How tough of a race could it be? After all, there's only one hill.
But what a hill it is. The legendary Northeast Delta Dental Mt. Washington Road Race will be held June 19-20 for the 60th time.
When runners finish the 7.6 mile race, they will be at the summit of Mt. Washington, 6,288 feet above sea level. Runners will have climbed 4,650 vertical feet to reach the highest peak in New England. As a runner, I have run 11 marathons, finished a handful of 20-mile races and completed more than 15 half marathons.
But the Mt. Washington Road Race? It's not on the bucket list. My buddy of nearly 40 years, Mike Cassidy, will run the men's June 20 race, one day after the women's race. To help him train for one of the most famous runs in the country, we ran up much of Wachusett Mountain last Friday. We ran 2.4 miles to the summit, our tongues hanging out.
Two of the greatest runners in Mt. Washington Road Race history have local roots.
Lowell native Bob Hodge was part of the inaugural Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame class in 2010. Hodge is the only person to ever win the race seven times - 1976-80, 1985 and 1987.
Billerica native Dave Dunham is a 2014 Hall of Fame inductee. Dunham won in 1988, 1989 and 1994. His 1:00:50 finish in 1988 was a course record at the time and is still a course record for the 20-24 age category. His 15 top-5 finishes are the most in the race's illustrious history.
Hodge, Dunham and Cassidy. Three winners. Cassidy? In my eyes, my buddy is a winner for entering.
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