4/24/22 DEDHAM MA—Over 270 of the fastest Masters distance runners in the country toed the starting line at Dedham MA this weekend to race over the rolling hills of this quiet, historic suburb outside of Boston. The James Joyce Ramble hosted the 10 Km Masters Championships for the 8th time! The weather was favorable with partly sunny skies, upper 40’s and moderate winds. The Masters runners responded with fast times!
Jesse Davis got things started by breaking away from a 5-runner pack to carve out the overall victory in 32:08, a new Masters course record.
Davis was followed by his Indiana Elite teammate, John Poray 33:05 and Ben Jarrett 33:12.
Dedham, MA; Apr 24. (c) Mike Scott 2022.
Jessica Smith won the Women’s race in 36:01, the fastest time since Melody Fairchild’s blistering 35:15 in 2015. Jennifer Mortimer 37:05 edged Jessica Hruska 37:15 for 2nd.
Four men set age division course records. Tim Degrado’s 62 35:59 cracked the seemingly unbeatable 36:02 for 60-64 set by Tom McCormack in 2014. Ken Youngers 65 ran 37:48 to lower Tom Bernhard’s 2018 mark of 38:14 by almost half a minute. Dave Glass 75 lowered the 75-79 record by over a half minute, lowering Bill Borla’s 45:21 in 2015 to 44:42. Finally, Duane Lougee 85 established a new course record for 85-89 with his 1:03:53. The 42:28 run by Stella Gibbs was the fastest time for 60-64 since Christine Kennedy set the American Record of 39:26 in 2016 on this course.
The top Age Grading performance is symbolic of the fastest time for age over all age divisions, with percentages at or above 90% considered ‘world class.’ Less than two months from his 60th birthday, Nat Larson age 59, a 3-time Masters Harrier of the Year ran a fabulous 34:22 to age grade at 93.55%, ahead of Degrado’s 62 record that graded at 91.85. Third place among the men went to Brian Crowley 57 whose 35:03 netted a 90.11. Gibbs 63 topped the women’s division in age grading; her 42:28 merited a 92.94. She was followed closely by Suzanne La Burt 58, whose 40:06 graded at 92.31. Lorraine Jasper 60 closed off the podium; her 42:32 earned an 89.30.
Age division winners not mentioned above included: 45-49 Rebeccah Wassner 39:11; Jason Holroyd 33:37 50-54 Abby Dean 38:02; Mark Carroll 33:38 65-69 Claire McManus 48:46 70-74 Karen Durante 50:52; Richard Larsen 40:33 75-79 Joan Tremberth 1:09:15 80-84 Hal Bennett 54:16 85-89 Edna Hyer 1:25:33.
The Indiana Elite rolled to victory in the Men’s 40+ division, with an average time over their top three runners of 33:03. The Boston Athletic Association and HFC Striders upheld local honor with average times of 33:44 and 34:11. The Impala Racing team had an easier time in the Women’s 40+, averaging 37:34 to the 43:50 of the HFC and 45:09 for the Tracksmith Boston Hares. In a tight contest, Men’s 50+ went to Garden State Track Club 35:36 over Central Mass Striders 35:46 and the Atlanta Track Club 35:51 for the men. For the 50+ Women it was Shore AC 42:44 over HFC 47:30 and Greater Lowell Road Runners 48:31. Shore’s 60+ Men 39:03 edged the Genesee Valley Harriers 39:12 and Atlanta 39:35. Greater Philadelphia 42:57 had no trouble in Women’s 60+, with the Liberty AC 47:14 2nd and Greater Lowell 52:21 third. The result was clearly delineated in Men’s 70+ as well with Atlanta 46:29 taking the win over Genesee Valley 52:05 and New England 65 Plus 56:33. The Central Mass Striders had the Women’s 70+ division to themselves, winning with an average of just under an hour at 59:40.
The energy on the course was palpable and the next event should be truly exciting with the USATF Masters 1 Mile Championships sharing the billing with USA Cycling’s Criterium Championship in Rochester on May 21st!
Submitted by
Paul Carlin
Masters LDR/Media Coordinator
Running Professor, LLC
www.runningprof.com
