Fullerton won it quite easily in Haverhill. Courtesy of Krissy Kozlosky.
Solid tune ups were run by Pat Fullerton and Kara Haas at the Frozen Shamrock 3 Mile race in Haverhill, MA this past Sunday. Yes..3 miles…not 5k. So the times were fast, but if you’re like me you probably looked at them and thought it was a smoking 5k time. Still very fast though, especially when you consider that the course is incredibly hilly (over 200ft of elevation gain per Pat). Pat ran a 14:47.3 for the win (won by about 90 seconds) while Kara dropped a cool 17:28.2 and came in 6th overall (about 2 mins up on the next female).
This coming Sunday is the An Ras Mor 5k, which kicks open the USATF-NE Grand Prix circuit with 5k championship. The field will be fast and will be deep. Both Fullerton and Haas will be contenders, so we checked in with them to see how they’re doing while they’re simultaneously recovering from one race and gearing up for another.
How’s training been going and how did that effort feel?
Fullerton: “Training has been going great. I know the typical answer is to say im in the best shape of my life blah blah blah. But honestly, training has been so fun just running and getting fit again. Im not forcing anything and there is 0 pressure.”
Haas: “Training is going well (for an old lady). The 3 mile felt pretty good…I tweaked my hamstring skiing with my 20 month old right before the 3k at Harvard, so I was pleased to run without discomfort.”
What are you looking to run at An Ras Mor?
Fullerton: “At An Ras I have time goals, but I’ll keep them to myself because you never know what will happen once the gun goes off, but I feel like I’ll be able to be right in it at 2 miles and I’m confident I’m very hard to beat over the last mile. But, most importantly, CMS needs my time to do as well as we can as a team.”
Haas: “I’m really torn about An Ras Mor. I signed up to the Wild Rover Series before the Grand Prix series was voted on. The start time is too close, so I need to make a choice.”
Intrigue! Where will Kara race? The nation waits with bated breath. But for real, Kara’s presence or absence will have significant ramifications on the USATF-NE Grand Prix standings (Kara was the 40-44 winner in last year’s championship 5k). We should also note that Kara ran a 10:24.38 and placed 3rd overall at that Harvard meet, which was the USATF-NE Indoor Championships.
Pat’s performance will also be key as he will no doubt be near the front of a re-stocked CMS lineup that should be contending for the win. A BSOHL (Best Shape of His Life) Fullerton would go a long way towards making a team title for them (at least on Sunday) a reality.
