April 22, 2022 The James Joyce Ramble will host the USATF Masters 10 Km Championships for the 8th time! Over 270 of the fastest Masters distance runners in the country will head to Dedham MA this weekend to race over the rolling hills of this quiet, historic suburb outside of Boston. The weather forecast looks very favorable with partly sunny skies, mid to upper 40's and only moderate wind forecast for the start of the race at 11 am.
Given the size of this event and the large number of runners entering in the last few days, almost half, and having 3 events in the last 5 weeks, this preview may be less comprehensive and more impressionistic than the usual preview.
Note: Podium Picks below are listed in alphabetical, not predicted, order of finish.
OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIPS Gun Time
MEN Indiana Elite runner, Jesse Davis, 5th place finisher for Team USA at the 2015 World 50 Mile Championships, goes for his third Overall victory in 4 tries this Grand Prix season. Victorious at the Club Cross Country Championships and the Masters Half Marathon Championships, Davis was edged by his teammate, Bryan Lindsay at the 5 K Championships. Chris Garvin, Davis's teammate, John Poray and Garvin's HFC teammate, T.J. Unger went 1-2-3 at the Masters 5 Km Championships in Boston last fall and look to be the strongest challengers. Garvin seemed to surprise everyone, even himself, when he won the national championship in Boston. Unger, had a good outing too. A month later, though, he finished 14th in the highly competitive Men's 40+ division race at Club Cross in Tallahassee, just ten seconds behind Poray. They are closely matched. Unger was not quite able to hang with those two on the turf but he does have a 33:30 at the Lone Gull 10K from last September to show that he may be harder to handle on the roads. Of course Poray has a 32:08 of his own from last April and rn 15:52 in tthe 5 Km race at the Carmel Marathon, equating roughly to a 32:09. Ben Jarrett was not as competitive as those three on the turf at Boston, finishing a minute back. But he turned in a fine 1:12:53 at the New Bedford Half Marathon a month ago. That suggests he may be readier to challenge those three on the roads. Aaron Price who ran 34:04 at the Lone Gull 10K last year and finished 10th overall at the 5 Km XC in Boston may also challenge for the podium. Price's teammate, Jason Holroyd, finished ahead of him in Boston but behind in Tallahassee. His 34:42 at Lone Gull was not as strong as Price's but his 1:11:35 at New Bedford was better than Jarrett. He will be in the mix no doubt.
Jesse Davis John Poray T.J. Unger
WOMEN Jessica Hruska, another Midwesterner, from Iowa, who took the win at the 5 km in Atlanta and the Bronze Medal at the Half Marathon Championships, looks to land on the podium again. With podia at those distances, and the 10K in the middle, things look promising. Jessica Smith, who ran a blazing fast 35:11 10K at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon in February, comes in with some West Coast speed. At least that's what Athlinks lists; if she runs 35 and change tomorrow, it's Katy Bar the Door!' . A little less other worldly are her 2:46:41 at CIM in December and her 1:20:21 at Clarksburg. In addition she notched 2nd at Boston in the 5 km XC, behind Kasie Enman, but ahead of Maggies Shearer, so she knows how to podium at a national championship. New Englanders Brett Ely and Erin Genova will try to repel the interlopers. Ely ran 1:23:39 at New Bedford and a 19:13 at the Downtown 5K in Providence, both suggestive of sub-40 possibilities for a 10K. Genova took the W40 win at New Bedford 12 seconds ahead of Ely and ran an 18:39 5K in Mid-February. Jennifer Mortimer, from New Hampshire, may have the best shot at the win. She clocked a sub 1:20 Half Marathon last August and an early season 38:18 10K earlier this month, as well as a 17:37 5K last November. If she has a day like she had in Atlanta, Abby Dean could figure into this podium race as well. She took 4th overall there in 18:41! Tough to figure out, but let's go with Genova, Hruska and Smith, and let Dean, Ely, or Mortimer, or maybe someone else, prove me wrong!,
Erin Genova Jessica Hruska Jessica Smith
AGE DIVISION NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Gun Time
WOMEN
40-44 See Overall above.
