Chatham Harbor 10K: Heat, Hospitality .. No Great Whites

Seagull on a swingAn all-star team of Winchester Highlanders and friends descended upon the fair town of Chatham MA, on the elbow of Cape Cod, for the Chatham Harbor 10K.    The highlight for me was the post-race barbecue at Joe and Maria Nicholson’s beautiful home in the heart of town.  Thanks so much to the lovely couple for the hospitality, the delicious food, cool drink, (thx to others who brought wonderful consumables), and the pyrotechnics ;-)    What a super way to end the event!  Read on …

Great beach day!  The Highlanders ran strong on a very warm Sunday afternoon (12:05 start)  – must have been 100+ in the sun and  80+ in the shade.  And trust me .. there was precious little shade on the scenic course.  Plenty of rolling hills. Never saw the detected great white sharks.  The last time I ran this race was in 2004 .. a very different, rainy, cool day.

See complete results.   Special congrats to Tom Boland 2nd in the 20-29 age group,  Joe 3rd in 50-59, son Ross Nicholson 3rd in 20-29 (his first 10K!), Lisa 3rd in 50-59, Carrie 5th in her new 30-39 group.  MikeO, buddy Ed, DanQ (many years ago, this was his first ever road race), TomM, and Donna Quirk (great to see her again)  all finished at a swift pace.  Allison could not run due to a luggage mishap (you’ll have to ask her), but cheered us at the finish.  We met Duke Hutchinson (organizer of the Boston Marathon buses), who was called out at the start for his 33th consecutive appearance at the race.  Did I miss anyone?

Me?    I was hot … and not in any good way.  Though I drank a quart of Gator Aid on the drive from Winchester, I was thirsty most of the trek.  Very grateful to the many official and unofficial water servers along the route.  My mile splits were roughly 6:35, 6:53, 6:46, 7:02, 7:00, and then 8:08 for the last 1.2 — 42:24 total, for a 6:50 average pace per mile.   I tried to slow the last few miles (for fear of collapsing, and when there was no one pressing me).  The fact that I was looking over my shoulder is a sure sign of mental weakness!.  However, my splits seemed to reflect more the terrain rather than effort.    I need more speedwork to make these shorter race feel less awkward mechanically. Losing 10 pounds would not hurt, either.    My results? : 13th overall, 1st in the fat, old guys 50-59 age group.  Got a little piece of hardware, for which I, Carrie and TomB waited patiently post-race.

This is the kind of thing the Highlanders need to do more of.  Hope we can organize another race this summer, to accompany the 2 remaining Wednesday evening Winchester runs and eats  (the next on July 11th at 6:30pm).

Not sure what is next …   Anyone want to bring their pup to this little jog next weekend?  - K9 5K Trail run in Mashpee.

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