2016 Hall of fame

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Dave Dunham dave.dunham@comcast.net 978-684-9211
Paul Kirsch pkirsch2@gmail.com 603-398-1852

Northeast Delta Dental

Mount Washington Road Race

Mt. Washington Auto Road

June 18, 2016 – 9 a.m.

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7^th Annual Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame Inauguration

Saturday, June 18 -- 1 p.m.

 

·        Race’s Hall of Fame honors Francis Darrah, George Etzweiler, and Cathy Hodgdon

May 6, 2016 -- Pinkham Notch, NH

Formed in 2010 to recognize outstanding performers in and contributors to this footrace to the summit of the highest peak in the northeastern United States, the Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame this year will pay tribute to the achievements of three great runners in a ceremony at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on Saturday, June 18.  The ceremony will take place after the 2016 Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race, which starts at 9 a.m.  The race attracts 1300 runners who will make their way up the 155-year-old Auto Road.

The 2016 Mount Washington Hall of Fame inductees:

Francis Darrah – won the race in two of the first three years it was held (1936 & 1938).  He broke his own course record in 1938 running a 1:15:28. He is one of only nine people who have ever held the course record at Mt Washington.  He is also one of the three men in the history of the race to set the course record multiple times, the others being Hall of Fame members Bob Hodge and Gary Crossan.

George Etzweiler - is the oldest finisher (at age 95 in 2015), and has finished eight times between the age of 85 and 95.  All of his times rank between 7th and 34th for runners 80 years old or older.  He is the only runner over age 88 to finish the race.  He currently owns eight single-age records (85,86,87,89,91,92,93,95).  He also holds the 85-89 Age Group Record (AGR) (2:33:20), 90-94 AGR (2:48:25) and 95+ (3:28:41) AGR.

Cathy Hodgdon – had three consecutive wins from 1980-1982.  Her three times averaged 1:24:07.  Cathy holds the single age record for age 22 with her 1:22:57 in 1981.  That record is the second oldest women’s record in existence. In 1980 she set the 20-24 AGR (1:26:24) which she lowered in 1981 (1:22:57) and lowered again in 1982 (1:22:10).

The Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame recognizes athletic performance at the MWRR or efforts to assist the Race or promote it.  Consideration is given to athletes, advocates, race staff members or volunteers.   Inductees are chosen by a vote of the Hall of Fame committee from a longer list of nominees compiled by December 31 of the preceding year. 

The Saturday afternoon Hall of Fame induction will precede the race’s award ceremony.  The induction ceremony will start at 1 p.m. in the large tent at the base of the Auto Road, on Route 16 just north of Pinkham Notch.

The public is invited.
 
Regularly updated information about the Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame is available any time on the website at: http://mwrrhalloffame.com/

Other HOF sites include:  Facebook (facebook.com/mwrrhof), Twitter  (twitter.com/mwrrrecords) and the Records/Hall of Fame blog (mtwashingtonrecords.blogspot.com ).  For other information about the race, visit www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.

 

 

Nominees for the 2016 Mt Washington Road Race Hall of Fame

Only few days left to send in nominations for the 2016 HOF.  Send nominations to:

dave.Dunham@comcast.net

Here are the nominations so far:

Sumner Brown – has a long history at Mt Washington, he has been highly successful over 25 years in various age groups and has a life time PR of 1:10:53.  In 1989 he set the then 45-49 AGR of 1:13:00 and in 1990 he lowered his record to 1:11:41.  He set an age group record in 1994 when he placed 18^th overall in 1:12:27 which topped the 50+ age group. That record stood for 15 years.  He set the 55-59 AGR in 1999 running a 1:17:59.  In 2004 broke into the 60+ age group with the then 2^nd fastest time.  In 2009 he set the 65-69 AGR (1:34:36).  He currently holds the single age records for age 63, and 65 and the AGR for 65-69.  He finished the race 25 times from 1984-2010 which ranks tied for 32^nd all time.  He has run under 1:20 sixteen times which ranks tied for 10^th and under 1:15 eleven times which ranks tied for 11^th. He ranks 28^th all-time in prize money winnings.  He holds four of the top 31 times in the 45-49 aged group, four of the top 27 times in the 50-54, two of the top 10 times in the 55-59, and four of the top 20 times in the 60-64 age group.

