-hate relationship with mountain races. Obviously, after four races, I am in a great position in the series, and will make sure I run at least two races this year, but. . . ultimately my training right now is for the Mount Washington Road Race. And what better way is there to train for that mid-June race than running the mountain series? With that being said, and I'm sure people already know, but I did not run Sunapee. I think last year was an anomaly (2 inches of rain the day before the race ravaged the course), but I did not have a good day. Thus, I decided to skip Sunapee this year, and instead run the Chocorua Mountain Race (23km, 4800' climbing), which occurred the day before Sunapee (June 6th). Unfortunately, on the first real descent, I rolled my (already weak) ankle, clipped my right foot, and went down hard. I got up and couldn't do much more than hobble. Fortunately, the first aid station was only about 200m ahead, but I made the difficult decision to drop out of the race and not risk further damage. I was in about 9th place when I fell, and based upon the results and my feelings otherwise, I think I would have finished somewhere around 4th-6th. I have still been able to run, but a week later, my ankle is still a bit swollen, and my right knee has also been acting up a bit more after the fall. As of this writing, I am not signed up for any races after Mt Washington (June 27th). I am currently torn about Loon. My strategy in recent years has been to sandbag the race and go hard at Walking Boss (2nd on the section three separate times), but I want to see how my body heals in the coming weeks before committing to another trail race. I will be at Greylock, which is another race that I have had success at and enjoy racing. Cranmore is another lock, I really enjoy that race, there is a super fun mountain bike switchback section on the descent that I just love. That leaves Waterville, a race I won last year, but man is that a tough race. I left Sunapee last spring, thinking that it may take the cake for being the hardest mountain race, but then Waterville comes along and is just brutal. I think it's the general consensus in the mountain circuit that Waterville is the most challenging, and I'm still up in the air on whether I want to run that one.
Q) Outside of the Mountain Running Circuit, do you have any other races coming up this year? And if so, what is next on your race schedule? A) Mountain circuit aside, I don't have any other races currently on the calendar. I mean, Mt Washington, but that's mountain circuit adjacent, given I got in for doing the mountain series last year. Again, that is largely by design, based on the couple of injuries I've picked up this year. That being said, I'm a sucker for racing, especially with my team (the Gate City Striders), so I wouldn't be too surprised if I end up at a handful of the road grand prix races, and cross country is always a fun time with the guys. I've also got some other races that I tend to run, local 5ks and the such, which I will plan on running, but haven't yet signed up. There are also a couple of other sub-ultra mountain/trail races I've been eyeing, but am a bit hesitant following my experience with Chocorua, as I don't want to jeopardize my standings in the mountain circuit.