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The thing that the male and female winners of the Yankee Homecoming 5K Road Race had in common, other than being local, was that their decision to run was last-minute, spur-of-the-moment, merely the day's workout.
Which really must not sit well with those who train for weeks and months.
Eric McDonald of Groveland, who captured yesterday's 5K in 15 minutes, 40 seconds, decided to enter Saturday when several of his UMass Lowell teammates talked him into running.
Katrina Morris, 17, of Seabrook, who won the women's 5K in 19:29, was on the beach this afternoon when her father told her about the race. She's not even a runner, but she figured it would be a good workout.
Having spent the majority of the 2011-12 season riddled with a hip injury, the triumph was an affirmation of sorts for McDonald, who is entering his senior year at UMass Lowell. MacDonald led four of his teammates among the top 10 places, including runner-up Ben Pare of Methuen, who finished in 15:52.
Brendan Robertson of Westborough placed third in 15:54 while Connor Habib (Methuen), a sophomore at UMass Lowell, took fourth in 15:56, and John Stansel of Newburyport fifth in 16:00.
“I figured if I ran somewhere around 16 minutes, it would be a great start to my preseason camp,” McDonald said. “I was surprised. I thought I was in the 15:50 range. I think it's a good indication of what I can do this year.”
McDonald sprang from the starting line and hardly relinquished the lead, except for trading steps with Habib along Merrimac Street. When he rounded the corner on Oakland, McDonald made his move.
“I started thinking, 'I gotta drop these guys,'” McDonald said. “I could hear Connor and Ben behind me as I was pulling away. One of the great things about this race is that I could tell how far ahead I was by the sound of the crowd. Once I got to the top of Oakland Street, I took a peek behind me. I knew I just had to finish as strong as I can.”
MacDonald placed second in 2009, his only other appearance in the 5K, to Kevin Alliette of Methuen by a mere five seconds, a finish that has never set well with him.
“When I got second, I was a little bummed out,” he explained. “As far as fitness, I was set up to win that race. This time I didn't hold myself to any expectation. I just wanted to be in the top 10 with a decent time.
“It definitely means a lot to finish first and to run the way I did,” he added. “I wasn't expecting this. I'm proud of how I can run at this stage, a month away from (preseason) cross-country camp.”
Dan Pinter of Newburyport placed sixth in 16:04 and was followed by Christian Kusch of Salem (16:14.), Michael Creedon of Medfield (16:44), Matt Orlando of Newburyport (16:50) and Conor Westwater of North Andover (16:51).
Morris, a senior-to-be at Phillips Exeter Academy, plays field hockey in the fall, is a member of the swimming team in the winter and plays lacrosse in the spring. But she admitted yesterday's win has her thinking about track and field.
She felt borderline unworthy. “I'm not a runner,” she said, blushing. “But I'm very happy with it. I didn't expect this at all.”
Catalina Dominick of Danvers was the runner-up in 19:46 while Emily Lafferty of Newmarket, N.H., placed third in 19:49. Jessica Bailey of Amesbury (20:14) and Kelly Bradbury of Newburyport (20:18) rounded out the top five.
Morris ran the race completely oblivious of her feat and had to be told she won the women's crown minutes after crossing the finish line. “I didn't even know I was leading. I had no idea,” she said. “But I'm planning on trying (running) out. I'm definitely going to do winter track this year.”
Rounding out the women's top 10 was Hannah McCormick of Newburyport in sixth place (20:24), Kelly Arsenault of Hampton in seventh (20:58) and Laura Najimy of Pittsfield in eighth (21:00), followed by Gretchen McGrath of Londonderry, N.H. (21:12) and Emma Boyd of Windham, N.H. (21:12).
