Run 4 Rusty 4 Miler

I went to Concord NH on Sunday to race the Run 4 Rusty 4 Miler. This race is part of CARS (Concord Area Race Series), a great little race series consisting of 6 races in and around the Concord area. This was race number 5 of the series. Each participant must complete at least 5 of the 6 races to score in the series. This was race 4 for me as I had missed a race earlier this year.

On our way north to Concord the weather was not looking to good as we went through a few really good rain showers. This course has one mile which run on trails. So I knew that part of the race would probably be slower and messy. It rained pretty good before the race. But as the race was about to go off the rain slowed to more of a light drizzle.

I had decided during this race that I would take it pretty easy. Let others lead, and I was not going to push the pace early. I wanted to make sure my hamstring was going to be able to handle this faster pace. Most of all, I wanted to survive with out to much or any damage, Mt Washington is next weekend and I expect to be there and ready to run.

The race went out pretty slow. Eric Williams went right to the front and led a group consisting of Scott Clark, Connor Jennings, Dan Verrington, and then myself. Things pretty much stayed this way throughout the very flat first mile. Just before the mile mark Scott took over the lead as Eric slowed off the pace a bit. Connor, Dan, and myself moved up behind Scott at this point. The first mile went by in 5:23, pretty slow considering how flat it was. I was content to just hangout near the lead at this point as see how my leg would react to running at this kind of pace. The second mile is flat to down hill into the Sewall Falls area. Scott stayed in the lead during this mile as I moved up past Connor and Dan and onto Scotts shoulder. Connor and Dan stayed right with us. The second mile went by in 5:12. Just after the 2nd mile mark the course turns into the Sewall Falls trail area. The next mile is all trail with a lot of big puddles, a bit of mud and a couple of smaller hills. This was an area I just wanted to survive and get through without any leg issues. Scott seemed to press a bit through this area. I stayed right with him, Dan and Connor could not keep the same pace and began to fall back throughout the third mile. We hit the 3 mile mark with a 5:45 mile, A lot slower due to the Puddles, mud, and hills. We emerged from the woods together and I started to think about making a move. The hamstring was a bit stiff, but not to bad, so I wanted to give it a go and try to break Scott before we got to close to the finish line. With about 3/4 of a mile left there is a pretty good sized hill and this is where I decided to make my move. I pressed by Scott just before the bottom of the hill, he stayed right with me for a bit, but once we hit the hill I put a little bit of a gap on him. I pressed up the whole hill and managed to open up a pretty decent lead. I held onto that lead heading into the school and held on for a 5 second win. The last mile passed in 5:30. Full Results

The very fast and beautiful Heather Ann Searles was the first woman to finish and 11th overall. This was Heather's 5 race in the series and with her win Heather has secured the Woman's CARS Championship! Congratulations Heather!


1 21:51 5:28 Chris Mahoney 31 M 766 Haverhill MA

2 21:56 5:29 Scott Clark 43 M 708

3 22:24 5:36 Dan Verrington 46 M 814 Bradford MA

4 22:25 5:37 Connor Jennings 18 M 854 Concord NH

5 22:45 5:42 Kyle Audet 20 M 599 Concord NH

6 23:01 5:46 Eric Williams 44 M 822 Concord NH

7 24:46 6:12 Geoffrey Wilson 51 M 844 Amherst NH

8 24:49 6:13 Nick Watts 25 M 821 Pittsfield NH

9 24:51 6:13 Mike Barry 52 M 685 Northwood NH

10 25:18 6:20 Grant Fortier 27 M 721 Concord NH

11 25:22 6:21 Heather Ann Searles 26 F 804 Henniker NH