Race #32 - Mt Washington Road Race

The race I have been waiting to run all year is now over. 7.6 miles of uphill running at an average of a 12% incline was a lot tougher than I imagined. I ran all the whole way except for 10 steps at the very top which was at a 22% incline. I finished in 1:43:21 which was what I was expecting although there was a chance I might be able to go in the 1:30's. I just wanted to keep moving and try not to stop. John Liptak finished in 1:42:36, Chris Kelly in 1:44:03 and Taugh finished in 1:49:48. Ken White was also with us but he skied Tuckerman's Ravine which included hiking to where the snow was. I think he had it tougher than the runners. We dropped him off at Pinkham's Notch and then headed to the auto road. More on that later.

We arrived 2 1/2 hours before the 10am start to make sure we got my van to the top with time to spare. We met up with Chris Kelly & his wife Debbie at the start area. Debbie was our official driver to the top. I met Chris on the Mt Washington website a few weeks before the race after we lost our official driver Tommy Ryan. Chris lives in Somerset and runs through South Brunswick on his longer traing runs.

Debbie did a great job as the drive up the mountain was a white knuckler because of the narrow road and the fog. After Debbie left us at 8:30 for the top we waited around nervously not really knowing what we would encounter on this run. None of us had ever really done a race like this so we had no point of reference. The Mt Washington website says that you can expect to run a time similar to your 1/2 marathon time. I ran a 1:32 in Virginia early but I knew that wasn't going to happen at this mountain. I had run 4.5 miles on a treadmill at the 12 incline and really couldn't go faster than 13:45 per mile.

The weather which has been causing havoc in the NY/NJ area was expected for this race earlier in the week but cleared out on Saturday. It turned out to be a perfect day to run, although we had some clouds to run through and visibility was limited at the top but it was a whole lot better than what was happening at the US Open. In fact it was hot at the start and we didn't need all our change of clothes at the top since in was in the mid 50's.

The start was at the beginning of the toll road and ran slightly downhill for a 100 yards and then flatten out for another 200 yards and then the fun began. John, Taugh and I all started together and ran that way for the first mile. We thought we would hang together for the first 3 miles and let our fitness levels sought it out from there. I pulled back a bit to run with Taugh so John ran ahead of us. Just before we approached mile 2 Taugh began to walk a bit so I moved ahead of him. We were not competing against each other but against the mountain. Once I realized that Taugh was not going to be able to catch up, I just focused on my run. I really didn't start feeling good until mile 3 and felt like at the pace I was running it would be no problem. I passed the halfway point in 48:56 and felt strong and it was nice psychological boost to pass that marker. A runner who was walking told me the 2nd half was easier than the first 3.8 miles, but he was very wrong. It never really got easier except for about 200 yards of relatively flat ground which I am sure was a 5% incline but it just felt flat.

Once I passed mile 5 I knew I was going to finish without stopping although it wasn't getting any easier. I was still running in the clouds at this point and was waiting for the clearing that the race director promised us at the top. He was right but it was at mile 6.5 and the incline seemed to be getting steeper. I passed Chris at mile 6 as he looked a bit fatigued and was walking at this point. John was getting closer to me as he was also walking. Funny thing about the walkers, some of them were walking faster than I was running which was slightly upsetting. I was not going to stop except to take an occasional picture.

The last 1.6 miles was very pretty and the views spectacular although when you looked to where you had to go, it was not encouraging. I kept my head down and forged ahead. As I got near the top, you can hear the spectators cheering which was great but I knew I had that 22% incline section to deal with ahead. The sun was out at this point and it felt good. As I approached the toughest section I tried to keep running but I had to walk for about 10 steps and then just pushed it from there. The finish was about 70 yards of flat which was welcomed.

My splits were 10:34, 12:34, 13:29, 13:40, 14:43, 14:42, 14:35 & 9:03 for the .6. My heart rate averaged 149 and peaked at 162. My heart & lungs would have let me run faster but my legs would not. I need more hill running to get better at mountain running. I might do other races but probably shorter climbs.

This was one of the races that was on my bucket list so now I can cross off. Once again I met many friendly runners who are all trying to keep it together through life.

Now just a bit on Ken White the skiing maniac. He skied Tuckerman while we ran, in looking back, probably had it worse. He had to hike 2.5 miles to the snow with his skis strapped on his backpack and also carrying his ski boots and other gear. Once to the top of the snow area, he would ski down about 700 vertical feet and then climb back up. That was one thing that was on his bucket list so now he can cross that off.

We all had a great time and look forward to the next weekend adventure.

Just a footnote to the weekend. On Friday night I met Kimi Puntillo who is the author of a new book called Great Races - Incredible Places, 100 great races around the world. I am always interested in ordinary people doing extraordinary feats. Kimi describes some of the races she has run over the years and it is an excellent book for inspiration and adventure.