ONLY ONE HILL - New book by Dave Dunham

Purchase prior to the Mt Washington Road Race (June 17, 2006)

Interested in learning more about the Mount Washington Race and it's history? Order your copy of Only One Hill from author Dave Dunham.

Published by Infinity Publishing Co., May 2006, this historical retrospective is full of memories, statistics, photos, and records. Special discount for AATRA members just $15 plus $3 shipping. Send your check or money order to:

Dave Dunham, 108 Ferry Rd., Bradford, MA 01835

Questions? Contact: dave.dunham@comcast.ne t

Excerpt from the book:

Only One Hill! A History of the Mt. Washington Road Race by Dave Dunham

40th Mt Washington Road Race June 17, 2000 Saturday, 10:00 AM Finishers

Favorites for the 40th anniversary of the race looked to be Kenyan runners. Daniel Kihara, the three-time champion, was scheduled to return as was his sometimes-training partner Joseph Kibor. Simon Karori was expected to take a run at the masters (40+) record. He had never raced Mt Washington before, but his credentials included winning the Falmouth Road Race three times. Mark Donahue, who among his many accomplishments was the 1986 New England Cross Country champion, was tearing up the local racing scene including an overall win at the USATF New England 10K championships the week before Mt Washington. He was expected to give Karori a chase in the master's category.

Local favorites included Eric Morse, Craig Fram, and Dave Dunham, who had been tuning up for the race by running up mountains on most weekends during the spring. At Mt Kearsarge they went 1, 2, and 3 with Fram destroying the master's record. At Wachusett Mountain Morse and Dunham went 1, 2, and followed that with a 1, 2 finish at Pack Monadnock. Women's favorites included Alice Muriithi, a Kenyan living in Pennsylvania, former champion Jacqueline Gareau, and top local runner Julie Peterson.

Kihara flew in from Kenya earlier in the week and may have been tired from the 17-hour flight. He ran with Kibor for most of the race and made a decisive move in the last mile to take a 40-second victory in 59:24. Kibor missed an additional $500 time bonus by four seconds, just missing the one-hour mark. CMS runners dominated the top ten, placing third through sixth and eighth and tenth. Fergus Cullen in seventh place was the only non-Kenyan and non-CMS runner in the top ten. Karori defeated Robert Ratcliffe by three minutes to take the master's victory however; he came up six minutes shy of the course record. This was only the second time in a decade that less than ten men finished under 1:10. The average finishing time for men hit a high of 1:56:31, nearly seven minutes slower than the past high.

The gap between men's and women's average finishing time narrowed to just over four minutes, the closest to date.   Alice Muriithi took the lead early on and was never challenged for the ladies' crown. Jacqueline Gareau took second and was on pace for the master's mark, and the $4,000 bonus, through the half but faded in the second half. Both women finished in the top 25 overall. Former champion Barbara Remmers told New England Runner "It was a lot different for me this year, but I love that race. I'll run it every year the rest of my life." Gareau also chimed in, "I love this race. I've run this course four times and I still can't tell where the finish is. Can you believe that?"