Epping Youth Athletic Association

EPPING — Heather Searles was expecting to see her fiancé, Chris Mahoney, waiting for her when she crossed the finish line as the women's division winner of Saturday's 2nd annual Pursuit of the Holy Grail 5K road race, but a mix-up left her waiting for him.

Mahoney was leading the race when he and couple other of the lead runners went the wrong way on the final turn, which paved the way for Middleton's Michael Arsenault, 34, to claim victory in a time 18 minutes, 13 seconds.

Durham's Michael Brady, 52, finished in second place (18:36), while Weston Forsbid of Danville placed third (18:45).

"I started out fast like everyone else and started separating with two guys in front," Arsenault said. "(Mahoney) was in front of me, but he missed the turn, unfortunately."

Mahoney said confusion came about when the runners came onto Main Street.

"It was weird, because when we came back to the street, there were some cars in the road and there was a cop there and he was waving that way, so I went that way and two other guys followed me," Mahoney said. "I didn't know if was waving to the cars or to me, so I just kept running. Then I started to look around and nothing looked familiar."

Searles, 29, of Haverhill, Mass., set a new women's course record of 18:47, beating Cathleen Brown's time of 20:48 last year. She finished fourth overall in the race.

Hampstead's Amy Bernard, 34, placed second (19:02) among the women, while Nottingham's Elisabeth Danis finished third (21:15).

"I had a good time and was pleasantly surprised, until I found out my fiancé was set in the wrong direction, so that kinds of spoiled my mood a little bit," Searles said. "But overall it was pretty good. It was a fun course."

Arsenault shaved 42 seconds off his time from a year ago, when he finished in eighth place. He is preparing to run in his first Boston Marathon next month, where his goal is to run in under three hours.

"I started running two years ago; I quit smoking and started racing," Arsenault said. "So far it's worked out pretty good."

Arsenault, Mahoney and a few other runners separated from the rest of the runners early in the race, and Mahoney jumped ahead when the confusion happened in the later stages.

"I felt pretty good right at the beginning," Arsenault said. "Overall it was good and I'm happy where I am heading to Boston."

Despite the setback for her fiancé, Searles said she was happy with the way she ran the race.

"It was a point-to-point course, downhill, and it's kind of fun running this fast of a time this early in the season, because that's usually not the case." Searles said.

Searles took the lead about a quarter-mile into the race, but always had the sense that Bernard, a Whirlaway racing teammate, was close behind her.

"I went through the first mile a little faster then I wanted to, and I had to do a self-assessment and see how I felt," Searles said. "The next mile and a half was downhill, so I knew I could recover a bit.

"I never felt comfortable in the lead; I knew Bernard was behind me."

Arsenault, Brady and Forsbid were followed in the men's top 10 by Alan Barrett (18:53) of Alton; Rick Bernard (19:31) of Hampstead; Ben Finnigan (19:42) of Dover; Tom Hooper (19:42) of Lee; Mike Barry (19:44) of Northwood; Zachary Whitehouse (20:16) of Exeter; and James Downey (20:30) of Durham.

Following Searles, Bernard and Danis in the women's top 10 were Michelle Zoeller (21:30) of Hampton; Kelly O'Brien (22:02) of Durham; Karen Regan (22:14) of Brentwood; Christine Holmes (22:24) of Epping; Christen Gallant (22:26) of Nottingham; Julie Heincelman (22:38) of Lee; and Erica Direnzo (22:44) of Plaistow.

Male age-group award winners were Rob Walsh (14-and-under, 20:48) of Epping; Finnigan (15-19); Whitehouse (20-29); Bernard (30-39); Downey (40-49); Barry (50-59); Brian Greene (60-69, 23:12) of Dover; and Robert Randall (70-and-over, 34:19) of Springvale, Maine.

Female age-group award winners were Gallant (14-and-under); Cecelia Sciuto (15-19, 39:32) of Chester; O'Brien (20-29); Heincelman (30-39); Amy Goodrich (40-49, 23:15) of Epping; Regan (50-59); and Ann Kucharski (60-69, 24:18) of Haverhill, Mass.

 Mark your calendars Saturday, 3/24 and sign up early for the 2nd Annual Pursuit of the Holy Grail.  The race starts at 10:30 am.  Live entertainment will follow at the Holy Grail.  

Men or women setting a course record will receive an additional $125.

10. It's not everyday you get to ride on a school bus.

 9. The course is flat and mostly downhill.

 8. Splits are announced at mile markers 1 and 2.

 7. Andy Schachat will announce the race.

 6. Chip timing provided by Granite State Race Services.

 5. Certified by the USATF.  # NH11002RF

 4. Prizes for every age group.

 3. Benefits the Epping Youth Athtetic Assocation

 2. Great live Entertainment 

                                                                   1. Free Beer