Crescent Moon Snowshoe 4m Handicapped Race / 3-15-03
Stephen Peterson led the charge, but Richard Bolt finished first ahead of Dave Dunham at the end.

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Posted Monday, 17 March, 2003

What? A competition where runners are started at intervals based on past performance.

Where? The Merrimack River trail from Andover to Tewksbury MA.

Conditions: 2-4 inches of powder covering a thick base of solid ice. Temperatures in the mid 20's, cloudy but no wind at the 8 am start.

The race: It was decided to start the race at the 1 mile mark of the Merrimack River trail race. This would allow passage under Rt. 93 and avoid the 20' high pile of snow and ice that had been pushed off the highway. At the mile (9:49) the group sorted out who would go first. Stephen Peterson led the charge. Petey is the race director of the Merrimack River trail race and recently won the 10k even at Moody Springs.

One minute after Peterson, Paul Young took off in a spray of snow. Young qualified for Nationals earlier this year but decided not to run as he is training for the Boston marathon. Dave Dunham was next to go after a minute. Dave finished 2nd at Nationals last year and has been fighting injuries this winter. Richard Bolt was the final racer taking off after Dunham using his great starting speed. Bolt recently won the WMAC snowshoe series and was the 3rd place finisher at Nationals last year.

At 1 ½ miles into the run Bolt overtook Dunham. "I was surprised Rich caught me so fast. My first mile (the easiest of the 4) was 6:36. He was FLYING!" Dunham then overtook Young who was running strong. Peterson was passed by Bolt at about 2 ½ miles and powered his way to the finish. "I felt pretty good" noted Bolt. Peterson was the 2nd to cross the finish line. Meanwhile Dunham's slight lead on Young was lost just before the infamous Powerline hill. "I was running the downhill sections faster than Dave, the footing was tricky" "I went down Equestrian hill face first and slid the entire way down" stated Young.

"Great run, great trail, great friends," laughed Dunham.

Results:
Time Clock time Handicap
1 Richard Bolt 29:31 32:31 0
2 Dave Dunham 32:59 34:59 1
3 Paul Young 34:07 35:07 2
4 Stephen Peterson 34:19 34:19 3

Please Note:
The Merrimack River trail race has been postponed to:
Saturday May 3rd 9:00AM
Due to unsafe trail conditions.

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