Resolution 5K Beach & Trail Race

Saturday, January 7 - Scarborough Beach, Narragansett
Resolution 5K Beach results.  An unusually warm day in the low 50s greeted us for this fun race.  Despite the sun and warmth, it felt cool due to the stiff breeze out of the south.  I met up with Justin, Jonny, and Steve for a pre-race course run.  The first and last mile were mostly on the beach, with the middle mile mostly trails through sand dunes and woods. 
Mile 1 (6:04 pace):  Registration was real smooth this time, and unlike the Old Mountain race, we started out relatively on time.  The first 1/4 mile was on a grass field and it was a little slow going at first over muddy grass and jumping low barriers.  After this section, I got passed by Justin and passed Jonny as we headed downhill and onto the beach where my pace really picked up.  I loved running on the flat and hard beach, especially with a tailwind out, and by the end of the 1st mile I had passed more runners and caught back up to and was just behind Justin. 
Mile 2 (6:15):  I followed Justin off the beach, through the sand dunes, and gave it a little more distance when he slid in mud.  Justin put a little more distance on me at Black Point, but then I caught up again as the pack of 3 in front of him slowed a bit on the trails, especially going through the remains of a stone building with some tough turns.

Mid-stride sprint to finish

Mile 3 (6:24):  Slowest mile, mostly due to the strong headwind now on the beach coming back.  Justin and I continued to follow the pack of 3 through sand dune trails until we were deposited back on the beach for the remainder of the run.  At that point, Justin passed the three on the outside right, while I passed the three on the outside left, and we ran parallel for a few yards before I ducked behind him and tried to draft anything I could off of Justin.  I looked briefly at my watch - damn, only 2.3 miles - still a long ways to go.  I contemplated whether at some point I should try to speed up and pass Justin, but he soon nullified that option as he threw a surge for the remainder of the race that I could not match.  The rest of the run I picked up the pace as best I could (6:04 pace for last 0.1 mile), fearful that one or more of the pack of 3 might retake me.  I kept thinking the end of the race was just ahead but it ended up further than I imagined. 

I crossed the line in 19:16, good for 4th overall and 1st in my age group.  Justin was 3rd overall, and Jonny 8th, followed by teammates Steve, 11-year old Liz, Polly, John, and CarolAnn.  Tom Bousquet from Westerly finished 2nd overall at a minute faster than me, and while he said he was signed up for WTAC, he didn't appear to count for the team in the final results.  WTAC still won the competition, and I was thrilled for the whole team.  Both the team results and my individual results exceeded my expectations.