Last modified: Sunday, June 29, 2008 1:19 AM EDT ROSE: Celebrate the 4th in Arnold Mills BY ROB ROSE / FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE The question that I been asking myself, and will probably continue to ask until I make the drive to Cumberland next Friday, is, "How many Arnold Mills Fourth of July races have I run?" Give it some thought. They do have a tendency to blend together, don't they? The race has perpetual weather conditions. I can't remember the race when it wasn't sunny and humid with the heat shimmering off baked Cumberland macadam, so there's no distinguishing races that way. Counting the number of T-shirts won't work because there were some years where you probably didn't get one. It seems like I have always been milling about Nate Whipple Boulevard on the morning of the Fourth. How many have you run? Arnold Mills enjoys a special status that many races must truly envy. I call it a 'spontaneous race' because no one signs up months in advance. Runners just show up and they show up in force. There's usually over 400 every year. Last year was the biggest yet, 514. Until recently, the race never advertised in the conventional running sources such as New England Runner and Coolrunning.com. The race application sometimes didn't show up here in Massachusetts until a week before the race. It didn't matter. Everyone knew where to be on the Fourth. That's what being around several decades will get you. The race does have some advantages that others don't. It's on a non-religious holiday, and with most runners free of work obligations, it's an open date. "I think on any other day we would only get half as many runners," said race director Tom Kenwood. It's also a convenient location for Rhode Islanders and Southeastern Mass. runners to congregate. It has little or no competition on that day with races in Harvard, Mattapoisett, Norwood and Hingham out of the travel zone. Finally there's the parade. The race serves as a prelude to a Fourth of July parade that draws hundreds of people. Many make the race the first part of a community tripleheader. "It has become a tradition as well for many to jump out of bed, run down to the start and run the race before the parade and the afternoon barbecues," said Kenwood. This year, Arnold Mills has achieved a significant milestone - 40 years. "In 1969 Al Mitchell and Jim Clarke, among others, decided to start the race," said Kenwood. "The first race had 27 competitors." Kenwood, the cross country coach at Cumberland High School, has been involved in the race every year, as a runner, helper or race director. Now Arnold Mills has a Web site, their race is in the New England Runner calendar and I actually got a race application three weeks ago. However, keeping with their low key approach, the only acknowledgment of 40 years will be an inscription on the T-shirt. The four-miler used to be a two state affair. It started on Nate Whipple, headed east into North Attleboro and traveled down Paine Road. After a brief stay in the Bay State, it returned to the shady streets of Cumberland for the down hill finish to the fire station. A few years ago, a bridge was shut down for repairs and Kenwood changed the course to keep it all in the Ocean State. After the bridge came back on line, Kenwood elected not to revert back to the original course. "Traditionalists loved the old course and it was a bit of a challenge," he said. "The new course is spectator friendly and logistically much easier for me. I have mixed feelings about it." The best aspect about the race is that it brings in runners from many locales and disciplines. Short distance, long distance, high mileage, low mileage, front runner and back of the packer come to Cumberland on the Fourth. If you haven't seen someone in a long time, Arnold Mills on the Fourth is a good place to start the search. After some reflection it occurred to me that the Arnold Mills races have piled up more than I realized over the years. So much that I may have run more of them than any other race over my 30-year running career. That's what happens when you continually show up. How many have you run? Footnotes Seven local runners conquered Mt. Washington at the 7.6 mile mountain climb last Saturday and all finished in under two hours; Mansfield's Ben Nephew zoomed up in 1:07:39, which was 24th overall; Wrentham's Kirk Bogardus was next at 1:36:43; Mansfield's Keith Purrier finished in 1:36:54, Attleboro's Mike Janicki in 1:37:42, Plainville's Ron Farkash in 1:39:51, Seekonk's Scott Harris in 1:52:37 and Attleboro's Jim Kitsock in 1:59:08; the overall winner, Eric Blake of New Britain, Conn., finished second at last February's Old Fashioned 10 Miler in Foxboro. ROB ROSE is a Sun Chronicle correspondent. Running news can be sent to P.O. Box 600, Attleboro, MA, 02703 or via e-mail to lsxplrer@comcast.net