Once a year, I like to take a look at the New Hampshire state road race records. I call it the state of the state record report. This week seems as good as any for this year's report.

The New Hampshire state road race records are the work of Bill Spencer, a runner in his 70s who lives in Litchfield, Years ago Spencer took it upon himself to be the state's record keeper. For decades Spencer has reviewed results of Granite State races and has accumulated record for races of various distances. His work can be viewed at www.nhrunning.com. As the site indicates Spencer has come up with records for eleven distances from 4K to marathon.

Not all Granite State races qualify for state records. Spencer uses USA Track and Field criteria for records and not all races in the state meet those criteria. Races must be USATF certified, must be timed using USATF standards, and must meet USATF standards for not being too fast. Many New Hampshire races don't meet all three standards, especially the timing criteria.

When setting up the state records Spencer decided to divide performances into three categories: overall records for all runners (NH residents and non-NH residents), NH residents records for overall and age group performances, and single age records. The last category, single age records, has created quite a bit of fun for a lot of Granite State runners. Overall and age group records are challenged by only the fastest of runners but single age records can be challenged by a lot more folks. A 52 year old male or female can look at the record for that age then attempt to break that record.

Just like other sports that revel in records the New Hampshire state road race records reflect some great history. Olympian Lynn Jennings owns the 5K, 8K, and 10K women's records while fellow Olympian Cathy O'Brien has run the fastest marathon any woman has run on Granite State soil. Runners who are lesser known, but still legendary within some New England running circles, have also set records in New Hampshire. An Irish runner named John Doherty, an elite runner in the mid-1980''s ran a blistering 28 minutes, 40 seconds to set the state's 10K record in 1985. In the New Hampshire only division names like Guy Stearns, Craig Fram, and John Mortimer appear all over the state records pages.

Running shorts: When she was in her teens and early 20s Barb Higgins of Concord was one of New England's top female runners. She is older now (49) but still has it. Higgins was top female at the Moose Milers 5K in Concord on Sept. 23. ... Concord's Connor Jennings has had a good September. Jennings won the Ironheart Mile in Concord on Sept. 22. A week earlier he was the winner of the Lobsterman Triathlon in Freeport, Maine.

Andy Schachat's column appears every other week in the New Hampshire Sunday News.He can be reached at schachat44@gmail.com.