I don’t make the statement “hardest race ever” lightly. I’ve run 976 races including 28 marathons, 14 ultra-marathons, and 98 mountain races. Cranmore Mountain was the hardest race I’ve ever done. The multiple loop course (one loop for junior girls, two loops for women and junior boys, and three loops for men) would test the measure of everyone who dared the 4.6K loop with 1,100’ of climb and descent.

I was pretty nervous about this race since first seeing the profile late last year. I’m not a very strong downhill runner and this course was going to drop over 1,100’ in less than a mile. Add to that the fact that most of the drop would be on grassy ski slope with very limited view of what you were actually stepping into. This was my third trip to Cranmore, dating back to winning the race in 1996 when it was a 3 mile “sprint” to the summit. That win garnered me a pair of racing snowshoes which were the impetus for getting into snowshoe racing (I’ve since done 52 snowshoe races).

The 20th running of Cranmore was bound to be special as it was designated the US Mountain running national championships. It would also serve as the first of three selection races for the TEVA USA Mountain running team. This ensured that there would be a high quality field. Cranmore also entered its third year as part of the USATF New England Mountain running circuit. The previous three races in the circuit drew record numbers, in part due to promise of a Mt Washington lottery by-pass for anyone who completes all six of the races. This meant that Cranmore was bound to attract a big field as more than sixty runners had completed the first three races. The USATF NE mountain goats are a tough breed. Those having done the four races thus far range from 14 year-old Haley Heinrich to 72 year-old Paul McDermott.

About 200 people signed up for Cranmore, which doubled the field from last year when the race was a more moderate two-lap version. Race day dawned sunny and clear with temperatures reaching the low 70’s at race time. I was shocked when the first person I saw upon arriving in North Conway was teammate Eric Morse. Eric had run Mt Washington last week and had taken 8th place overall and 2nd in the 40+. We ran down the Mountain with Mike Woodman and David Hunt. David and I talked about Cranmore (he had won it last year) and Eric had not mentioned anything about being interested in racing. Any shot at taking the 40+ national title was slipping away. I thought my main competition was going to be teammate Dan Verrington who had beaten me by a few seconds at Cranmore in 2006.

We headed out for a 3 mile warm-up with a large CMS contingent and Anna Pichrtova joined us as we stuck to the “flat” sections of trail along the base of the mountain. Anna mentioned “I’m not very good on the downhill”. She had run the course earlier in the week and was worried that “it is difficult to see where you are putting your feet in the long grass”. This didn’t help to diminish my fear of getting hurt on the downhill.

We lined up at 9:00 AM and Paul Kirsch gave some brief course information and had a funny line about “chip timing”. It was funny as a visual gag (pulling out a bag of chips), but it also served as a reminder that you don’t need all the “bell and whistles” to have a great race. Heck, all you need is a tough course and some people to run it.

Suddenly we were off in a dusty swirl of 200 people vying for position in the first 200m before the course narrowed. It reminded me of a cross-country race start, with people zipping out and getting in trouble with an over-enthusiastic start. I tried to just relax and stay on my feet. I was surprised to be wheezing from the effort by the time we entered the first woods section. Maybe I was pushing a bit too hard myself? I could see the lead pack, with Zach Rivers a 2006 junior team member up there with the big boys. Zach is tough and he only had to do two laps (he went on to win by a huge margin). I passed the first Kilometer in 6:08.

On the first steep ski slope section I started moving up a bit. I caught Nicole Hunt who had asked my thoughts on the course before the start. She wanted to go out aggressively; I thought a conservative first loop might work better. She was running the correct race for her as she is a stronger uphill runner and would need some cushion on the downhill. I steadily moved up and caught Anna before the 2K marker. Dan went by me right around the same point. I had been waiting for him to pass as he normally is a little more cautious off of the line than I am. He had beaten me in 51 of our last 52 meeting prior to Mt Washington. I hadn’t beaten him in two races in a row since 2003, so I was focusing on him. I was also looking ahead to Eric Morse who was climbing steadily and to Dave Herr. Dave is a strong mountain runner and an excellent marathoner. Add to that his ability to run extraordinarily fast on downhills, his trail running experience, and he looked to be the guy to beat in the 40+ age group. I got through the second Kilometer in 5:24.

