Dedham, Massachusetts — The forecast was for wet and windy, but the rain slowed to a drizzle and stopped before the race; winds were 18-20 mph but, luckily for the runners, they were mostly cross winds. Nat Larson 60 and Jan Holmquist 78 took down American Records in their age divisions. Larson bettered the men’s 60-64 record that has stood since 1999 by three seconds in 34:24. Holmquist took down the women’s record by 10 seconds in 50:01. Melissa Hardesty claimed the Women’s overall win in 37:26. Beverly Antunes and Fiona Bayly enjoyed second and third place finishes in 38:02 and 38:11. Mario Vazquez broke the Masters course record by 18 seconds with his 31:50. Justin Freeman took second in 32:17; David Angell, the 2017 and 2018 overall champion, earned the bronze medal in 33:15. There were two close races on the men’s side. In the M50, Gregory Putnam beat Steve Bell by 16 seconds and in the M55, Scott Humphrey edged Brett Stoeffler by 14 seconds. The closest race of the day was in W50, when Abby Dean edged a fast-closing Karolyn Bowley by a mere four seconds. Each runner is given an age-graded performance – with the top performances grading at a higher percentage. Larson’s record-breaking performance at age 60 took top honors on the men’s side with a 94.33% score. Holmquist led the women’s age grading with 98.93%. John Van Danacker’s 35:53 at 60, earned a 90.43% for second in the men’s age grading, just ahead of Steve Schmidt’s 36:52 at 62 for 89.65%. Fiona Bayly’s 38:10 at 55, scored 93.54% and Mary Cass’ 41:43 at 61 earned 92.17 for second and third respectively. AGE DIVISION CHAMPIONS: Women — 40-44 Beverly Antunes, 38:02; 45-49 Melissa Hardesty, 37:26; 50-54 Abby Dean, 38:17; 55-59 Fiona Bayly, 38:11; 60-64 Mary Cass, 41:43; 65-69 Liz Champagne, 49:32; 70-74 Jessica Wheeler, 54:12; 75-79 Jan Holmquist, 50:01. MEN — 40-44 Mario Vazquez, 31:50; 45-49 David Angell, 33:15; 50-54 Gregory Putnam, 34:21; 55-59 Scott Humphrey, 36:09; 60-64 Nat Larson, 34:24; 65-69 David Westenberg, 39:22; 70-74 Robert Qualls, 41:43; 75-79 Gary Ostwald, 46:10; 80-84 Hal Bennett, 55:10; 85-89 Jerry Levasseur, 1:39:46. TEAMS: Team championships are determined by adding up the times of the first three finishers on each team, low score wins. The Boston Athletic Association won two team gold medals, in men’s 40+ and women’s 40+. The Atlanta Track Club took home team gold in men’s 60+ and 70+. The Central Mass Striders, Genesee Valley Harriers, and Liberty Athletic Clubtook first in men’s 50+, women’s 50+ and Women’s 60+, respectively. The Greater Lowell Road Runners earned four bronze medals in men’s 40+ and 70+ and in women’s 50+ and 60+. Submitted By Paul Carlin Photo Credit: FitzFoto/NERunner