Northeast Delta Dental is celebrating 50 years of providing the best service possible to its customers. In conjunction with its sponsorship of the Mount Washington Road Race, they are also pleased to present The Northeast Delta Dental 50 memorable moments and 50 memorable people from the Mount Washington Road Race.
We will be counting down the people and moments over the next eight weeks leading up to the 50th running of the Mt Washington road race.
The final ten in each category will be announced at the Eagle Mountain house on June 18th along with the first class to be inducted into the Mt Washington road race hall of fame.
Northeast Delta Dental 50 
Memorable People
Memorable People
Kathy Hodgdon – Had three consecutive wins from 1980 to 1982. All three times were under 1:30 averaging 1:24:07. Kathy holds the single age record for ages 22 and 23 with her 1:22:57 and 1:22:41 in 1981/82.
Chris Maisto – Has three wins and a second place in four attempts, all of which were under 1:20. She won in 1985, 86, and 91. Chris set a course record in 1985 and 1991, and has a personal best of 1:12:15. Chris has the single age record for age 25 (1:14:45). With her victory in 1985, Maisto became the first woman to break into the top 50, with her thirty-first place overall finish. She took home $500 for the win and a sub-1:15 time.
Ellenora Mendonca – Three consecutive wins from 1976-1978. She set the course record twice with her 1:30:05 in 1977 and her 1:28:39 in 1978. She led her CSU team to a women’s team record running 4:54:21, knocking a record 31:55 off the old record.
Dave Dunham – Set the Massachusetts state record in 1999 (1:00:37) and the New Hampshire state record in 1993 (1:00:44). He set the course record in 1988 (1:00:51) and won in the closest finish (1.5 seconds) in 1989. He was the first person to run under 1:01. He won the race three times and is tied for the most top ten finishes (fifteen), all in the top five. He has run sub 1:10 a record seventeen times. Dave has the single age record for age 24, 35, and 36. Dave raced twenty times from 1988 – 2009, missing only 1997 and 2004. He has the five year age group record (35) with his 1:00:37 run in 1999. In 1993, he led the CMS team that broke the 12-year-old team record (BAA 5:31:07), running a 5:30:34. He was also part of the CMS men’s 40+ team which broke the team record in 2005, taking sixteen minutes off of the Coastal AC’s previous CR. The 5:59:04 by CMS was the first time a 40+ team broke six hours.
Jonathan Wyatt – Set a course record of 56:41 in his first attempt in 2004. He won again in 2007. His course record is still standing as is his 5 year age group record (30-34).
Francis Darrah – Won the race twice, setting course records in the first official race (1936-1:15:50) and 1938 (1:15:27). His 1936 win by 12:10 remains the largest margin of victory in the history of the race.
Melissa Moon – Won in 2005 in the second fastest time in race history 1:10:11. She is the only person to beat Anna Pichrtova on Mt Washington (by 17 seconds). Her time is the (35-39) age group record.
Craig Fram – Won the race in 1997. He set the course record for 40+ in 2001 and again in 2003. He has finished seven times in the top ten. He has won more money than any other runner, taking home just over $10,000. He has run seven times under 1:10, with a best of 1:03:27. His 2001 40+ age group record broke Fred Norris’s longstanding time from 1962 of 1:04:57. His 1:06:58 in 2009 set the 50+ age group record that had stood for 15 years. It also made him the oldest runner to break 1:10. He has the single age records for age 44, 49 and age 50. He holds both the 45-49, and 50-54 five year age group records with his 1:05:45 in 2008 and his 1:06:58 in 2009. He is the only male runner with two five year age group records. When he ran in 2008 he was not only the top NH finisher, but finished an amazing tenth place overall.
Peg Donovan – Won the race in 1987 and finished five times in the top ten all five times sub 1:30 averaging 1:19:24. She raced five times from 1986 – 1995 and returned in 2005. She took an amazing nine minutes off of her personal record to run the second fastest time for a female with a 1:15:05 in 1987. She also became only the second women to place in the top 50 with a thirty-seventh place finish and led the Granite State Racing Team to a team record. The team record would stand for another 19 years.
John Cederholm – Won the race in 1973 in his first attempt, and went on to finish five times in the top ten between 1973 and 1978. At age 60 he set a top ten age group time of 1:31:07. He has run four times under 1:10, with a personal best of 1:08:26. He has run the race twenty-eight times from 1973 - 2009.
Barbara Remmers – Has the New York state record set in her 1999 victory with a 1:13:52, and the Virginia state record in 2004 with a 1:46:34. She won the race in 1999 after training on a treadmill at 11.5%. She finished the race five times from 1998 – 2004.
Martha Rockwell – She set the Vermont state record of 1:19:14 in 1979 winning the race in a course record time. She has run three sub 1:30’s. She set the 40+ age group record in 1986 and 1987 (1:28:39/1:25:57), which was not broken until 1994. Her 50+ age group record stood until 2001.
Magdalena Thorsell – Won in a course record 1:10:09 in 1998. Her course record has stood for 12 years. She finished in a record high 15th place overall.
Keith Woodward – Won the race in 1983, with a 1:06:38. His 1:15:08 run in 2003 is the sixth fastest for the 50+ age group. He finished fifteen times in the top ten overall from 1973 through 1991 which ties him for the most top ten finishes. He has run the race 34 times between 1973 and 2009 which is the most by anyone. His personal best was a 1:03:06 in 1985 when he finished second. In 1977 he led the North Country AC team to the first sub-6 hour finish with his third place 1:08:15 (the team ran 5:5928).
Bob Teschek – Race director from 1982 to present. He also ran the race eight times between 1966 and 1982 with a personal best of 1:15:52 in 1977. In 1982 he finished a respectable 32nd place while overseeing the race.
