The Wachusett Mountain Race, Sunday May 23, 2004
The 2004 Mountain Series kicked off on Sunday with the nearly cancelled Wachusett Mountain Race.
The four of us (Wes Lassen, Jenn Brooks Lassen, Steve Davis, and Peter Watson) met at Friendly's and clambered into Peter's car. A quick stop in Beverly to pick up Julie Peterson, a few minor wrong turns, and we were at Wachusett, picking up our numbers and fighting off the blood-thirsty mosquitoes.
The first mile was the steepest and hardest, with the next 3 a mix of moderate uphill and a few downs. The race was nothing new for veteran mountain runners Watson, Peterson (also the course record holder), and Davis, while prior flatlanders Lassen and Brooks got their first taste of mountain running here.
Peterson was 2nd woman and 19th overall, finishing in 30:46, 8 seconds behind top woman Nikki Kimball. Lassen was the first Team Gloucester runner, finishing 32nd overall in 32:33. Brooks was 5th woman and 37th overall in 33:09, and Davis was 49th in 34:55. Watson was the final Team Gloucester runner, coming in at 43:57. Paul Low, unhindered by his 4th-place run at the Bedford 12k the day before, was the men's champion in 25:17.
The fog blocked any views and mile markers would really have been nice, but the course itself wasn't that bad; all in all, it was a nice, moderate start to the series-- probably a good thing since Kearsage, next in the series, is anything but moderate.
