By Mike Pelletier
Today was a great day to run a 10K as the weather was so like what have trained in all winter: cold, damp, and windy in Dedham.
Our 70+ team was kaput when Armand was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday. George and I soldiered on and ran as individuals. George was ahead of me for over 3 miles, but started to come back to me on a hill in the third mile. On two nasty little hills around a prep school in mile 4, I finally passed George and then another 70-74 runner from New Jersey. I hung on to finish in 53: 49 while George notched a 55:06. I finished 14th/24 and George was 16th/24 in the M7074 age group of the USATF National Masters 10K Championship for 2014.
It turned out this year that the M70-74 had the largest number of competitors of any 5-year age group. Last year, when there were a lot less guys in the M70-74 age group, George was 8th, I was 12th (in a significantly slower time than this year) and Armand was 16th. This year’s race is what often happens when a lot of young guys age up into a new age group. It was a very humbling experience.
The next two races of interest for a lot of us are the NECC Campus Classic 5K this coming Saturday, May 3rd (the next race in the NSS Grand Prix), and the Dory Run 5K in Swampscott on Memorial Day where we need lots and lots of Striders volunteering.
Great jobs Mike and George. You did yourselves and the NSS proud!