| |
| |
July 1,
2009
Goffstown Gallop keeps friendly face
By MATT SCHOOLEY
GOFFSTOWN
- Goals at the Goffstown Gallop vary.
Some want to defeat a sibling, while many hope to record a personal-best time. Others have a simpler goal. “Well, I survived,” joked Stu Goldstein, a 57-year-old Dunbarton resident. “That was my goal for the day.”
The 30th annual race brought 171 racers to the 5.2- mile course on Saturday, June 27, and it was a special race for Goldstein, who ran with his wife, Nancy, and the couple’s four children.
Rachel Goldstein, 18, posted the best finish of the family, coming in 85th to best her sisters, Rebekah and Molly, her brother, Stuart, and her mother.
“There are some bragging rights on the line,” said Molly Goldstein before the race. “But we’re good sports about it, and we all enjoy it.”
Nancy and Stu Goldstein first began running the race about 20 years ago, and as the years passed they have added more children to their running group.
“It’s funny because it’s really come full circle,” said Nancy Goldstein. “Stu and I used to compete with each other to see who could finish first. Now we’re just competing not to come in last among the family.”
For the second consecutive year, the overall title went to Goffstown resident Sean Colligan, 19. He crossed the finish line first with a time of 28 minutes, 17 seconds, to secure his back-to-back victories.
Colligan recently completed his freshman year at Bates College, where he ran for the school’s track team.
Nicky Ouellet, 22, of Dunbarton, was the first female to cross the finish line, posting a time of 33:50 and coming in 13th overall.
Both Colligan and Ouellet ran for Goffstown High School.
At the age of 80, Gordon Barnard continued his tradition of running the Gallop, and the Goffstown resident said he enjoys knowing there are plenty of other runners in attendance feeling the same pain he is.
“You know somebody else is suffering the way you are,” said Barnard. “You come to a point when you think you’re going to die. Then you’re afraid you’re not going to die, but you get your second wind.”
Dave French started the race 30 years ago, and the Goffstown Parks and Recreation director has continued it every year since, evident by the many T-shirts hanging on the wall in the recreation center.
“I know there are people who do only one race every year, and this is it,” said French. “We want it to be more than just the competitive part. There’s a social aspect as well.”
At the conclusion of the race, French awarded a host of trophies to athletes in the different age groups, and he said one of his favorite parts of the day is seeing the reaction of racers who didn’t expect to receive an award.
Though Ouellet didn’t anticipate her top finish this year, she enjoyed the challenge of pushing herself over some of the hills on the course.
“You just have to keep going. It’s embarrassing to stop,” said Ouellet lightheartedly. “There are people watching.”
|
|
|
