Crossan Cup Competition for 2013 (Men)

Gary Crossan in 1986

An early preliminary list of the Mt. Washington Road Race entrants are up and it made me start thinking about the local competition for the top NH Male runner at the race this year.  A little tracked statistic from the race, but one that is near and dear to my heart specifically because it's the only one I have any sort of outside shot of actually appearing in.

Each year since 1987, the top NH male and female runner in the race win the 'Crossan Cup', named after 4-time race winner Gary Crossan, who was tragically hit and killed by a train while on a run.  Gary was a former record holder (1:01:13) and last won the race in 1986.

This year, there are some good runners signed up.   One of the top ones that has to stand out is Kevin Johnson from the Western Mass Distance Project, who is fresh off of two USATF-New England Grand Prix wins in a row, including this past weekend's New Bedford Half Marathon, where he split 10 miles in 49:53 and went on to win in 1:06:04.  Aside from Kevin, there's another Kevin in the field (Kevin Tilton) who already has 4 cups of his own and has a 1:03 PR to his credit (which he will attempt to better this year).  Tilton is a two-time US Mountain Team Member who has a ton of mountain running experience and also lives in the shadow of Mt. Washington in Conway, NH.  He has the home court (or home hill I should say) advantage.

Some other newcomers to the field include Peter Najem of the BAA and Swanzey, NH and Greg Hammett of CMS and Chesterfield, NH.  Both have lived and trained in and around Keene, NH area.  Pete has been a road and track specialist but had a very good XC career at Keene State.  Greg does everything from snowshoe racing to mountain/trail, road, and track.  The only thing Greg hasn't dipped his toes into so far seems to be tower racing, but I'm not completely counting him out of that just yet.

The Freeman brothers are back and they are always in the hunt, as both of them have already won a cup a piece.  Other players in the field include Andy McCarron of CMS and Keene, NH who is returning to form after some injuries over the last year... Brandon Newbould of Whirlaway and Nottingham, NH who has been flirting with being the top NH runner anywhere, period.  He's a beast on the roads and trails...and coming originally from Alaska, I don't count him out for the hill this June....Patrick Ard (also linked to Keene State) has a sub 1:10 under his belt but didn't have a particularly good race but he's looking for redemption this year.  He weighs somewhere between 50 and 75 lbs, so he should be able to just float up the hill utilizing some of the thermals and light winds to propel him up without much effort, should he be healthy.  I will reluctantly add myself to this list as I have been runner-up for the cup here before, so I can't completely say I have no chance, but will not bet on beating either one of the Kevin's...  Lastly, not to count out the EIGHT time winner Craig Fram here..he will be 54 this summer, but he won the cup ONLY 4 years ago at the age of 50 with a 1:06:58!  ONLY 2 years ago he ran 1:08:50...so yeah, he has a shot for sure...

There are some other good runners on the registration list and there may be a few more added...If you think I've forgotten or left out some contenders, please comment below.

Here are the top competitors (so far) from NH (in no particular order):

First	Last	City/State	Best Time	Last Performance	Cups
Kevin	Tilton	North Conway, NH	1:03:42 (2005)	1:05:54 (2012)	4 ('05-'07, '12)
Kevin	Johnson	West Lebanon, NH	Debut	Debut	0
Justin	Freeman	New Hampton, NH	1:06:28 (2011)	1:08:00 (2012)	1 (2011)
Kris	Freeman	Thornton, NH	1:07:46 (2011)	1:07:46 (2011)	1 (2010)
Peter	Najem	Swanzey, NH	Debut	Debut	0
Greg	Hammett	Chesterfield, NH	Debut	Debut	0
Andy	McCarron	Keene, NH	1:10:17 (2009)	1:11:14 (2011)	0
Brandon	Newbould	Nottingham, NH	1:08:07	1:08:07 (2012)	0
Jim	Johnson	Madison, NH	1:07:22 (2011)	1:07:55 (2012)	0
Craig	Fram*	Derry, NH	1:03:20 (1995)	1:08:50 (2011)	8 ('95-'97, '01-'03, '08-'09)
Pat	Ard	Raymond, NH	1:09:58 (2011)	1:21:48 (2012)	0

* Craig will be 54 this year!

