Press Release: Northeast Delta Dental – 56th Mount Washington Road Race – Mt. Washington Auto Road – June 18, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. (Photo by Suzy West).
Joe Gray and Kim Dobson Win 56th Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race; Jim Johnson and Amber Ferreira top New Hampshire Finishers. Gray wins 3rd consecutive Mt Washington; Dobson remains undefeated with her 4th win.
PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. – Under sunny, cloudless skies with almost no wind, Joe Gray (Colorado Springs, CO) and Kim Dobson (Eagle, CO) continued their recent dominance of the 56th running of the Northeast Delta Dental Road Race winning this year’s race.
Gray took the lead about a quarter mile in to the race and never relinquished the lead as he finished in 58:17, just 2 seconds slower than his 58:15 in 2015, which is the fastest an American runner has ever run on the Auto Road course.
“I came in a little bit tired this year with my recent training but I was very happy to be so close to my American Record that I set at last year’s race.” said Gray. “The weather today made it a little harder. You could feel the heat out there.”
Dobson overtook eventual second place finisher, Kim Nedeau of Leverett, MA about a half mile into the race on her way to a 1:09:34 result, which was also 10th place overall in the race. Dobson’s 4th win in four attempts ties her with Anna Pichrtova who accomplished the feat in her first four attempts as well. Dobson was within 8 seconds of her personal best of 1:09:25 that she ran in 2012.
“I was pretty nervous at the start but I felt good about my fitness. I ran conservatively to the halfway mark and then felt good so I kept pushing it. I feel really fortunate to be able to do this race. I had an injury this Winter and so every time I am able to get to the start line, it is a such a blessing. Winning the race makes that extra special,” noted Dobson.
Rounding out the top ten for the men were:
2nd: Eric Blake, West Hartford, CT – 59:49
3rd: Tomasso Vaccina, Italy – 1:01:41
4th: Francesco Puppi, Italy – 1:03:59
5th: Jim Johnson, East Madison, NH – 1:07:27
6th: Simon Gutierrez, Colorado Springs, CO – 1:07:46
7th: Brandon Newbould, Nottingham, NH – 1:09:10
8th: Drew Best, Amherst, MA – 1:09:19
9th: Greg Krathwohl, Ipswich, MA – 1:09:49
10th: CJ Hitz, Colorado Springs, CO – 1:10:40
Rounding out the top ten for the women were:
2nd: Kim Nedeau, Leverett, MA – 1:13:51
3rd: Shannon Payne, Franktown, CO – 1:16:10
4th: Amber Ferrreira, Concord, NH – 1:19:30
5th: Kasie Enman, Huntington, VT – 1:20:09
6th – Layce Alves, Gloucester, MA – 1:24:09
7th: Regina Loicano, Gloucester, MA – 1:24:38
8th: Christin Doneski, Hopkinton, NH – 1:26:34
9th: Laura Brustolon, Littleton, MA – 1:26:48
10th: Jennifer Brooks, Gloucester, MA – 1:27:45
The top New Hampshire finisher is awarded the Crossan Cup each year in memory of Gary Crossan who won the race four times. This year’s winners were Jim Johnson of East Madison, NH and Amber Ferreira of Concord, NH. Johnson finished fifth overall while Ferreira was the 5th woman. Both had phenomenal races on the mountain today. Johnson in particular wasn’t sure of how his performance would go but was very happy with the results.
“Today felt really good to win the Crossan Cup for the first time. After a rough race last week, I wasn’t sure how today would go. But then I ended up being within two seconds of my personal best here at Mt. Washington. I went out very easy at first and then I put my head down and tried to stay within my pace. Once I got to halfway, I ran with Simon Gutierrez until around mile 6 and just having him near me helped to push me to today’s finish.” said Johnson.
In other milestone news, 96 year old George Etzweiler finished his ninth Mount Washington race in a time of 3:23:15. Etzweiler noted during the awards that he has started incorporating some strength training into his training regime and looks forward to returning next year.
Complete information about the race is provided at the race website, www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.
Complete results are available at:
http://www.iresultslive.com/?op=results&eid=1960
Half of all proceeds from the race are donated to the Coos County Family Health Services in Berlin.
Northeast Delta Dental has sponsored the race up the historic Mt. Washington Auto Road since 2001. The dental insurance company, headquartered in Concord, N.H., with sales offices in Saco, Maine, and Burlington, Vt., provides dental benefits to more than 821,000 people in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, including individuals and families, and organizations of all sizes. Northeast Delta Dental’s President & CEO, Tom Raffio, has run the race in a personal best of 1:50:51. In 2012, Northeast Delta Dental increased its already strong support for the event, making it officially the Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race.
The race has donated more than $60,000 to the dental programs of the Coos County Family Health Services. Based in nearby Berlin, N.H., this community-based organization provides innovative, personalized, comprehensive health care and social services to everyone, regardless of economic status.
To learn more about the Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race, visit www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/mountwashingtonroadrace.
First opened in 1861 as the Mt. Washington Carriage Road, the Mt. Washington Auto Road is the country’s oldest manmade attraction. Located on Rt. 16 in Pinkham Notch, N.H., just north of the Mt. Washington Valley and minutes south of Gorham, the Auto Road has a long and winding history, much like its 7.6 mile trip up to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast. For more information, visit www.MtWashingtonAutoRoad.com or call 603-466-3988.