Erin Genova Jessica Hruska Jessica Smith
40-45 Rebeccah Wassner, who took 2nd W45 in Syracuse last month at the Masters HM Championships in 1:25:52, may be the strongest candidate for the division win. Brooke Bray, Euleen Josiah-Tanner, Laure Van den Broeck Raffensperger, and Kathy Wiegand should all be in the mix for the podium as well. Bray, who took some time off after a tough 3:10 effort at .CIM last December, ran 50:22 at the 12 Km championships in New Jersey last September. More recently she ran a 42:19 10K at the Oakland Running Festival. A few years back she took 5th W40 at the National Masters 5 Km Championships in Atlanta. Tanner was mostly a track athlete until last year when she started competing at MLDR events on the turf and the road. She has been highly successful! After getting her feet wet with a 6th place division finish at the 12Km championship in September, she took the division title on the turf at the highly competitive Club Cross in Tallahassee. She landed on the division podium at Atlanta as well, clocking 19:38. She followed that with a 7th place finish at the 10-mile championships. If she can manage a podium finish here it would be her first on the roads at a distance over 5 Km. Van den Broeck Raffensperger has already taken the title of the runner with the longest name at these championships. If she can add a podium finish to that distinction it would be excellent! A few years ago she ran a 43:47 10K, and she is just coming off of a 3:27:23 effort at the Green Mountain Marathon. Wiegand has been a solid contributor to the Atlanta Track Club's team efforts for years. She has often been in the position of finishing just off the podium. At Tallahassee she claimed 4th in the division.Perhaps she can find podium magic at this race.
Brooke Bray Euleen Josiah Tanner Rebeccah Wassner
50-54 Abby Dean and Cassandra Henkiel come in with the strongest records, although Henkiel's most impressive efforts on the national scene are not recent. Dean has recently taken a division first at Atlanta with an 18:41 that also netted her the 4th place finish overall, and a 2nd in Syracuse with a 1:24:57 over a hilly course. Henkiel, by comparison, can look back on a 2017 3rd place finish in W45 at Club Cross in Lexington KY, not to mention division wins earlier that year at Syracuse in the 5 Km and in the 10 Km at Dedham with a 37:57 on this course. Unfortunately there are few clues about her current fitness, despite an 18:29 5K in 2019 at Freihofer's. On the other hand, unless she is visiting old friends or relatives in the area, it seems unlikely Henkiel would be making her first trip from Texas to an East Coast national championship unless she was in decent condition. Alexandra Marzulla looks good for a podium effort after finishing 6th at the 12 km last September in 51:45, equivalent to a 42:45 10K. She moved up a position to finish 5th at the Half Marathon Championships in Syracuse with a 1:35:41 that would have been faster on a gentler course. Perhaps she is ready to move up two more spots to finish on the podium this time. If it is not the day for any of those three, strong regional runners Carmen Alfonzo, Eileen Cakouros, Estelle McCormack, or Lisa Sternstrom will battle for a podium spot.
Abby Dean Cassandra Henkiel Alexandra Marzulla
55-59 Suzanne La Burt finished a minute and a half ahead of Mimi Fallon at the 12 Km Championships last September at Highlands NJ and will try to repeat that tomorrow in Dedham. Since then La Burt has shown no weakness, taking 2nd place in the division at Syracuse with a 1:29:15 and clocking 40:01 at the Cherry Blossom 10K just three weeks ago. With a mid-March 42:20 at the Holyoke 19K, Fallon is clearly in fine form for another duel with La Burt.If the turf is relevant, both will get a strong challenge from Jody Dushay, who finished 4th in 50-54 at the 5 Km XC in Boston with a 20:51, some 13 seconds faster than La Burt's 3rd place W55 finish. in Mid-February she clocked a 26:58 4-miler, equivalent to a 42:36 10K so she should be ready. Two moths ago in Atlanta Kris Huff took 3rd in the division in 21:19; it would be a mistake to ignore her. Her most recent 10K effort is Peachtree last 4th of July when she ran 43:58.