 

Philip S. Campbell - considered his record in the Mount Washington Road Race the pinnacle achievement of his running career in his eighties.  In 1998, he set the still standing Mount Washington course record for Men 80-84 with a time of 2:19:48 beating the previous record by almost 17 minutes. This record remains one of the longest-standing, unbeaten marks in any age category. Five years later at the age of 85 he set a new course record for Men 85-89 with a time of 3:03:18. From 1998 to 2003 he ran the Mount Washington Road race four times finishing first in his age category each of those years while setting three course records.  He was an early and passionate advocate for age categories for senior runners in road races and played an integral role in the growth and success of the New England 65 Plus Runners Club serving as club president from 1994 through 1997.

 

John Cederholm – won the race in 1973 in his first attempt, and went on to finish five times in the top ten from 1973 to 1978.  His five top 10 overall finishes ranks 15^th all-time. He has

Fram and Dunham - 2014 Mt Washington Hall of Fame

5^th Annual Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame Inauguration

Saturday, June 21 -- 1 p.m.

·         Race’s Hall of Fame honors Craig Fram and Dave Dunham

May 1, 2014 -- Pinkham Notch, N.H.

Formed in 2010 to recognize outstanding performers in this footrace to the summit of the highest peak in the northeastern United States, the Hall of Fame this year will pay tribute to the achievements of Craig Fram and Dave Dunham in a ceremony at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on Saturday, June 21.  The ceremony will take place after the 2014 Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race which starts at 9 a.m.  The race attracts 1300 runners who will make their way up the 153-year-old Auto Road.

The 2014 Mount Washington Hall of Fame inductees:

Craig Fram, of Derry New Hampshire, ran his first Mt Washington in 1995 finishing in a tie for second with teammate Dave Dunham.  Two years later he won the race.  He has won more money than any other person in the history of the race.  He set the course record for masters (age 40+) in 2001 and again in 2003.  The record he broke in 2001 had been the longest-held record in the history of the race (1962-2001).  In 2009 he broke the senior (50+) age group record running a 1:06:58, taking more than 5 ½ minutes off of the previous record.  He is the oldest runner to break 1:10 with his 1:09:52 in 2013 at age 54.  He owns three of the top eight 40-49 times and the top three times for the 50-59 age group.  He has the single-age records for ages 44, 49, 50, 52, and 54.  He has finished in the top five six times which ranks tied for 7^th all-time.  He has finished in the top ten 7 times which ranks 9^th all-time.  He has run nine times under 1:10 which ranks 8^th all-time.  He has run under 1:05 five times which ranks 7^th all-time. 

Dave Dunham, of Bradford, Massachusetts, first ran at Mt Washington in 1988, winning the race and becoming the first person to run under 1:01 with a then course record of 1:00:50.  He won again the following year in what is still the closest finish in the history of the race, beating Hall of Famer Bob Hodge by one second.  He won for a third time in 1994 passing the early leaders in the second half as they succumbed to the scorching heat.   He currently holds the single-age (35) and 35-39 age group record with his 1:00:37 run in 1999.  He also holds the single-age (24) and 20-24 age group record with his 1:01:50 from 1988.  He holds the age 48 single-age record, 1:08:19 from 2012.  He is one of only two men who own multiple state records, with his Massachusetts record of 1:00:37 and New Hampshire record of 1:00:44.  He is ranked second in sub-1:02 finishes with four and is tied with Hall of Famer Keith Woodward with the most top 10 finishes (15).  He has the most top 5 finishes in the history of the race with 15.  He ranks third all-time in prize money winnings with $7,650.   His 24 finishes at Mt Washington ranks 35th on the “most finishes” list.  In 2006 he published “Only One Hill – A history of the Mt Washington road race” and is frequently referred to as the “Mt Washington Road Race Historian”.

Craig and Dave are the only runners ever to have won both the storied Merrimack River trail race and the Mt Washington road race.

The Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race annually pits 1300 runners against one of the most challenging obstacles in road-racing anywhere in the world: the 7.6-mile Mt. Washington Auto Road, which rises at an average grade of 11.5 percent to the 6288-foot Mt. Washington summit.  The race attracts Olympic athletes, Boston marathon champions, and the best mountain running specialists in the world to compete in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

The Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame recognizes athletes whose exceptional accomplishments in the race have added greatly to the history and stature of the event.  Inductees are chosen by a vote of the Hall of Fame committee from a longer list of nominees compiled by December 31 of the preceding year. 

The Saturday afternoon Hall of Fame induction will precede the race’s  award ceremony.  The induction ceremony will start at 1 p.m. in the large tent at the base of the Auto Road, on Route 16 just north of Pinkham Notch.

The public is invited.

Regularly updated information about the Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame is available any time on Facebook (facebook.com/mwrrhof), Twitter  (twitter.com/mwrrrecords) and the Hall of Fame blog (mtwashingtonrecords.blogspot.com ).  For other information about the race, visit www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.

Press Release - 2013 Hall of Fame

4^th Annual Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame Induction

Friday, June 14 -- 6 p.m.

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53^rd Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race

Mt. Washington Auto Road

June 15, 2013 – 9 a.m.

·        Race’s Hall of Fame honors Day-Lucore, Gutierrez, Teschek and Wyatt  

April 23, 2013 -- Pinkham Notch, N.H.

Two great champions from the Rocky Mountains, the race director who brought Mt. Washington into the modern era, and the World Mountain Champion from New Zealand will be honored this summer as the newest members of the Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame.  In a ceremony at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on Friday evening, June 14, the Hall of Fame will induct J’ne Day-Lucore and Simon Gutierrez, each of whom won the race three times; Bob Teschek, who directed the event for 29 years; and Jonathan Wyatt, the Mt. Washington course record-holder whom many consider the best uphill runner in history.

Formed in 2010, the Mount Washington Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding performers in this annual footrace to the summit of the highest peak in the northeastern United States. The Friday evening ceremony celebrates the folklore and history of the race while also serving as a welcome to some 1200 runners who will make the 7.6-mile ascent of the Auto Road the following morning in the 53^rd running of the Northeast Delta Dental Mt. Washington Road Race. 

Votes by the Hall’s six committee members, plus the 11 honorees chosen in previous years, determined this year’s new members of the Hall of Fame:

J’ne (pronounced “Janey”) Day-Lucore, of Denver, Colorado, first ran Mt. Washington in 1992 and set a new course record for women in one hour 11 minutes 45 seconds. Already the record-holder for the Pike’s Peak Ascent in Colorado, she came back to the Granite State in 1993 to defend her title as Queen of the Mountain and reached Mt. Washington’s 6288-foot summit seven minutes faster than her nearest challenger. She won again in her third Mt. Washington appearance, 1995, before an injury restricted her running and she turned to triathlons.  Even so, she returned to Mt. Washington in 1998 and finished second only to Sweden’s Magdalena Thorsell, who broke the course record that year. Returning in 1999 at the age of 38, Day-Lucore placed fourth, and in 2001 here she was ninth woman overall, second in the master’s division behind only Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson. 

Simon Gutierrez, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, first came to Mt. Washington in 1998 and impressed everyone with a third-place finish. The following year he finished fifth -- two minutes faster than in his debut. Certain he could win Mt. Washington, Gutierrez returned in 2002 and placed first in that year’s weather-shortened race, defeating the hardcore New Englanders as well as then course-record holder and Hall of Famer Daniel Kihara of Kenya. To prove he could win the race at its full distance, Gutierrez ran away from the field in 2003, then won for a third time in 2005. He is also the race’s fastest over-40 runner of all time, having broken Hall of Famer Matt Carpenter’s master’s record in 2008 by finishing fifth overall in 1:01:34, and holding six of the nine fastest master’s times ever recorded at Mt. Washington.