Eric Morse – Set the Vermont state record in 1999 running a 1:01:09. He has finished in the top ten fourteen times from 1993 to 2009. He has more top five finishes than anyone without wining (ten). He has finished in second place three times and run under 1:10 fifteen times. He has finished sixteen times from 1993 – 2009, missing only 2003. In 2006 he ran the eight fastest time ever for a 40+ runner with his fifth place overall 1:04:38. In 1993, he was part of the CMS team that broke the 12-year-old team record (BAA 5:31:07), running a 5:30:34. He also led the CMS men’s 40+ team which broke the team record in 2005, taking sixteen minutes off of the Coastal AC’s 2004 time of 6:15:27. The 5:59:04 by CMS was the first time a 40+ team broke six hours.
Charlotte Lettis - Was the first official women’s finisher in 1972. She finished 84th overall, 12 minutes ahead of the only other women’s finisher, Jennifer Taylor of the Cambridge Sports Union. In December 1971 she married Tom Derderian (5th 1:11:53) and they became the first married couple to finish the Mt Washington road race.
Fred Ross – Has the longest consecutive finish streak with 32 finishes from 1978-2009. He has the second most total finishes with 33 confirmed finishes from 1976-2009. Fred and Donna Smyth were MARRIED on the summit of Mt Washington in 2009.
Donna Smyers – Is tied for the most top ten finishes with eight. She also leads the list of sub-1:30 times with thirteen. Donna has fifteen finishes from 1993 – 2009.
Rebecca Stockdale-Woolley – Has four times in the top ten for the 50+ age group. She set the 50+ age group record when she finished in twelfth place with a 1:30:27 in 2001. Here record stood until 2004. She has run three times under 1:30 and is the oldest sub 1:30 runner with a 1:29:37 in 2000 at age 49. Rebecca has the single age records for age 48, 53, 55, and age 56. Her 1:31:21 from 2006 is the 5 year age group (55-59) record.
Joan Benoit-Samuelson – Set the Maine state record of 1:16:03 in 1997, and the 40+ age group record. She held the master’s record held for 11 years, and still has the age 44 single age record running a fine 1:16:47.
Bill Riley – In 2007 he broke the 70+ age group record by an amazing 18 minutes, which is the most this AGR has ever been broken by with his stellar 1:34:54. He lowered the record in 2008 to 1:31:41. He holds the single age records for age 71 and 72.
Julie Peterson – Finished third overall at age forty (1:23:00). She set the Massachusetts state record in 1991 with a 1:14:19, which still stands. She has finished seven times in the top ten, which ties her for third most, including three seconds and four thirds. All of her eight finishes were with times under 1:30. She has the single age record for age 39.
Louise Rossetti – Has two of the top three times in the 80+ age groups. She set the age group record with a 2:48:52 at age 81 in 2003, the record stood until 2009. Louise has the single age records for age 76, 77, 81, and age 82. She is the oldest recorded women’s finisher (82) and was the first woman over the age of 80 to finish the race (2002).
Kerry Arsenault – Finished in the top ten six times over a span of seven years from 1994 - 2001. All of her times were between 1:25:32 and 1:28:44. She finished seven times under 1:30.
Leslie Thompson – Finished in the top ten four times, including a second place finish in 1986. She finished in fifth place at age 16. She has run three times under 1:30 and set a course record for the under 20 age group that lasted for 19 years (1980-1999). She has the single age record for age 16 with her 1:29:57 run in 1980, as well as the single age record for age 19 and 20.
Catherine Lifschultz – Ran seven times finishing in the top ten including a fourth in 1992 running 1:21:03. She ran eleven times under 1:30, which ranks second all-time. She ran the race fourteen times from 1990 - 2004.
Matt Cull – Has finished nine times in the top ten from 1983-95. He finished second twice (1983/84). He has a personal best of 1:03:41 and has run under 1:10 eight times averaging 1:06:35.
Leon Beverly – Has four times that make it into the top ten in various age groups. He set an age group record in 1990 with his 1:34:26 to top the 60+ age group. His other times are in the 70+ age group, including the age group record of 1:53:26 set in 1998 which stood for eight years. He finished thirteen times from 1983 – 2002.
Louisa Dunlap – Set age group records in 1991, 1992, and 1993 in winning the 50+ age group. She is one of only three runners to have set an AGR three times. She also placed in the top ten in the 60+ age group in 2004. She finished the race fifteen consecutive times from 1991 – 2005.
George Etzweiler - became the oldest finisher at age 89 (2:57:12) in 2009. He has the 5 year age group record (85-89) with his 2:33:20 (2005). He has the single age records for ages 85, 86, 87, and 89.
Sean Livingston – Ran two of the fastest times (first and third) by a runner under the age of 20. Set the age group record in 1987 placing thirteenth overall in 1:09:14. This is by far the longest still standing record. He set the state record for Rhode Island in 2005 running a 1:07:13. He ran the race fifteen times from 1986 - 2009. He has the single age record for age 18.
Disclaimer: The “Memorable people” is a hodgepodge of age group record holders, race winners, sub 1:10 (men) and sub 1:30 (runners), unusual record holders, and memorable persons at the Mount Washington road race. I did not attempt to actually RANK any of these performances in any particular order. I attempted to give some history of some memorable characters that have made a mark in the history of the race.
The “50 Great Moments” is a mishmash of “first times”, records, unusual events, and memorable finishes at the Mount Washington road race. I applied very little logic in deciding how to rank events in any particular order. Mostly I just went with how memorable I felt something was. This in no way is meant to disparage any performance/people at the race. I’m sure that anyone with knowledge of the race could knock out their own list which may or may not include the events/people I’ve listed. All I can say to that is “have fun”. Have your own list? Leave me a comment!
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