Jody Dushay Mimi Fallon Suzanne La Burt
60-64 Greater Philadelphia Teammates, Lorraine Jasper and Doreen McCoubrie will resume their friendly rivalry. Although both have their eyes primarily on the team awards, each is a top runner. So far Jasper has had the edge on the turf and at shorter distances; McCoubrie has had the edge at longer distances on the roads. Jasper has division wins at the 5 km XC, the USATF XC at Mission Bay, and Club Cross at Tallahassee. Admittedly McCoubrie was not inthose fields, so we do not know where she would finish relative to Jasper. They had the same time, 20:32, at Atlanta in the 5 Km with just a stride separating them. McCoubrie came in ahead of Jasper by six seconds at the 12 Km Championships in New Jersey and by three minutes at the Half marathon championships in Syracues. That suggest there should be a heck of a race between them tomorrow. Stella Gibbs will try to find that little extra something that will enable her to keep pace with those two. In Atlanta she finished a half minute back from them in 4th, and a minute behind them at the 12 Km at Highlands NJ. Her most recent effort, a division win at the Masters Ten Mile championships in Sacramento in 1:10:08 seems promising. It graded above 93%. Mary Cass, Lauren Leslie, and the 'Third Musketeer' of the Greater Philadelphia 60's team, Mary Swan, will also have a say in the podium race. Cass finished 2nd to Jasper in Boston, just 8 seconds back! She clocked a 42:58 at Lone Gull last September and ran 12 seconds faster in a 10K a month later. Leslie was a minute and change back from Jasper and McCoubrie in Atlanta but came in ahead of Cass at Lone Gull with a 42:32. Leslie ran 1:35:09 at New Bedford, faster than Jasper at Syracuse, but not as fleet as McCoubrie. It will be fascinating to see how it all sorts out tomorrow. Swan is a very reliable runner. She finished 3rd at Syracuse, a minute back from Jasper. She will definitely be there if any of these four falter. Sally Reiley, better at the Marathon and Half Marathon, will also turn in a fine effort and time.
Stella Gibbs Lorraine Jasper Doreen McCoubrie
65-69 In 2018, Alda Cossi finished 3rd in 60-64 at the 10 Km Championships over this course. More recently, she won the 5 Km XC at Boston with a 25:27 effort last October. At Atlanta this February, she finished 3rd behind two runners who are not entered here, Kitty Musante and Nora Cary. If Claire McManus's 33 minute 5K at the St. Pat's Day 5K was just treated as a 'fun run then she should be a strong contender. She ran 49:42 at the Milton 10K last September and 23:17 at the Somerville Jingle Bell 5K in December. Lorraine McPhillips won this division at Club Cross at Lehigh in 2019 and finished 4th at the 5 km XC in Boston last fall. She also clocked a 55:35 10K earlier this month. Although well behind Cossi in Boston, she was a half minute ahead of Susan Stirrat, another potential contender. Stirrat has had a good year, finishing 3rd in the division at Club Cross in December, followed by a 2nd place at the Half Marathon Championships. In early April she ran a strong 52:54 at the Cherry Blossom 10K. Another runner who is a bit of a wild card is Sharon Moore, who took the win at Tallahassee, running a minute faster than Stirrat. A few years go, Moore was a frequent competitor at National Masters Championships and was regularly on the podium. That has not been the case this year. She has only competed in one championship, but it was a good one. Winning a division at the highly competitive Club Cross Country Championships is a feather in anyone's cap! I am guessing she is fit but I cannot find any race results since Club Cross for her.
Alda Cossi Claire McManus Sharon Moore
70-74 In 2018, Karen Durante took the win in the 65-69 division with a 47:18. Last August she won the 70-74 division at Falmouth with a 57:46, equating roughly to a 50:05, and in November clocked 23:11 in a 5K. I cannot find any 2022 results. Barbara Sauer, who finished 2nd in Atlanta with a 28:08 5K and 3rd at Syracuse in 2:08:01, will be a contender. Mary Sharkey ran several 5K's between October and January; a typical time was around 24:45. That 5K translates roughly to a 51:09 10K. That might be too generous an equivalence though. She ran a 34:27 4-miler in mid-February that equates to a 54:04. Jessica Wheeler ran a 52:31 10K on January 8th and a 1:23:56 15K two weeks later. Her 1:57:21 Hampton Half Marathon converts roughly to a 53:13. Those three Winter races in New England suggest she may be able to run a good bit faster on Sunday. It is probably unwise to pick Sauer, who has two national podiums already this year, to finish off the podium, but that is what I am doing. Durante, Sharkey and Wheeler just seem a bit too speedy for Sauer to handle. Should Sauer prove me wrong, I would be delighted!
Karen Durante Mary Sharkey Jessica Wheeler
75-79 In a class by herself, Joan Tremberth is sure to be a national champion; she just has to finish the race! She should do much better than that; Tremberth ran a 41:59 4-miler in mid-February!
Joan Tremberth
85-89 Edna Hyer already has a national championship this year. She took the 85-89 title in Atlanta with a 41:12. She has apparently scared off the competition again.
Edna HyerMEN
40-44 See the analysis of the Overall Race above.
