GORHAM — Much of Olympic Nordic skier Justin Freeman’s training time during the off-season is running, and there was a road race here Saturday, so it was only natural.

Freeman, 35, of New Hampton, put the cross country skies aside and laced on running shoes for the 52nd Mount Washington Road Race and was the third New Hampshire finisher and the 24th overall with a time of 1:08-even.

New Hampshire’s top finisher was Kevin Tilton, 30, of North Conway, in 1:05:34.

“Kevin passed me around three miles and he was running the race I wanted to run,” said Freeman. “I didn’t have the legs.”

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Freeman competed in the 15K Classic event. He is the 2005 U.S. national classical style 10K champion, and is the three-time defending champion of the Mount Washington “Ski to the Clouds”, which terminates just below tree line.

“Skiing and running are different,” said Freeman. “With skiing, there’s not the same depth of the field as there was today. I’ve been lucky to ski away from the field, and usually there’s a lot of gliding. But here, it’s an uphill run.”

The Mount Washington Road Race features an average 12 percent uphill grade.

“But it’s New Hampshire, and to have a race like this 90 minutes from home is great,” Freeman added. “It’s kind of amazing racing against all these fast guys.”

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