Mahoney and Bernard Bag Old Home Days Race Titles

Greater Derry Track Club member Chris Mahoney of Westford, Mass. finished first overall and Pinkerton Academy teacher/coach Amy Bernard from Hampstead won her fourth consecutive women’s title in the 36th annual Londonderry Old Home Days/ Lundgren 5K Road Race last Saturday, Aug. 15.

Thirty-seven-year-old Mahoney paced the crowd of 209 finishers in the annual race, crossing the finish line in 16 minutes and 40 seconds. Londonderry High runner Noah Schrank finished as  runner-up for the second year in a row, 15 seconds behind winner Mahoney, and Bernard collected her four-peat as the ladies’ champ by finishing 11th overall in 19:13.

The course records have held up for a long time, and continue to do so after the 2015 race. Dave Dunham set the top overall finishing mark of 14:44 in 1991, and Maribel Sanchez established the ladies’ record of 17:35 in 2000.

For the first time in the 36-year history of the Londonderry race, someone other than former LHS teacher and coach Larry Martin served as the race director. Martin was replaced this year by former Londonderry High runner and present LHS track and cross-country coach Matt Smith.

“Overall I think the race went really well, mostly due to the tremendous support we get from the community,” said Smith. “From the runners to the volunteers to the police officers to everyone cheering on the race, those are the ones that make the race happen and make it a memorable event each year.”

Along with top-two finishers Mahoney and Shrank, the top five line-crossers were Londonderry High grad Matt Galluzzo in third (18:03), and present LHS cross-country stalwarts Jared Kane (18:17) and Cam Dickson (18:17) in fourth and fifth respectively.

LHS sophomore running standout Kalin Gregoire was the second female across the finish line – 17th overall – in a time of 19:46.

The majority of the 209 finishers were Londonderry residents, but there were also folks from California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Connecticut,  Florida, Indiana, and  Massachusetts. One noteworthy Bay Stater is 90-year-old Lou Peters from Methuen.

Londonderry residents claimed age group titles, including Grace Holland among the 12-and-under girls (33:04), Gregoire among the 13-16 girls, Courtney Guay in the 17-19 girls’ division (22:47), Alissa Rogers in the 20-29 girls’ class (19:52), Kate Von Pichl among the 40-49-year-old women (21:43), Nancy Peabody in the 50-59 women’s class (25:32), and Sachiko Burkinshaw among the 70-79-year-old ladies (37:22).

Londonderry males who bagged age group crowns included Ryan Young among the 12-and-unders (19:40), Josh Wasserman in the 13-16 class (18:34), Schrank among the 17-19s (16:55), Galluzzo in the 20-29 division (18:03), former LHS running standout Dave Beauley from New Boston among the 40-49 guys (18:38), and Paul Leahy in the 50-59 class (20:50).