Jesse Davis John Poray T.J. Unger
45-49 Jason Holroyd and Aaron Price were mentioned in the overall preview. That suggests they are favorites for the 45-49 podium. Another favorite who should, perhaps, have been mentioned as an overall contender is Mike Cole, the elder statesman of the Indiana Elite AC. Cole finished 2nd overall in 26:21 at the 8 Km National Championships at Virginia Beach in 2019. Not quite at the top of his game late last year, he ran a 1:19 HM and finished 10th in M45 at Club Cross in Tallahassee. He has bounced back this spring though, running a 37:46 quarter marathon (6.555 miles) in late March, equating to a 35:41 10K. He should be able to stay with Holroyd and Price for a while at least. Should any of those three have an off day, Timothy Gavin is poised to move up. He finished 4th in the division on the turf at Boston and ran a 1:15:07 at the New Bedford HM in March.
50-54 The podium is likely to come from these 4 contenders: Mark Andrews, Ivan Lieben, and Gregory Putnam. Andrews won the overall championship in the 2016 edition of this race in 32:45. In 2018 he took 3rd overall in the 5 Km national masters championships in Atlanta in 15:57. This year he finished 2nd in the division to Christian Cushing-Murray with a 16:52. He is, if anything, faster now as he showed with a 16:52 5K on April. Ivan Lieben, who has done even better on the turf, is no slouch on the roads. He ran 33:55 at the Oakland Running Fest 10K and
finished 3rd in the division at the recent 10 Mile championships in
Sacramento, clocking 56:38, equivalent to a 34:15 10K. Lieben came in 20
seconds ahead of Cushing-Murray in that race.Gregory Putnam has had an impressive year, starting off with a division 2nd place at the 12 km Championships in Highlands NJ, followed by a gutsy win over Mark Callon in Boston on the turf. When those two met in Syacuse at the HM, the tables were reversed, but a 2nd place in 1:15:51 is nothing to sneeze at. Although there is no necessary transitivity across races, it is probably worth noting that Callon beat Putnam by a mere 5 seconds at the HM while he had over a half minute's edge over Lieben at the ten-mile championships. It should be quite a race at the front of this division!
Others who could factor into the podium race include : Brent Fields, Elliott Frieder, and twin brother, Jonathan Frieder, and their teammate, Richard Falcone. Fields finished well back from Andrews in the 5K in Atlanta but ran an impressive 33:51 at Peachtree last July. In November he ran a 1:18:39 HM. J Frieder ran an impressive 1:17:43 Half Marathon to take 5th in the division. E Frieder had an off day and was a couple of minutes back. Falcone finshed just ahead of both. However, last September the order was reversed when E Frieder clocked 42:52 to J Frieder's 43:15. Those are equivalent to a 10 K in the mid 35's so Fields may have too much speed for them; it will be interesting to see how this race within a race unfolds.
Mark Andrews Ivan Lieben Gregory Putnam
55-59 When Brian Crowley and Nat Larson raced the 12 km Champion and ships at Highlands NJ last September, Crowley enjoyed the win over Larson with a minute to spare in 42:06. At the time, Larson was not injured but was not fully back up to speed after surgery during the pandemic lull in races. It will be interesting to see how this rematch go. Both appear to be ready! Crowley ran a 35:30 10K in January and clocked 58:36 in the Garden State ten miler. Larson, meanwhile is back at the top of his game with a 1:16:30 division win at the HM Championships in Syracuse, followed up by an impressive 57:11 at the 10 Mile Championships in Sacramento. This could be a battle for the ages! No one else in the field appears close to those two. Who will get the final podium spot. Mike Nier should have a good shot! Nier has paid his dues. He has finished 4th at two of the recent national road championships. His 44:19 at the 12 Km Championships last September and his 17:45 in the 5Km both left him just off the podium. Jason Cakouros will try to defend the home roads; he ran 36:48 at the Lone Gull 10 Km last September. Others who might upset the apple cart include John Hogan and Harold Porcher of Garden State. Hogan clocked 37:57 at the Cherry Blossom 10K earlier this month and Porcher's 1:02:11 at the recent Garden State 10-miler equates to a 37:35 10K.
Brian Crowley Nat Larson Mike Nier
60-64 Like the 5 Km National Championships in Atlanta, this one may come down to a battle between Tim Degrado, Rick Lee, and Joe Mora. They locked horns, with Mora pulling away in the end for the gun time win 18:02 to 18:05 for Degrado and Lee who placed in that order. However, if you look at Athlinks, they incorrectly place them based on chip time and there the result reads: Lee 17:57, Mora 18:00 and Degrado 18:02. Since then Lee took a nice win at Syracuse with a 1:19:40 at the HM Championships and just won his division at the Boston Marathon this past Monday in 2:47:58. The bad news for his rivals is that was a new PR for him; the good news is that the Marathon was just six days before this race. Even with Lee's incredible powers of recovery it seems likely there will be a little less bounce in his step on Sunday because of that. Degrado, in the meantime, demonstrated his fitness with a 59:47 division win at the 10 Mile Championships in Sacramento. Mora has not been as active but he did recently run a 23:44 4-miler just to keep his legs in the game. They will definitely have some company in any division lead pack. Robert McCormack ran 39:09 at Lone Gull last September and followed that with a 3rd at the 5 Km XC contest in Boston and a 4th place finish at Tallahassee. He is a force to be reckoned with. Paul McGovern ran an 18:42 5K last November and followed that up with a nifty 1:21:24 att he New Bedford HM, equating to a 37:03 10K. Although he is unlikely to challenge for the podium at this distance, it will be interesting to see what track specialist, David Westenberg, can do. He did run a 39:57 10K in March of 2020 and threw down an 18:11 at the BAA 5K last weekend.
Tim Degrado Rick Lee Joseph Mora
65-69 A couple of months after his fine 12 Km win where he set the American M65 record of 45:05, Ken Youngers suffered a setback. Luckily it was only temprary as he worked his way back into condition over the winter. He was able to run a 38:55 10K by mid-February and finished 2nd in the 5 Km Masters Championships in 18:22 to Jacob Nur, who has broken several M65 records of his own this year. John Barbour who is typically at or near the top of his age division, finished 5th at the 5 Km XC Championships in Boston last October. He won the Club Cross M65 title at Lehigh in 2019 and earlier that year took the M65 10 Km title on this course in 38:37. He has, uncharacteristically not run in any of the New England GP races since the XC race in Boston. That could be a bad sign or it could just mean that he was taking a break from racing to recover his fitness and he is ready to roll. We shall find out on Sunday. Charlie Muse was an upset winner of this race in 2017 with a sparkling 37:51, but has not run a strong race in the last few months. It would be nice ot see him back in peak condition but probably not at this race.
As Nur is not entered, and neither John Barbour nor Charlie Muse seem to be at the top of their game right now, it falls to Kevin Dollard and his Shore AC teammate, Reno Stirrat to provide Youngers with a challenge. Dollard continues his steady production of strong efforts this year. After his 3rd place finish in Atlanta with a 19:54, Dollard followed that up with a 2nd place run of 1:32:43 in the HM Championships in Syracuse. Stirrat continues his gradual return to form. His 5K effort in Atlanta left him in 5th, half a minute behind Dollard. In the HM Championshgips at Syracuse, Stirrat was only 23 seconds behind over a much longer distance. In addition, Stirrat just turned in a fine 41:17 effort at the Cherry Blossom 10K. If Robert Ciano can match the 32:28 5 Miler he ran last Labor Day, equivalent to a 40:39 10K, he could break onto the podium.
Kevin Dollard Reno Stirrat Ken Youngers
70-74 Richard Larsen who took the 5 Km title in Atlanta with a nifty 19:34 must be considered the fvorite evne though this is a step up in distance for him. My guess is that he has worked a little more mileage into his workouts and will find the adjustment not too major. Kirk Larson returns to the fray after a problem with his elbow and then an unrelated difficulty that popped up during the Club Cross race in Tallahassee. In any case it appears that his recovery has proceeded well. He just ran a 21:37 5k at the end of March. Something in the mid-40's or maybe even a little faster seems feasible. His Atlanta partner, Jerry Learned hs continued his fine, steady season. After his 4th place finish at the 5 km Championships in Atlanta, he followed that with a 1:41:11 Half Marathon to finsih 3rd in M70 in Syracuse.He bumped that up a notch by claiming 2nd at the ten mile championships in Sacramento with a fine 1:12:28. Not so long ago he would have been happy to run that in a 15K! It is hard to see anyone breaking that threesome up. Allan Bates and Gordon MacFarland ran 1:46:54 nd 1:47:54 respectively at the New Bedford HM. Either one of the three aforementioned runners would have to falter of these two would have to raise their game to deny them.
Richard Larsen Kirk Larson Jerry Learned
75-79 Dave Glass has not been beaten at any distance greater than 8K fo rthe past 7 months. He won the 12 km last September and continued his winning ways with a sterling 1:41:54 at theHalf Marathon Championships and an equally fine 1:16:38 ten-mile victory in Sacramento. At shorter distances, track specialist Gary Patton has sometimes been able to hold onto Glass's pace and outkick him at the end. It is hard to see that happening over 10 Km but it would be a mistake to completely rule it out. Patton knows how to train and how to race. He is very determined. Ezequiel Garcia finished just 46 seconds behind Glass at the 12 Km Championships, and was closer on the turf. He was a minute behind Glass at the 5 Km Championships on the roads in Atlanata but fell far back in the HM at Syracuse. He still took 2nd and was not threatened but he finished over ten minutes behind Glass. The question now is whether that was an aberration or a sign of something being not quite right with Garcia's fitness. His 1:25:53 at the Garden State ten-miler at the end of March and a 51:02 at the Cherry Blossom 10K suggest his fitness is off a bit. Does that give an opening to other contenders like Jan Frisby and Jim May to climb onto the podium? That is certainly possible. Frisby's fitness has continued to improve. Last September in the 12 km, he finished 5th in M75 in 1:03:15 at Highlands. In early April he finished 4th in the division in Sacramento over ten miles, not such a huge improvement in place, but his pace was actually 6 seconds faster per mile than it had been at Highlands, over a longer distance. His 1:23:13 was faster than the ten mile run by Garcia shortly thereafter. If his fitness has continued to improve in the interim as seems likely he may be ready t break 50 minutes. May is a bit of a wild card. He finished 5th at Club Cross in this division in 41:17. that was well behind Glass and Garcia, but well ahead of Frisby and even one second ahead of Patton. But there is nothing since, so we have to guess at current fitness. He apparently does a fair amount of XC skiing over the winter and often has pretty good fitness in the spring. In 2017, for example, he won the M70 8K Championship in mid March in Virginia Beach. We will find out on Sunday where he is right now. Liam Finnigan also has a chance at the podium. He has a recent 10K at 50:24 and a 1:18:37 at the Gate River Run 15K that is consistent with that kind of effort. It will probably take a sub-50 minute effort to make the podium. Who will it be? I have left myself, Paul Carlin, out of these calculations because it just seems a little too soon. I have made progress, but still my most recent effort was a 5th place in Sacramento, almost two minutes behind Frisby. Everything would have to go perfectly for me to break 50 minutes.
Jan Frisby Dave Glass Gary Patton
80-84 John Elliott finished nearly two minutes ahead of Roland Cormier in Tallahassee on the turf. Cornier has apparently not raced since then so his current fitness, almost 5 months later, is unknown. Elliott ran a 29:58 5K in mid-Februar as part of his prep for Atlanta. But a few days befoer the race, he took a bad spill. That derailed his Atlanta plans. This appears to be his first race since the fall but he is likely pretty fit. He has won a ton of national championships. Philip Pierce my be in the mix as well. He ran 33:55 to finish 5th in this division on the turf at Boston last October. He followed that with a 41:08 4-miler in mid-February, roughly equivalent to a 1:04:13. That is not as fast as Elliott was before his fall but we will find out on Sunday if Elliott is a bit off the top of his game. Last September, Cormier ran 1:17:10 at the 12 Km Championships, equivalent roughly to a 1:03:25 10K. It looks like those three will battle it our for the podium spots. George Gilder just threw down a 1:39:54 10-Miler at the April 9th Tenacious Ten in Seattle. That suggests he could run around an hour for a ten K. Denny Leblanc ran two 5K's last fall in 28:17 and 28:16, suggesting a 10 k in the upper 50 minute range should be within reach. This new talent could make it rough for Elliott, Comier and Pierce.
George Gilder John Elliott Denny LeBlanc
85-89 William 'Bill' Reilly, who has won many a championship in his day, ran a 32:28 5K in January, roughly equivalent to a 1:05:12 10K. Duane Lougee ran a 1:05:19 10K. Those are pretty close. Ordinarily I would say the runner who actually rann the distance has a solider time ans so shold be favored. Reilly has won so many championships over the years thought hat it is hard to say anyone should be favore dover him. The third entrant, Lawrence Cole, will likely not break 1:30 but s long as he finishes, he will be on the podium.
Lawrence Cole Duane Lougee William Reilly
It is time to draw this preview to a close, at 11:16 pm the evening before the race. I will watch the age grading and team contests with interest but will not be able to include them in this preview.
Good luck to all the competitors tomorrow and may the wether forecast even in changeable New England, hold overight and keep the favorable conditions forecasted.