Mount Washington Road Race
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The Mount Washington Road Race is a 7.6-mile (12.2 km) road running event that follows the auto road going from the base of Mount Washington in New Hampshire nearly to the mountain's summit (located at 6,288 feet (1,917 m) above sea level). The race was first held in 1936, and has been run annually since 1966. Women first participated officially in 1972.
The race course rises 4,650 vertical feet (1,420 m) feet from start to finish. It is a steep mountain course with an average grade of 12%, all uphill after the first few hundred yards. Held in June each year, Mount Washington is a popular race for runners in New England, and also attracts many runners from other parts of the United States and the world.
For non-elite runners, entry is by lottery. The lottery winners are able to be among the approximately 1,100 runners who partake in this annual event. The lottery is held in mid-March, with a sign-up period from March 1–15. Andy Schachat currently serves as race announcer.
The course record of 56:41 was set in 2004 by renowned mountain runner Jonathan Wyatt. The female course record was set by Shewarge Amarein of Ethiopia with a time of 1:08:21 in 2010. Multiple winners of the race on the men's side include Francis Darrah, Mike Gallagher, Bob Hodge, Gary Crossan, Dave Dunham, Derek Froude, Matt Carpenter, Daniel Kihara, Simon Gutierrez and Eric Blake. On the female side, Eleonora Mendonca, Cathy Hodgdon, Chris Maisto, Jacqueline Gareau, J'ne Day-Lucore, and Anna Pichrtová are multiple winners. John J. Kelley and Jacqueline Gareau are the only runners ever to win both the Boston Marathon and the Mount Washington Road Race. Kelley won the former in 1957 and the latter in 1961. Gareau won Boston in 1980 and won Mt. Washington in 1989, 1994 and 1996.
In addition to having a steep road race course, Mount Washington is home to extremely unpredictable weather. Winds have been known to top 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) at the summit. Although the race has never been run in such extreme conditions, factors like snow, ice, fog, wind, rain and cold, added to the steep climb, can make the race exceptionally challenging for those who run it. It is not uncommon for temperatures at the foot of the mountain to be warm at the beginning of the race, but for runners to encounter wintry white-out conditions at the summit, even in June. In an attempt to create some levity out of the difficult conditions, race organizers have often used the slogan "only one hill" as the event's official motto.
Winners[edit]
| Year | Men | Time | Women | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Joseph Gray -5- | 1:01:40 | Kim Dobson -6- | 1:11:16 |
| 2020 | Event Cancelled (COVID 19) | N/A | Event Cancelled (COVID 19) | N/A |
| 2019 | Eric Blake -4- | 1:02:52 | (Tie) Brittni Hutton and Heidi Caldwell | 1:16:17 |
| 2018 | Cesare Maestri (ITA) | 1:00:53 | Kim Dobson -5- | 1:11:43 |
| 2017 | Joseph Gray -4- | 58:58 | Shannon Payne -2- | 1:11:22 |
| 2016 | Joseph Gray -3- | 58:17 | Kim Dobson -4- | 1:09:34 |
| 2015 | Joseph Gray -2- | 58:15 | Kim Dobson -3- | 1:11:39 |
| 2014 | Joseph Gray (USA) | 59:09 | Shannon Payne (USA) | 1:10:12 |
| 2013 | Eric Blake -3- | 59:57 | Laura Haefeli (USA) | 1:18:05 |
| 2012 | Sage Canaday (USA) | 58:27 | Kim Dobson -2- | 1:09:25 |
| 2011 | Rickey Gates -2- | 1:01:32 | Kim Dobson (USA) | 1:12:11 |
| 2010 | Chris Siemers (USA) | 1:00:22 | Shewarge Amare (ETH) | 1:08:21 |
