40th Mt Washington Road Race
June 17, 2000 Saturday, 10:00 AM Finishers
Favorites for the 40th anniversary of the race looked to be Kenyan runners. Daniel Kihara, the three-time champion, was scheduled to return as was his sometimes-training partner Joseph Kibor. Simon Karori was expected to take a run at the masters (40+) record. He had never raced Mt Washington before, but his credentials included winning the Falmouth Road Race three times. Mark Donahue, who among his many accomplishments was the 1986 New England Cross Country champion, was tearing up the local racing scene including an overall win at the USATF New England 10K championships the week before Mt Washington. He was expected to give Karori a chase in the masters category. Local favorites included Eric Morse, Craig Fram, and Dave Dunham, who had been tuning up for the race by running up mountains on most weekends during the spring. At Mt Kearsarge they went 1, 2, and 3 with Fram destroying the masters record. At Wachusett Mountain Morse and Dunham went 1, 2, and followed that with a 1, 2 finish at Pack Monadnock. Womens favorites included Alice Muriithi, a Kenyan living in Pennsylvania, former champion Jacqueline Gareau, and top local runner Julie Peterson.
Kihara flew in from Kenya earlier in the week and may have been tired from the 17-hour flight. He ran with Kibor for most of the race and made a decisive move in the last mile to take a 40-second victory in 59:24. Kibor missed an additional $500 time bonus by four seconds, just missing the one-hour mark. CMS runners dominated the top ten, placing third through sixth and eighth and tenth. Fergus Cullen in seventh place was the only non-Kenyan and non-CMS runner in the top ten. Karori defeated Robert Ratcliffe by three minutes to take the masters victory however; he came up six minutes shy of the course record. This was only the second time in a decade that less than ten men finished under 1:10. The average finishing time for men hit a high of 1:56:31, nearly seven minutes slower than the past high. The gap between mens and womens average finishing time narrowed to just over four minutes, the closest to date.
Alice Muriithi took the lead early on and was never challenged for the ladies crown. Jacqueline Gareau took second and was on pace for the masters mark, and the $4,000 bonus, through the half but faded in the second half. Both women finished in the top 25 overall. Former champion Barbara Remmers told New England Runner It was a lot different for me this year, but I love that race. Ill run it every year the rest of my life. Gareau also chimed in, I love this race. Ive run this course four times and I still cant tell where the finish is. Can you believe that?
CMS led the charge in the team category with a one hour and 13 minute victory over the WCRC in 5:35:47. The WCRC took the win in the 40+ team finishing 2:49 ahead of CSU and 5 minutes ahead of GMAA. CSU turned the tables, taking first in the 50+ category. CMS won the womens team title by 12 minutes over CSU in 4:34:13. CMS also won the 40+ category, their time of 4:44:46 would have been fast enough to rank second among open womens teams and beat the CSU masters team by nearly 20 minutes.
New England Runner presented the story of the CMS fifth man with a colorful account of his Annual peristalsis that CMS Steve Peterson experiences at the summit of Mt Washington was evidence of the uniqueness of the race. Peterson pleaded I dont know what it is, I only throw up at this race.
Streaker (continuous finishes at Mt Washington) Ron Johnston told New England Runner, This race is what keeps me going. I cant miss a year because Ive run 20 straight. Johnston is in rare company as only twenty runners have completed 20 or more in a row. Leo Tomasetti along with teammates Anthony Zablocki and Lou Lapirviere carried the race number of fellow Rhode Island Road Runner Jerry Musco who had died six days earlier. Former club president Fred Zuleger told New England runner, Jerry was such an optimist hed signed up for Mt Washington even though he was battling cancer.
The race packet called the event the 40th Run to the Clouds. Healthsource, Bridgton Academy, and Citizens Bank sponsored the race. Number pickup had to be completed prior to 9:00 AM on race day. New features this year were Shaklee performance drinks at the half, along with Polar water at the aid stations. A Rides area was available in the tent at the base where runners and drivers could meet to arrange rides down from the summit after the race as no formal transportation is provided. New England Runner sponsored a $4,000 bonus for the first runner to break the 40+ age group record. USATF membership cards and a Direct Payment license were required for money prizewinners. The prize purse was $4,850 plus time bonuses. Medals were presented to the top two in five year age groups, the top 10 overall, the first five open teams, the top three WAVA masters, the top three master teams, the top 50+ team, and the top two Clydesdales and top Filly. The traditional Crossan cup was awarded to the top NH finisher.
Top Finishers Place Name Club Time Age City & State 1 Daniel Kihara 0:59:24 32 KEN 2 Joseph Kibor 1:00:04 27 KEN - Concord, MA 3 Dave Dunham CMS 1:02:48 36 Bradford, MA 4 Eric Morse CMS 1:04:54 35 Berlin, VT 5 Dan Verrington CMS 1:07:50 37 Bradford, MA
1 Alice Muriithi 1:17:26 26 Westchester, KEN 2 Jacqueline Gareau 1:18:43 47 Boulder, CO 3 Julie Peterson SAUC 1:23:00 40 Beverly, MA 4 Suzy West CSU 1:24:20 37 Putney, VT 5 Colleen Allen GSRT 1:24:49 33 Newport Center, VT
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