HSR on CMS, et al

Reprinted with express permission from the Hockomock Swamp Rat.

Rat online

HSR (Hockomock Swamp Rat)
"The Journal of New England Racing" had the following story on the Merrimack River Trail race

"Dave Dunham celebrated his 40th birthday by doing the right thing - lugging hisself and the missus off to a trail run.  They brung the pies too, since it's tradition here that winners get a home-baked pie.  For years Dave took credit for the cooking of same but in truth it was Cathy who did all the work.  No wonder Dave can run faster.

Trail running attracts the type of people that distance running used to attract 25 years ago when it was undiscovered and not up-scale.  These people come for two things - the course, and their time on it.  Everything else (like the pies) is a bonus.  Trail runners rarely piss and moan about anything.  They's make lousy baseball players.  Trail runners tend to smell bad, just like old-time road runners.

Trail and XC runners also tend to be more coordinated than one-gear road runners.  Remember how awkward Randy Thomas would kick Bill Rodgers' ass in a road race, and then get pounded by gazelle-like Bill when it came to a big cross-country challenge?

Let's take Paul Low, for example.  This guy's a leather-balled charger.  He fell flat on his face here at mile 4 but got up and won.  No trackie would do that, those guys are like cats drinking from a toilet bowl - very fastidious.  Don't like to get wet.

Low beat Ben Nephew and I recall two years ago here when Ben soared at me AIRBORN!  As he was charging down the hills while I was slogging up.  We are talking aerodynamics here, Wanda, and this backwater of the sport of long distance running is not for the faint of heart.  And it pays to be a little nuts, too.

The weather was ok this year so the creeks were not full.  That got pretty troublesome here one year.  There was some ice left on the course (Low found it) that had deadly potential.  There is also a hill htat is straight from runner hell.  Even the trail hardies admit it's a Dolly Parton special.  That's where I saw Nephew airborn.  Don't try it.

This race served as a replacement race for GPS participants who kissed of the Derry 16 and Dave Dunham led the Rat charge for the 11⁄2 bonus points. ; Ted Ridout won the 60+ race as few old timers dare this stuff due to the brittle bones.  Yup, if you fall down powerline Hill, you are probably gonna die - or wish you had.

Steve Peterson helps put this one together and he has the honor of once winning the race, and once finishing dead last, when some turd stole the race markers and Steve purposely trailed the pack to make sure no one got lost.

There is still a great deal of camaraderie in this trail stuff, and that is rapidly disappearing in the burgeoning, faceless road scene.

Good simple stuff to eat in the Wyndham Hotel parking lot, and $500 was raised for the Tom Chamberas Scholarship Fund.  This is one classy race, but you must like mud.

Official Race Song: Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd, 1974"