Moose on the Loose Race Report

I left Vermont at 6am to drive the 100 miles to Nashua in New Hampshire. I was 10 days into a 3 week holiday in the US and I was looking forward to taking part in a race. I had found it on Runners World back in May when we booked the holiday but had little idea of what to expect.

The sat-nav got me safely to Nashua but not to the Stellio stadium and the race start. It took several stops in petrol stations and diners to find it. I was greeted with the familiar site of many runners preparing for a race and I felt at home.

I signed in and got my race number and moose t-shirt and get myself sorted. I found out that the course was a 2.5 mile trail run that started and finished in a car park. Of course that meant repeating it 4 times for the 10 mile race which wasn't ideal. I'm not a fan of laps and 4 was going to be tough. It was also the farthest I'd run in a while as my cycling had taken over during the previous 6 months.

I left cold and wet weather in Vermont to find lovely warm weather at the race. In fact, it was more than warm, it was very hot, even at 9am. I'm not used to running in hot weather and I knew it would slow me a little.

The race started a little late as the toilet queue was still long but at 9:10 we got underway. There were about 250 runners in the 10 mile event and about 20 teams doing the relay. Despite the numbers, it never felt too busy and by the halfway point of the first lap, it had really thinned out. I settled into a comfortable pace with a bunch of other runners and finished the first lap without any problems. The 2.5 circuit was very pretty and thankfully partly shaded.

I tried to chat to people as I ran along but no one was in the mood. They all seemed very focused and serious about the event. I guess some people don't like to chat whilst running. I find it helps at times. I did feel the race had a slightly more serious edge that many UK runs. Its not a criticism, just a feeling I got. It was similar with the New York marathon compared to the London marathon. London has many more costumes and people being silly whilst completing the 26.2 miles where as in NY, I saw very few costumes and even the slowest runners seemed steely-eyed and serious. Just a different approach I guess.

By the end of lap 2 I was very warm. I made sure I had a drink at both water stops on each lap but I still felt a bit thirsty. I followed many people's example and poured a cup of water on my head. Thinking about water supplies I did ask the marshal if this was ok, but they said it was fine.

As often happens in races, I found myself with the same people for most of the race. This gave me a good target, first to keep up with them and second to try and pull away in the final lap. At the start of lap four I pushed on and dropped several people and aimed for a fit looking runner who was 100 meters ahead. I slowly reeled him in and passed him. I picked the next target and almost got to him until he kicked and I could not close the gap but didn't fall back, pushing until I crossed the line.

I had a goal of under 1:30 so I was delighted with 1:25. Picking my way through the runners in the last lap really helped. I am very glad I did the race. I got to talk to several people after the race who were all very surprised I had driven all the way from Vermont for the race and couldn't believe I was on holiday from London. Thanks to all the organisers for putting on such a fun event.

Time: 1:25:35
Pace: 8:34 minute miles
Position: 130th
Finishers: 238
1st Place: 0:57:20
Last Place: 2:04:45
Weather: 80 degrees and clear skies