On The Run with Arthur Viens

June 21, 2002      
                                                                         
     Twenty year-old Kevin Tilton of Center Conway had the race of his life at the 42nd Annual Mount Washington Road Race on Saturday, June 15. Tilton, coming off a strong season of track for the UNH Wildcats, earned top honors among the White Mountain Milers and other local runners to finish eleventh overall with a time of 30:19. Kevin's 7:59/mile pace was only three seconds slower than former Kennett High Eagle standout Sean Livingston now of Barrington, RI. Sean placed tenth overall with a time of 30:07.  This year's race will have runners guessing forever about what might have been. Both Tilton and Livingston were among the elite top ten that included names like Gutierrez (the overall winner in 28:02); Eric Morse, 28:12; Craig Fram, 28:28; Dave Dunham, 28:58; Daniel Kihara, 29:06 and Nephat Kinyanjui, 29:38, both from Kenya. In fact, Kevin and Sean beat out Zablon Mokaya of Kenya who finished 29th with a time of 32:31. Mokaya stayed with Pat Fry and Gary Howard before the race. After returning to Albany on Saturday, Mokaya found it almost impossible to get warm again after being out in that bone-chilling rain. Howard said that Zablon sat by the fire for nearly two hours. When asked by Gary about the race, Mokaya said, "I never forget Mount Washington for the rest of my life."

     Barbara Robinson, after taking a year off from the race, returned with a vengeance and took first place in the 65-69 age group. Barbara has been recovering from a skiing injury for nearly a year. She just returned to racing this spring at the Ammonoosuc Amble. You can expect to see her next at Bridgton's Four On the Fourth.

     Despite the short course, the White Mountain Milers placed well in the various team divisions: male open: 5th out of 19 teams,  Kevin Tilton, Brendan Sullivan, Rick Copley, Paul Kirsch, Daren Levitt; male masters: 11th out of 14, Howie Wemyss, Will White, Joe Fay, Tony Mullin, Bruce Hill; male seniors: 3rd out of 5, Howie Wemyss, Joe Fay, Phil Ostroski, Larry Garland, John Howe; female open: 5th out of 11, Sue Long, Andrea Masters, Katja Fox; female masters: 2nd out of 8, Sue Long, Laura Mullin, Virginia Howe; female seniors: 2nd out of 2, Barbara Robinson, Sally Swenson, Marianne Jackson.

     Several Milers ran in the 25th Annual Market Square Day 10K Road Race on  Saturday, June 8, in Portsmouth. Milers included: 187. Stephen Whitney, 43:55; 195. Robert Parrish, 44:11; 262. Linda Waitkun, 2nd in her age group, 45:42; 499. Kevin Callahan, 34:02; 1080. Linda Bittner, 1:01:28. Thank you to Bob Parrish for the results.

     Billy Catalucci finished first in his age group at the Foxborough Race Against Diabetes 5K on June 1. Over 700 runners competed and Bill finished 35th overall with a time of 21:56. Folks, the Cat is back!

     Lorraine Tilney had good news to report from the resurrected Covered Bridges Half Marathon on June 2, in Woodstock, VT. Among the Milers competing were: Kirsten Tilney, 2nd in the 20-29 age group and 13th female overall, 1:33:40; Heather Tilney, 2:10:10; Karen Stancik, 2:48:10; Lucille Russo, 2:48:12. Lorraine said, "What a great course. Everyone should do it."

     For the Fun of It. Weekly fun runs are held every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The course winds for 3.1 miles on soft trails through the woods. Walkers and runners of all abilities are invited to meet at the John Fuller School in North Conway. Here's your chance to meet people from all walks of life and abilities who are bound by their common interest in fitness. Weekly fun runs continue throughout the season until the end of October. Thank you to Barb and John Renda for hosting the runs during the month of June.

     Random Thoughts While On the Run. Two new races are in the works. One is a one-mile race scheduled in August in Brownfield, Maine. Billy Reilly is putting that race together. The second new race on the scene is a men's only trail race slated to be run in Intervale in early September. The field will be limited and very competitive. According to race director Gary Howard, the highlight of the race will include river crossings and a pig roast. This one is for boars only. I'll have more information about both of these races in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned.

     On the Track. Bernie Livingston reports that track workouts are now being held on the oval at Fryeburg Academy. Weekly track workouts are held every Thursday at 5:00 p.m.  Anyone interested in learning more about speed workouts, racing faster, or enjoying a higher level of fitness should attend. If you have any questions, contact Bernie Livingston at 447-6626.

     Congratulations to all the competitors at Mount Washington this year. A special congratulations goes out to Kevin Tilton, Sean Livingston, and Barbara Robinson. We are especially proud of Kevin.

"The only way I'll ever run Mount Washington again is if a tall, long-legged blonde driving a Harley is the pace vehicle." -Gary Mountain Man Howard.