(Former Cumberland High star and 2011 Arnold Mills' winner Bobby Hartnett appears ready for another victory in his hometown race after a sub 20-minute effort in NYC.)
What has been status quo at the annual Arnold Mills Road Race in Cumberland each Fourth of July holiday is you never know who will show up. It's not uncommon to have most of your elite runners registering the day of the race.
With that in mind, we don't have a complete list of who will be vying for individual glory this weekend at the 48th edition of the popular race. But we do have confirmation from a trio of past champions that are scheduled to answer the gun for the 9 a.m. start.
In the women's race, last year's winner, Hilary Dionne, with be back, looking to make it two in a row. In the 2014 race, the former Cumberland High all-stater and one of the top U.S. marathoners won convincingly with a course record of 22 minutes, 32 seconds. Just like last year, Arnold Mills will be Dionne's first race since competing at the Boston Marathon this past April where she placed 15th overall among women with a time of 2:40:42.
Dionne gained instant notoriety at Boston this year when 2014 Boston Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi, who started the race 30 minutes earlier, finished in unison with the onetime high school star and raised her had in triumph as the two crossed the line.
The 29-year-old runner told Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times/Woonsocket Call that she is training for the upcoming Berlin Marathon and the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. She should be fit and ready to again run a time in the 22-minute range.
Bobby Hartnett, who graduated from Cumberland in 2006 where he was a multiple state champion, has also confirmed he's competing in his hometown race. Hartnett won the 2011 event and recently finished 11th in a four-miler in New York City where he ran 19:43.
Perhaps the most familiar face that will be at Saturday's race is 42-year-old Chris Magill, the ex-St. Raphael standout, who has been victorious at Arnold Mills a record six times. Magill's last win at Arnold Mills was in 2012. He finished fifth last year against runners that were mostly half his age.
Again, don't forget that MileSplit RI will be filming the entire race on Saturday and will also provide commentary alongside former Cumberland all-stater Jim Dandeneau, a two-time winner at Arnold Mills.
For more information on the race, click here.
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Prior to the start of the race, there will be a tribute to longtime Cumberland cross-country coach Harry Gederman, who died earlier this year. Gederman was a popular figure throughout his years at the school. He produced numerous all-state runners and his teams captured several divisional title and captured a state championship in 1977. In honor of Gederman, a replica of the T-shirts his 1977-78 team printed up that season, which had the phrase, "Harry's Heros," printed on it, will be available for past members of the team. To add to its uniqueness, "Heros" was purposely misspelled on the shirt.