Eastbayri.com

LITTLE COMPTON — As soon as Roland Lavallee woke up Saturday morning he knew it was going to be a special day. The temperature was hovering near 50 degrees, for the first time in a long time Lavallee felt great physically, and for the first time ever he was going to participate in the Little Compton Scenic Winter Road Race.

“I saw this race and the forecast and thought this would be perfect. I had a smile on my face,” Lavallee said. “I was like, ‘this is awesome.’ This is going to be awesome. With the weather being so phenomenal, I thought that I’d love to stay outside this weekend. You’ve got to use these days when you can.”

Apparently 388 other registrants felt somewhat like Lavallee at the race onset. They hovered near the starting line and listened to the announcer shout, “Leave when the gun goes off.” The police vehicle’s siren sounded as it maneuvered into position to lead the runners around the 4.8-mile course. The runners cheered and a minute later they were off.

“I’ve always wanted to do this race in the summer but I never seem to be able to get to it.,” Lavallee said. “I thought I could go learn the course.”

Call Lavallee a quick learner. The Mount St. Charles Academy teacher and cross country coach bested the rest of the competitors when he crossed the finish line with a time of 23:16. Runner-up William Sanders of Wethersfield, KY, finished 30 seconds behind Lavallee. Providence’s Alan Bernier was a distant third with a time of 25:14.

“This actually is a really good time for me,” said Lavallee, whose best 5K time is 14:15. “I know it’s a fast course. I was sure there would be some competition and there was.”

Just being able to run was a big boost for Lavallee. He didn’t run all summer because of a stress fracture and was thrilled to be competing in a race for just the first time since Thanksgiving Day.

“I’ve been doing a lot of strength training getting my mileage back up,” Lavallee said. “It’s been a long climb back, baby-stepping through the fall. Since Thanksgiving I started doing track and speed workouts because my legs can take it now. My miles are back up to 85-90.”

Shortly after the start of the race Lavallee and Sanders quickly separated themselves from the rest of the runners.

“We went out real hard. It seemed controlled but we were 9:37 through two miles. I think that’s what they called out,” said Lavallee. “We were running stride for stride, pushing.”

It was Sanders who made the first move and grabbed a short-lived advantage.

“We had that downhill when you take that first right and he kind of pushed it,” said Lavallee. “He kind of accelerated on that decline. He had about a two- or three-meter lead on me there. Then I was able to pull even and catch the groove again.”

After Lavallee caught Sanders he didn’t stay with him long. Around the 2.5-mile mark the teacher taught the runner-up a lesson.

“I just went. I just kind of sensed it,” said Lavallee. “I sensed a shift in the momentum and I just felt aerobically phenomenal out there. It was partly the weather and my miles being up, doing longer workouts. I was just cruising. I felt like I was just in the zone.

“You’ve got to be able to go out hard and tolerate it, then you’ve got to be able to find a groove and grind it out, just go into another world. That’s where I was. That’s what I felt like today.”

The victory obviously pumped up Lavallee’s confidence. Who knows, he may even return in July when the summer race is held over the same course.

“I’ve heard the legend of this, the little town that has that blockbuster race,” Lavallee said. “The race where you get international athletes whether they’re Irish, English or Kenyan or Ethiopian. And I can’t wait because now I know the course and I definitely know I can run well here and it will be real fun.”

Diana Davis of Providence was the first female finisher and the twelfth overall with a time of 29:09. Providence’s Michaeline Nelson was the second woman finisher and fourteenth overall with a time of 29:57. The third female to complete the run, 19th overall, was Cumberland’s Kim Chula-Maguire with a time of 30:26.

Fifteen-year-old Sean Blythe was the first Little Compton finisher and 17th overall with a time of 30:13. Geoff Manning (30th, 32:30) and Raymond Hutton-Czapski (48th, 35:01) were the second and third Little Compton runners to complete the race.

Little Compton’s Theresa Gallagher was tops in the female teenage bracket. The 15-year-old placed 63rd overall with a time of 35:59. Fellow Little Comptonites Rick Smith (35:32) and George Gauthier (36:02) were second in their respective age brackets.

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