Saturday, October 5, 2019
The good and the bad: This was our 3rd year of hosting an 8K trail option, and thanks to an awesome turnout of volunteers, the race went nearly flawless. I say nearly, as there were only two negatives that I'm aware of, and I'll get those out of the way now and focus on all the positives that far overshadowed the two drawbacks: 1) Unbeknownst to us, a trail we created/maintained specifically for this race ("Hansel & Gretel" trail) was just recently leaf-blown against our wishes, replacing the trail's awesome soft pine-needle bed with slimy, slippery dirt/mud and exposed roots, and 2) an octogenarian club member collapsed in the finishing chute and had to be taken away by ambulance. The leaf-blowing is chalked up to a "rogue volunteer" and hopefully will not reoccur ever, and the collapse was obviously unfortunate, but if there's a silver lining it was that it didn't occur out in the woods, and he is now fully recovered.
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| We lucked out for likely this year only by being able to get safety orange tech singlets and stayed within the town's shirt budget. |
Pre-race: Now on to the race. A chilly 34 degrees and frost on the field awaited us upon arrival. With an exemplary race course setup team of Mikey B with the home-painted pumpkin mile markers, and a flag/sign marking team of Muddy, Justin P, and me, the setup (and subsequent take-down) went probably the quickest it ever has. Unlike last year when the idiot Race Director showed up on the starting line without a bib and needlessly and embarrassingly held up the entire race, this year I had my race attire, including bib, ready to go.
First loop (WHS course): The race got underway without incident, and after a seemingly fast trip around the field, I entered the woods just behind Muddy and Jonny. At the top of the hill, where the 5K/8K course splits, Jeff Vuono did an amazing job in his reprisal role of course marshal, and to the best of my knowledge NO one took the wrong course. Just after this split, both Jonny and Muddy went past a guy with glasses, the first of several URI club runners ahead of us, and I followed suit. About a mile in, Muddy went past Jonny. Jonny wasn't that far ahead of me entering the upper field section, and I was hoping I would catch and pass him on the steep downhill like I did two years ago, but alas, it was not it in cards today.
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| Start of 2019 Run for the Pumpkins |
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| Before entering woods, just behind Jonny, and Muddy at rear about to overtake us all |
Second loop (Pumpkins Connector / Hansel & Gretel): As we started ascending the Pumpkins Connector single-track, it seemed like Jonny was just ahead of me, until I reminded myself that's just deceiving because of all the switchbacks. I had a clear view of Jonny and the guy just ahead of him (another URI club runner) and watched Jonny go past him, and I actually gained on him on the uphill myself. After crossing the split where we'd see JV for the 2nd of 3 times, I went past the URI runner pretty comfortably and never saw him again. Unfortunately, I never saw Jonny again either, except from a distance in the pine forest on Hansel & Gretel. I slid one time on Hansel & Gretel due to a muddy section where leaf-blowed, and just tried to keep a positive focus on the race. Leaving Hansel & Gretel we started the approximately one-mile downhill section to the field and finish. I passed lots of 5K'ers here, and just about every single one of them was gracious and gave me room to pass.
Final: 34:39, 6:58 average pace. 6th overall, 1st in age group. Just 14 seconds off last year's race, and about a minute off my fast 2017 finish. Full results here.
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| Finishing strides. |
Another great year at Pumpkins. One of my favorite club races.
Waterford, CT
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Low key event at Harkness Memorial State Park, benefiting those with developmental and intellectual disabilities. After a solo warmup on a mix of public and park roads, I took the starting line with Jana about two rows behind me. There was a slight delay in starting, and as I looked around me, with no deference at all and conversely respect for all those on the starting line, I just knew that I had a high probability of winning this event.
Blasting off the starting line was a kid of about twelve and an African-American gentlemen about my age. In about 1/10 of a mile I went past both and that was it for the race. Sounds great, right? No, not really. At the park exit, there was no one there yet to point which way to turn onto the public road. They raced out of their car when they saw me coming, but by that time I was on my way as fortunately I had run the course before and knew which way it went. The way out was quite lonely and uninspiring as there were no spectators and no one pushing me.
The course is essentially an OAB. Fortunately, instead of a cone turnaround, you take a series of short 90-degree turns and soon find yourself reversed on the course heading home. The way back was much more enjoyable as you see the field of runners coming towards you, and many are very supportive. Several have told me there is no one in sight behind me. By the time I get to the last participant, my race has less than 1/2 mile left.
I cross the line and break the tape in 18:56. I don't know what I'm capable of running a 5K in these days, as I don't train for it, I'm not getting younger, and I'm coming off a bout of very limited running over the summer. What I do know is that it should still be a lot faster than 18:56, but at least it wasn't over that 19-minute artificial threshold. Jogged back to see Jana out on the course and give her some encouragement as she always does for me.
Final results: 18:56, 6:07 average pace. First place overall. Full results here.
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| Very different post-race food, but it all works for me. |
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| Followed by cake! |
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| You race whoever shows up! 1st place. |
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