Nifty Fifty
New England 50 Mile Championship
November 23, 1998 - Coventry, RI
Event Photos
Big Day for Paul Days-Merrill at Nifty Fifty Mile
by Don Allison
The 77 runners who competed in the seventh edition of the Nifty Fifty enjoyed temperatures near 50, sunny skies, and light winds-as good as it gets in late November in New England. As the New England 50 Mile Championship, the race drew many speedy ultrarunners, including course record holders Kevin McGovern and Daniele Cherniak.
Cherniak, from Cohoes, New York, was more successful in her 1998 attempt than McGovern, as she worked her way through the field to finish in fifth place overall in 6:33:04. Although it was 20 minutes off her CR time, she now owns the four fastest women's times on the course. Betsy LaFlamme from Waitsfield Vermont, and Deb Reno from Hopedale, Massachusetts finished second and third among the women, both turning in impressive performances in their first 50-milers.
McGovern set the early pace among the men, but was overhauled by Paul Days-Merrill from Fairhaven, Massachusetts just before the marathon mark. Days-Merrill reached 26.2 in 2:58, a minute ahead of McGovern, and was never headed the rest of the way. Grinding out the tough miles from 40 to 50 at better than 7:30 pace, Days-Merrill broke the tape in 5:54:49, more than ten minutes ahead of Aki Inoue from Toronto, the second place finisher. The ultra consistent Harry Lepp, from Danielson, CT, was third in 6:11:59. Harry has finished in the top five at the Nifty Fifty for five consecutive years.
For the second straight year, the Central Mass Striders won the team title in the 50-mile. In the accompanying 50-km race, Dave Birse from Hancock New Hampshire and Jean Gerstein from Foxboro, Massachusetts emerged victorious. Among race notables were Lyman Perry, who traveled to the race from Volcano, Hawaii to finish second in the 50-km and Jesse Riley, sixth in the 50-km, who spent his summer running 3,000 miles across the continent of Australia.
While most runners were across the finish line before the sun set, several determined runners continued through the darkness in their quest for a 50-mile finish. Doug Pierson made the race complete, as he crossed the finish line at just past 6:30 p.m, nearly ten and half hours after the gun fired. - Don Allison
Nifty Fifty
New England 50 Mile Championship
November 23, 1998
1. Paul Days-Merrill, 44, Fairhaven, MA 5:54:49, 1st 40-49
2. Aki Inoue, 33, Toronto, Ontario, CAN 6:07:23
3. Harry Lepp, 41, Danielson, CT 6:11:59
4. Peter Blomquist, 36, Worcester, MA 6:28:02
5. Daniele Cherniak, 37, Cohoes, NY 6:33:04, 1st woman
6. Jerry DeZutter, 34, Worcester, MA 6:36:35
7. Kevin McGovern, 40, W Boylston, MA 6:43:09
8. Ralph Swenson, 51, Burlington, VT 6:44:58, 1st 50-59
9. Stephen Peckiconis, 39, Roslindale, MA 6:49:13
10. John Geesler, 39, St. Johnsville, NY 6:49:23
11. Steve Schiller, 42, New Britian, CT 7:06:21
12. John Carey, 37, Oxford, MA 7:20:41
13. Steve Pero, 47, Medford, MA 7:22:55
14. Dan Whittemore, 46, Alexandria, NH 7:27:27
15. Ed Buckley, 40, Southhampton, MA 7:35:27
16. Mike Menovich, 47, Lexington, MA 7:40:36
17. Paul Stroup, 50, Narragansett, RI 7:47:11
18. Betsy LaFlamme, 47, Waitsfield, VT 7:50:36, 2nd woman, 1st 40-49, 1st novice (first 50-mile)
19. Pete Stringer, 57, Osterville, MA 7:55:09
20. Kevin Benway, 43, Wrenthem, MA 8:06:07
21. Bob Eckerson, 48, Yarmouthport, MA 8:11:53
22. David Bellerose, 40, Southbridge, MA 8:13:14
23. Lee Dickey, 45, Dracut, MA 8:19:07
24. Don Geesler, 46, Fort Plain, NY 8:25:20
25. Joshua Nemzer, 40, Milton, MA 8:28:44
26. Dennis Brown, 51, Lee, MA 8:38:26
27. Matt Sova, 20, Woodbridge, VA 8:41:59
27. Ned Marsh, 20, Manchester, CT 8:41:59
29. Deb Reno, 44, Hopedale, MA 8:47:47, 3rd woman
30. Dick Fedion, 65, North Conway, NH 8:53:10, 1st 60-69
31. Paul Rodgers, 51, Milton, MA 8:55:18
32. Peg Ryan, 50, Attleboro, MA 9:03:20, 4th woman, 1st 50-59
33. Charles Roxburgh, 20, Providence, RI 9:14:04
34. Gary Alexander, 52, Merrimac, MA 9:17:04
34. Mitchell Meyers, 36, Roxbury, MA 9:17:04
36. Mark Bell, 32, Sudbury, MA 9:25:04
36. Barbara Tirrell, 32, Lowell, MA 9:25:04, 5th woman
38. Roger Camire, 54, Wakefield, RI 9:29:37
39. Bob Myette, 51, Freemont, NH 9:48:31
40. Egor Egan, 40, Halifax, Nova Scotia 9:48:37
41. Fritz Davis, 33, New Haven, CT 9:50:41
42. Tim Doucette, 34, Stratham, NH 10:04:43
43. Dan Simpson, 45,Coventry, RI 10:19:31
44. Doug Pierson, 47, Narragansett, RI 10:26:35
Team Champions: Central Mass Striders
(Peter Blomquist, 4th, 6:28:00; Jerry DeZutter, 6th, 6:36:35; Kevin McGovern, 7th, 6:43:09)
Nifty Fifty
50-km
1. Dave Birse, 39, Hancock, NH 3:53:03
2. Lyman Perry, 31, Volcano, HI 4:05:31
3. Frank Dudas, 38, Brockton, MA 4:17:29
4. Paul Hoffman, 48, Chelmsford, MA 4:21:01, 1st 40-49
5. Fred Ross, 52, Brattleboro, MA 4:27:38, 1st 50-59
6. Jesse Riley, 35, Key West, FL 4:38:00
7. Robert Searles, 49, Wolcott, VT 4:47:28
8. Steve Ryan, 49, Brewster, MA 4:48:31
9. Jean Gerstein, 48, Foxboro, MA 4:58:21, 1st woman, 1st 40-49
10. Rich Kuckinskas, 33, Simsbury, CT 5:13:25
11. Kim O'Callaghan, 33, Edgartown, MA 5:17:00, 2nd woman
12. Karen Ghiron, 32, Newton, MA 5:18:00, 3rd woman
13. Glenn Browning, 44, Hope Valley, RI 5:21:33
13. Maria Casas, 46, Kingston, RI 5:21:33, 4th woman
13. Donna Roderick, 41, Wakefield, RI 5:21:33, 4th woman
13. Lee Lovitz, 53, Coventry, RI 5:21:33
17. Harold Robinson, 51, Shreveport, LA 5:22:33
17. Sara Ringler, 50, Barnstable, MA 5:22:33
19. Tom Forbes, 66, Waltham. MA 5:27:00, 1st 60-69
20. Chris Spring, 45, Derry, NH 5:43:50
21. Robert Sansonetti, 36, Portland, ME 5:52:41
22. Kathy O'Sullivan, 49, Edgartown, MA 6:06:34
23. Donald Lang, 54, Glendale, CA 6:46:00
24. Henry Kettell, 48, Brookline, MA 7:19:50
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