New Bedford: From a Runner's Point-of-View

New Bedford, MA - As with many races this winter, New Bedford had a perfect weather day. However, one part of the weather was the opposite of what veteran NBHMers expect. The classic race is a super fast downhill, tailwind stretch from 4-9 miles, followed by hitting a wall of wind on the water as you try to return to the start line. This year the head wind hit at 4M. While physically it would seem better to get it early, mentally it seemed to bother people more as it stretched on longer and hit you right after the hills from 2-4. By the time they hit 9M and changed direction, the tailwind went unnoticed by most runners. But believe me, it sure beat the usual battle home. Still, I missed that annual epic fight to the finish, and was almost depressed when I wasn't stood up as I made the left turn at the water.

Support is great in New Bedford photo Herb Ryan

Lynn Jennings showed up for a classic Boston tune-up and finished eight overall. Her 1:11:41 time only projects to a 2:33 marathon, but I was told by informed sources that she wasn't running all out.

There was a heated battle for first place, but a drop off from there. The field was a little bigger and deeper than last year's race.

This race is professional. There is no traffic anywhere on the entire course. Water stops every 2 miles were well-staffed. Multiple chutes handled a large influx of finishers in the 1:40:00 range. The race even started over a minute early, so you better be on your toes come starting time. The food was better than ever, with raves from everyone on the fish chowder that accompanies the fish sandwiches. Hot showers with no crowd topped if off. You'd hardly know there were 1500 runners in the race. Also, the local crowd support was the biggest I've seen in my years here.

Joe Fernandez ran his umpteenth race here and ran 1:31:03 to average 6:57 pace at age 70. This was actually a drop off from his 1:27:13 last year. Susan Barber of VT was first Master woman in 1:23:58. Other good performances were Gordon MacFarland's 1:20:20 for the M50+ title and Bill Riley ran 1:26:46 for M60+. The men's Master field depth seemed to be most affected by the proximity in time to the Melrose Half Marathon the week before. The race continues to be extremely competitive, and promises lots of company for the 7:30 per mile pace racer.

Check out the Complete Results