Longtime CMS member Scott Clark instituted this race in 1999 to honor the memory of friend and neighbor and Warren Nighswander, who passed away suddenly after a lunchtime run some months earlier. The race is a dual vehicle for raising money for children's programs in which Nighswander, an attorney and social activist, was involved as well as for supporting the Sant Bani School athletic fund.

Gilmanton 5K course profile

Two-time defending champ and course record holder Eric Morse was not in the field, leaving the portal ajar for second-rate hill-climbing talents to lay their filthy hands (and feet) on Clarky's filthy lucre. Fergus Cullen and Rod Viens took early command of the race after the usual smattering of high-school dingbats faded from the vanguard, while Kevin Beck, also entered in a 20-mile race the following day, bided his time - in the living room of an old friend's house, in fact. Faced with a deficit of over 100 meters, Beck caught his teammates at the mile mark (5:09), sneaked away from them on the three-quarter-mile long, muddy, 8%-grade climb to the 4K point, and held on for the win. Cullen and Viens, rightfully ashamed of themselves, followed close behind, ensuring a CMS top-three sweep.

Rodney's wife Carolyn Sprague, ever the self-effacing studette of long standing, took second among women and first among non-teenage, nationally recognized phenoms (Nicole Slane won that contest).

On Sunday, March 31, the Laconia Citizen ran a story about the event.

PLACE NAME                 AGE S NO.   CITY         ST DIV/TOT  TIME    PACE
==== ===================== === = ===== =============== ======== ======= =====
  1 KEVIN BECK             33 M   193 CONCORD NH        1/17     17:05  5:31
  2 FERGUS CULLEN          30 M   175 WOLFBORO NH       2/17     17:11  5:33
  3 ROD VIENS              35 M   176 CLAREMONT NH      3/17     17:16  5:35
  4 TIM LIVINGSTON         29 M    71 CONWAY NH         1/3      17:23  5:37
  5 BEN LEPESQUEUR         19 M    67 CANTERBURY NH     1/19     17:47  5:45
  6 LOU BREGOU             33 M   189 BETHLEHEM NH      4/17     17:52  5:46
  7 DEREK SAWYER           31 M   120 SOMERVILLE MA     5/17     17:54  5:47
  8 TOM LEPESQUEUR         19 M    68 CANTERBURY NH     2/19     17:58  5:48
  9 SAM WOOD               16 M   186 LACONIA NH        3/19     18:21  5:55
 10 ROBERT STEVENS         20 M   188 DALTON NH         2/3      18:23  5:56
 14 MICHAEL KIMBALL        49 M   148 KITTERY POINT ME  1/19     19:49  6:24
 16 NICOLE SLANE           13 F   156 MILFORD NH        1/24     20:55  6:45
 17 FRANZ VAIL             53 M   178 SANBORNTON NH     1/23     21:05  6:49
 21 CAROLYN SPRAGUE        41 F   174 SUNAPEE NH        1/22     21:52  7:04
 24 BEN TYLER              13 M   145 SANBORNTON NH     1/16     22:10  7:10
 26 JONATHAN NIGHSWANDER   36 M   151 GILMANTON NH      7/17     22:17  7:12
 27 AISHA KHAPOYA          24 F   191 QUINCY MA         1/2      22:21  7:13
 35 ROBERT RANDALL         66 M   154 SPRINGVALE ME     1/6      23:29  7:35 
 38 ABBEY GOSLING          17 F   184 MEREDITH NH       1/9      23:49  7:41
 59 DEBORAH PARKMAN        35 F   190 ANDOVER NH        1/9      25:22  8:11
 68 MATT NIGHSWANDER       32 M   150 GILMANTON NH     13/17     26:19  8:30
 80 ALINE KENNEY           54 F   164 NASHUA NH         1/15     27:47  8:58
115 JOHN CHANDLER          75 M   198 LACONIA NH        1/2      32:47 10:35
(189 finishers)