Anyone doing the Mt Washington Road Race 2013?

[The Unstrung Harp]

Anyone else doing the race this year? Would be cool to hear about peoples' training, including/especially back-of-the-packers. Feel free to chime in if you've done it in the past, too - I know there are several of you are among us.

 

[Fitz]

Ancient History here: 27 years ago and about that many pounds ago too. 1986, 9th Place, 1:08:38.

http://mountwashingtonroadrace.com/results/results-1986/

My advice - don't let up on the hill.

Good Luck.

 

[Jeff List]

(Three time finisher; mid packer.) If you're a mid packer or back of the packer my advice is to take regular walking breaks right from the start -- don't try to run it all. To train, if you don't have a mountain to run up, a treadmill set at 12 percent grade works well.

 

[max]

Two time back of the packer, did more power walking than running. First time was in 1986 at the age of 37. I had a goal of finishing in under 2 hours and from the halfway point onwards, I kept an eye on my watch, trying to constantly calculate if I would make it or not. Things got a little dicey near the summit and I was afraid of just missing my goal. I tried to do some running over the last mile and ended up crossing the finish line in 1:59:55......whew! Fast forward 19 years and at the age of 56 I tried it again in 2005. Despite the added years, I ended up breaking my 19 year old time by almost a minute and a half, finishing in 1:58:28. I didn't do any specific training either time, but just treated it as a speed hike. The most comical part that I can remember about the 2005 event was power walking and staying exactly on the same pace, side by side, with a guy who was running. It looked like he was working a lot harder than I was, and I kept thinking, "Hey buddy, save yourself the effort!"

FWIW, I did the bicycle hill climb in 1978, finishing in 1:38:50 and I consider that harder than running (power walking) up the road.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Are any of those training for the race familiar with the Mount Tecumseh service road? It is rougher than your average logging road, but climbs 2,000 feet in about 3½ miles. It is the dashed line starting near the first aid station on the map.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in. Great to hear everyone's tidbits and info. Got a few great emails form non-forum-members too!

I am not familiar with the Mt Tecumsah service road. Now looking forward to checking it out as soon as possible. That sounds like a perfect place for some rugged conditioning! Thanks much, Mohamed.

 

[LRiz]

After losing the lottery twice, I'm in this year and am so excited to give it a shot. I've been incorporating a few treadmill-based hill workouts into my training, during which I set the treadmill at 12% and then pace myself based on my aerobic HR range. It's surprisingly fun (and wonderfully challenging!), and I'm noticing a bit of improvement in my pace week over week. Other than that, I'm just keeping up with my very-much-unplanned-and-somewhat-spontaneous running/strength training/hiking/cross training regimen.

Best of luck with your training. It'll be great to see you out there!

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

I am not familiar with the Mt Tecumsah service road. Now looking forward to checking it out as soon as possible.

The service road is snow free bottom to top, and as an extra bonus Tripoli Road just opened today