The Bobby Doyle Summer Classic field had two guys under 24:00 and 16 under 25:00. That’s deep…but how deep is it compared the days of yore? Got this little nugget from Jim Dandeneau regarding the depth of the field from Sunday’s USATF-NE 5 mile road championship race.
I did a little research….On the men’s side, I believe Sunday was the first time 15 guys ran 25:00 or faster in a 5 mile Grand Prix event since 1998. (It was the Ro-Jack’s 5 mile in Attleboro). Some serious foreign competition when this race was around (due to the $2000 first place check) Places 9-23 are USATF-NE guys.
1 22:20 4:28 1 18-39 1 M 4 Simon Rono
2 22:23 4:29 2 18-39 2 M 5 Joshua Chelanga
3 22:35 4:31 3 18-39 3 M 12 John Kariuki
4 22:52 4:34 4 18-39 4 M 7 Stephen Kiogora
5 23:05 4:37 5 18-39 5 M 8 Isaiah Kuresha
6 23:06 4:37 6 18-39 6 M 10 Daniel Kihara
7 23:19 4:40 7 18-39 7 M 6 Joseph Kariuki
8 24:00 4:48 8 18-39 8 M 41 Rachid Tbahi Sleepy Hollow,NY
9 24:13 4:51 9 18-39 9 M 40 Mike O’Brien Durham,NH
10 24:16 4:51 10 18-39 10 M 27 Jim Dandeneau Taunton,MA Boston Athletic Association
11 24:21 4:52 11 18-39 11 M 278 Jack Dwyer Walpole,MA Central Mass Striders
12 24:24 4:53 12 18-39 12 M 1017 Donal Osullivan N Y,NY
13 24:26 4:53 13 18-39 13 M 31 Chris Magill Cumberlnd,RI Boston Athletic Associatio
14 24:29 4:54 14 18-39 14 M 35 Darin Shearer Somerville,MA Central Mass Striders
15 24:32 4:54 1 40-49 15 M 29 Craig Fram Plaistow,NH Central Mass Striders
16 24:42 4:56 15 18-39 16 M 33 Eric Morse Montpelier,VT Central Mass Striders
17 24:48 4:58 16 18-39 17 M 565 Mark Mayall Acton,MA Central Mass Striders
18 24:52 4:58 17 18-39 18 M 28 Dave Dunham Bradford,MA Central Mass Striders
19 24:55 4:59 18 18-39 19 M 1016 Keven O’Neil N Kingstown,RI Boston Athletic Associatio
20 24:56 4:59 19 18-39 20 M 972 Richard Bolt Pepperell,MA Central Mass Striders
21 24:58 5:00 20 18-39 21 M 413 Mark Junkermann Marlboro,MA Central Mass Striders
22 24:58 5:00 21 18-39 22 M 1038 Todd Coggin Freeport,ME Whirlaway Racing Team
23 24:59 5:00 22 18-39 23 M 863 Kevin Way Waterboro,ME Greater Lowell Road Runner
24 25:00 5:00 23 18-39 24 M 970 Byrne Decker Yarmouth,ME Central Mass Striders
Wow. That’s deep. Four guys under 23:00, and then another three guys under 24:00. The first 7 guys were under the winning time from Sunday. In the original post, I had mistakenly said that Dave Dunham matched Dan Lowry’s second place time, followed by ‘Because of course. We can’t mention results from yesteryear without Dave Dunham popping up. He’s like some kind of distance running Wolverine…ageless, with some type of rapid-healing gift.’ Instead of deleting it all and posting there was correction, I decided to leave it while explaining it. Because of course. Anyway, you can find full results for each race here:
Ro-Jacks Run 8K
8th Annual Bobby Doyle 5 Mile USATF-NE Grand Prix
5 Mile
If you want to look at historical 5 milers/8K then take a look at the Riverside Park Twilight 8K races in the 80’s. In 1983, 15 guys ran sub 24:00 for 8K. In 1988, 20th place was 24:42.