At this point there was a fairly long line of people ahead of me. I could see Ben Nephew, one of the most fearless trail runners I’ve ever met, Morse, Hunt, Herr, among others. I hit the third kilometer in 17:26 (5:54 split) and took a brief glance at the surrounding mountains before turning my full attention to the plummet down the hillside. I caught Dan almost immediately and Anna blew by me soon after. So much for her not being good on downhills! She disappeared in the distance. Ben Nephew noted “She is the best female downhill runner I have ever seen, by far”. I tried to “run loose” but it was hard to stay in control and I was not willing to try and make it down out of control. I thought the caution sign at the 90 degree turn was helpful, but the sign that read “Ditch” only made me think “Is he telling us we should ditch out of the race?” The downhill kilometer which had almost all of the 1,100 feet of drop in it took me 3:39. It was another 2:13 to complete the final 600 meters and the first loop in 23:19. I saw teammate Kevin Tilton bail after the first lap. He had been suffering from an undiagnosed lung problem this spring and not being able to breathe left him at a distinct disadvantage. A bunch of other runners opted out after the first lap, realizing that this was not their type of course.

I tried to focus on the people ahead of me in the second loop. I could see Eric moving back up to Ben and Dave Herr as both had out descended him. At the front of the race Paul Low and Rickey Gates were engaged in a similar battle as Gates would attempt to build a lead over Low on the climbs. My splits on the second loop were 6:21, 6:06, and 6:33 for a total of 19:00. I was happy with only slowing 9% over the first climb, but as I started into the descent I grew very concerned. My legs were wobbly and I was having trouble seeing. Dan Verrington was a little behind me and he noted “it felt like vertigo and spaghetti legs both at the same time” on the second loop. I was really worried about this, even if I made it down okay this time I’d still have to do it one more time. I was a little surprised that my split (3:56) was only 17 seconds slower than the first time around. I was another 15 seconds slower for the last 600 (2:28) and hit the end of the second lap in 48:43. This was consistent with my climb. My second loop of 25:24 was 9% slower than the first loop.

My first goal on the last loop was to get to the Gatorade and drink a full cup. This was the only time I walked during the race. I saw Ben walking early and often, he can power-walk very quickly. I don’t like to walk even if it is as fast as a run, something about “losing my rhythm”. So, I grabbed a cup of water and Gatorade and drank both to hopefully stave off a bonk on the final downhill. I headed off after Dave Hunt and another guy who were not that far in front of me. Dave was walking on some of the “easier” sections which gave me some confidence that I’d catch him, but I knew I’d need some cushion to hold him off at the end. My splits for the first two kilometers were 6:46 and 6:23 which was about 5% slower than lap two. I got Dave at 2K and tried to push for the final uphill. I got to the top in 1:08:43 which was 19:59 for the 1,100’ climb or just about 5% slower than the previous climb.

I was really surprised that my legs were not that bad on the final drop. It was a little hairy with people I was lapping doing funky zigzags on the narrow ‘path’. Ben noted that “It is actually not the craziest downhill I've seen; that would be the Thunderbolt trail at Greylock”. Ben has run down Thunderbolt during the Greylock marathon. Thunderbolt Trail is the shortest and consequently steepest route up or down Mt. Greylock - Massachusetts highest peak at 3,491 feet. I was able to keep my feet under me and not run into anyone on the way down with a 3:40 split (only 1 second slower than my first lap). I crossed the line in 1:15:01 and went right to the ground with nothing left in my legs. Despite Eric calling me “a drama queen” I really had nothing left in my legs. My final loop was 26:18 or about 7% slower than the previous lap.

Paul Low ended up taking a spill with 100m to go and took second to Gates. They both earned spots on the US team. Anna cruised to a 2:20 victory. Eric was the top USATF 40+ thus winning the national title. Ben took 9th overall and Jeremy Huckins (21st) and I (12th) rounded out the scoring for CMS.

This was our second consecutive national title and we also took our second consecutive team title in the 40+ with Eric, me, Rob Smith (23rd), Dan (28th) and Marty Ellowitz (39th) scoring. The oldest and youngest “goats” were the above mentioned Haley Heinrich and Paul McDermott. Haley ran two loops instead of the one loop that the other junior girls ran, and she still placed 18th overall. Paul ended up taking home the gold medal in the 70+ age group; he was fast enough that he would have taken 5th in the 60-69 age group.

I have nothing but good things to say about how this race was managed. From course marking, number pick-up, awards, to volunteers on the course this was a great race!

For full results and more check out: http://www.whitemountainmilers.com/