Most Cups Won (Multiple Winners):

Craig Fram: 8
Dave Dunham: 5
Kevin Tilton: 4
Mike Casner: 3

Longest Stretch Between First and Last Cup Wins:

1] : Craig Fram: 1995 - 2009 (14 Years)
2] : Mike Casner: 1987 - 2000 (13 Years)
3] : Kevin Tilton: 2005 - 2012 (7 Years) *
4] : Dave Dunham: 1990 - 1994 (4 Years)

* If Kevin wins the cup in 2019 (He'll ONLY be 37 years old then) he will tie Craig (unless Craig wins again)...

Crossan Cup Winners since 1987 (first year):

Year	Winner	Time	Overall Place	Age	Town
2012	Kevin Tilton (4)	1:05:54	18	30	Conway, NH
2011	Justin Freeman	1:06:28	8	34	New Hampton, NH
2010	Kris Freeman	1:07:56	15	29	Thornton, NH
2009	Craig Fram (8)	1:06:58	11	50	Plaistow, NH
2008	Craig Fram (7)	1:05:45	10	49	Plaistow, NH
2007	Kevin Tilton (3)	1:09:34	10	25	Conway, NH
2006	Kevin Tilton (2)	1:12:09	22	24	Conway, NH
2005	Kevin Tilton (1)	1:03:42	5	23	Conway, NH
2004	Joshua Ferenc	1:06:21	7	22	Westmoreland, NH
2003	Craig Fram (6)	1:03:27	2	44	Plaistow, NH
2002	Craig Fram (5)	28:28 (Halfway)	3	43	Plaistow, NH
2001	Craig Fram (4)	1:04:29	3	42	Plaistow, NH
2000	Mike Casner (3)	1:09:30	6	38	Keene, NH
1999	Thomas Anderson	1:04:36	8	34	Keene, NH
1998	Mike Casner (2)	1:05:48	7	36	Keene, NH
1997	Craig Fram (3)	1:04:48	1	38	Plaistow, NH
1996	Craig Fram (2)	1:04:22	4	37	Plaistow, NH
1995	Craig Fram (1)	1:03:20	2	36	Hampstead, NH
1994	Dave Dunham (5)	1:03:22	1	30	Londonderry, NH
1993	Dave Dunham (4)	1:00:44	2	29	Londonderry, NH
1992	Dave Dunham (3)	1:03:18	3	28	Londonderry, NH
1991	Dave Dunham (2)	1:02:07	2	27	Londonderry, NH
1990	Dave Dunham (1)	1:01:37	2	26	Londonderry, NH
1989	Jeffrey Robie	1:10:45	8	32	Kingston, NH
1988	Martin Kryska	1:06:11	4	23	Hanover, NH
1987	Mike Casner (1)	1:06:10	5	25	Bristol, NH

In 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, and 2004 Mount Washington served as the US National Mountain Running Championships.

Other fun facts about the Crossan Cup:

Only 2 times has the Crossan Cup been awarded to the Overall Race Winner.  Dave Dunham's last  win came in 1994 when he lived in Londonderry, NH.  The one other was Craig Fram's victory in 1997 (Plaistow, NH).

In 2010 and 2011, the Cup was won by brothers, Kris Freeman and Justin Freeman (both US Olympic Nordic Skiers).

The fastest time a Crossan Cup winner has run (to win the cup) is: 1:00:44 by Dave Dunham (1993)

The slowest time a Crossan Cup winner has run (to win the cup) is: 1:12:09 by Kevin Tilton (2006)

The worst place (overall) that a Cross Cup winner has run (to win the cup) is: 22nd by Kevin Tilton (2006)

The oldest Crossan Cup Winner is Craig Fram at 50 Years of Age in 2009.

The youngest Crossan Cup Winner is Josh Ferenc at 22 Years of Age in 2004.

Towns in which the winners have hailed from:

Plaistow: 7
Londonderry: 5
Conway: 4
Keene: 3

Craig Fram

Kevin Tilton heading up the last climb to the finish - 2009

Kevin Tilton's 4 Crossan Cups

2004 - Josh Ferenc finishing in style.

2004 - Josh Ferenc finishing in style.

2004 - Josh Ferenc finishing in style.

2004 - The infamous Ferenc w/ his hardware

Dave Dunham finishing quietly in 1988 (he lived in Lowell at the time, but it's a good picture)