Bob Teschek, of Newport, N.H., ran the Mt. Washington Road Race eight times, beginning in 1966.  He became the race’s director in 1982 and turned the race into one of the best-organized events in the sport. His name is familiar to countless Mt. Washington runners, as well as to race directors across the region and farther afield who use his company, Granite State Race Services, to provide timing and finish-line management to several road races on most weekends of the year. He set his own excellent personal best time (1:15:52) for the Mt. Washington Road Race in 1977 and says he will run it again some year.  

Jonathan Wyatt, of Wellington, New Zealand, first ran Mt. Washington in 2004, when he became the prohibitive favorite the moment he signed up. He had already won the World Mountain Trophy three times, was an Olympic marathoner, held course records in mountain races all across Europe, and was likely not merely to win at Mt. Washington but to break the course record. In fact he broke it by a minute and 40 seconds, running through damp fog and wind to reach the summit in 56:41, nearly seven minutes ahead of runner-up and U.S. national mountain champion Paul Low. Wyatt returned in 2007 and won again in 1:01:25, still well ahead of the field. He also won the World Mountain title three more times.  

The Northeast Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race pits runners against one of the most challenging obstacles in road-racing anywhere. The Mt. Washington Auto Road rises at an average grade of 11.6 percent, the second half of the course being above the tree line and exposed to Mt. Washington’s notoriously capricious weather. The race has attracted Olympic athletes, Boston marathon champions, and many of the world’s great mountain running specialists, who compete in the White Mountains of New Hampshire along with numerous other runners from across the United States and abroad. 

The Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame recognizes athletes whose exceptional accomplishments in the race have added greatly to the history and stature of the event.  Inductees are chosen by a vote of the Hall of Fame committee and Hall of Fame members from a longer list of nominees compiled by December 31 of the preceding year. Anyone is welcome to nominate candidates for consideration.

The Friday evening Hall of Fame induction is part of the annual pre-race gathering for stories, brief speeches, information and advice about running up the mountain, and other tributes to the race.  The ceremony will start at 6 p.m. in the large tent at the base of the Auto Road, on Route 16 just north of Pinkham Notch.  The public is invited.

Regularly updated information about the Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame is available any time on 

Facebook (facebook.com/mwrrhof), Twitter  (twitter.com/mwrrrecords) and the Hall of Fame blog (mtwashingtonrecords.blogspot.com ).  For further information email committee members Dave Dunham (dave.dunham@comcast.net) or John Stifler (jstifler@econs.umass.edu).  For information about the Northeast Delta Dental Mt. Washington Road Race, visit www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.

2013 Mt Washington RR hall of fame

Here are some stats on the 2013 class...

J’Ne Day-Lucore –She is a three-time winner (1992, 93, and 95) and finished six times in the top ten including a fourth place finish at age 40.  She ran three times under 1:20.  She is one of only ten women who have set a course record; she set the course record in 1992 with a 1:11:45.  She ran six times under 1:30 which ranks her tied for 8^th.  She also has run under 1:20 three times which is also tied for 8^th.  She is one of only eight women who have run multiple times under 1:15.  Set the Colorado state record in 1992 running 1:11:45, that record lasted for 17 years.

Simon Gutierrez - Simon has a storied history at Mt Washington, not only does he own the masters course record (1:01:34) but he also owns 6 of the top 9 masters times.  He won the race three times (2002, 2003, and 2005) and finished in the top 5 eleven times which ranks tied for second most all-time.  He has single age records for age 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, and 46.  His 1:02:24 at age 46 is the 45-49 AGR.  He has finished in the top ten 12 times which ranks 6^th all-time.  He trails only Craig Fram in all-time winnings with $8,000.  He set the New Mexico state record in 1999 running 1:01:38. His 11 sub-1:05’s ranks second most all-time and his three sub-1:02 efforts ranks tied for 5^th.

Bob Teschek – Race director from 1982-2010.  Bob also ran the race 8 times between 1966 and 1982 with a personal best of 1:15:52 when he placed 22^nd in 1977.

Jonathan Wyatt – Two time winner of the race and current course record holder. Won the race and set the standing course record with his 56:41 in 2004.  Has the 30-34 AGR, the single age 31 record and the New Zealand record.  He ranks fifth in all-time winnings with $7,000.  He is one of only twelve people to have won the race multiple times.