| 2009 | Rickey Gates (USA) | 59:58 | Brandy Erholtz -2- | 1:10:53 |
| 2008 | Eric Blake -2- | 1:00:39 | Brandy Erholtz (USA) | 1:11:08 |
| 2007 | Jonathan Wyatt -2- | 1:01:25 | Anna Pichrtová -6- | 1:12:53 |
| 2006 | Eric Blake (USA) | 1:01:09 | Anna Pichrtová -5- | 1:11:18 |
| 2005 | Simon Gutierrez -3- | 1:00:54 | Melissa Moon (NZL) | 1:10:11 |
| 2004 | Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) | 56:41 | Anna Pichrtová -4- | 1:12:19 |
| 2003 | Simon Gutierrez -2- | 1:02:54 | Anna Pichrtová -3- | 1:12:50 |
| 2002 | Simon Gutierrez (USA) | 28:02[1] | Anna Pichrtová -2- | 32:32[1] |
| 2001 | Daniel Kihara -4- | 1:00:06 | Anna Pichrtová (CZE) | 1:13:48 |
| 2000 | Daniel Kihara -3- | 59:24 | Alice Muriithi (KEN) | 1:17:26 |
| 1999 | Daniel Kihara -2- | 59:03 | Barbara Remmers (USA) | 1:13:52 |
| 1998 | Matt Carpenter -3- | 1:00:24 | Magdalena Thorsell (SWE) | 1:10:09 |
| 1997 | Craig Fram (USA) | 1:04:48 | Cathy O'Brien (USA) | 1:12:24 |
| 1996 | Daniel Kihara (KEN) | 58:21 | Jacqueline Gareau -3- | 1:17:15 |
| 1995 | Gideon Mutisya (KEN) | 1:01:42 | J'ne Day-Lucore -3- | 1:17:29 |
| 1994 | Dave Dunham -3- | 1:03:22 | Jacqueline Gareau -2- | 1:16:16 |
| 1993 | Matt Carpenter -2- | 59:49 | J'ne Day-Lucore -2- | 1:12:59 |
| 1992 | Matt Carpenter (USA) | 1:00:43 | J'ne Day-Lucore (USA) | 1:11:46 |
| 1991 | Derek Froude -2- | 1:00:35 | Christine Maisto -3- | 1:12:15 |
| 1990 | Derek Froude (NZL) | 59:17 | Lynn Brown (USA) | 1:19:57 |
| 1989 | Dave Dunham -2- | 1:02:59 | Jacqueline Gareau (CAN) | 1:13:13 |
| 1988 | Dave Dunham (USA) | 1:00:50 | Janine Aiello (USA) | 1:20:48 |
| 1987 | Bob Hodge -7- | 1:01:14 | Peg Donovan (USA) | 1:15:05 |
| 1986 | Gary Crossan -4- | 1:02:10 | Christine Maisto -2- | 1:19:26 |
| 1985 | Bob Hodge -6- | 1:01:31 | Christine Maisto (USA) | 1:14:44 |
| 1984 | Gary Crossan -3- | 1:01:13 | Betsy Haydock (USA) | 1:20:46 |
| 1983 | Keith Woodward (USA) | 1:06:38 | Anna Sonnerup (USA) | 1:22:19 |
| 1982 | Gary Crossan -2- | 1:01:40 | Cathy Hodgdon -3- | 1:22:40 |
| 1981 | Gary Crossan (USA) | 1:02:51 | Cathy Hodgdon -2- | 1:22:57 |
| 1980 | Bob Hodge -5- | 1:04:29 | Cathy Hodgdon (USA) | 1:26:44 |
| 1979 | Bob Hodge -4- | 1:02:08 | Martha Rockwell (USA) | 1:19:14 |
| 1978 | Bob Hodge -3- | 1:04:13 | Eleonora Mendonça -3- | 1:28:39 |
| 1977 | Bob Hodge -2- | 1:04:44 | Eleonora Mendonça -2- | 1:30:05 |
| 1976 | Bob Hodge (USA) | 1:05:31 | Eleonora Mendonça (BRA) | 1:35:05 |
| 1975 | Gary Johnson (USA) | 1:06:01 | Hester Sargent (USA) | 1:31:13 |
| 1974 | Jim Capezzuto (USA) | 1:07:58 | --- | --- |
| 1973 | John Cederholm (USA) | 1:08:26 | Lise Demers (CAN) | 1:51:51 |
| 1972 | Roland Cormier (USA) | 1:09:16 | Charlotte Lettis (USA) | 1:40:08 |
| 1971 | Mike Gallagher -4- | 1:07:27 | --- | --- |
| 1970 | Mike Gallagher -3- | 1:09:06 | --- | --- |
| 1969 | Mike Gallagher -2- | 1:06:44 | --- | --- |
| 1968 | Mike Gallagher (USA) | 1:06:13 | --- | --- |
| 1967 | Angus Wooten (GBR) | 1:12:43 | --- | --- |
| 1966 | Leo J. Carroll (GBR) | 1:07:31 | --- | --- |
| 1962 | Fred Norris (GBR) | 1:04:57 | --- | --- |
| 1961 | John J. Kelley (USA) | 1:08:54 | --- | --- |
| 1938 | Francis Darrah -2- | 1:15:27 | --- | --- |
| 1937 | Paul Donato (USA) | 1:16:24 | --- | --- |
| 1936 | Francis Darrah (USA) | 1:15:50 | --- | --- |
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Official site
- Mount Washington Road Race Records by Dave Dunham
- Mount Washington Road Race, statistic page by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS)