Winter Wonderland 5-Miler

Milford, CT

Sunday, January 26, 2025

I'm relatively new to the USATF-CT circuit, as this only my third year, but every two years a new slate of races is chosen for the road grand prix, and there were several new entries this year:

Writing this over a month post-race makes it hard to remember details.  Checked in at the school, got my bib, and went out for a 2-mile warm-up, plus a few strides.

31°F as the 365 of us crossed the starting line as the gun went off.  I went through the first mile in 5:43.  It was net downhill, but still too fast.  Competitor Brett Stoeffler went by, and as he did, I told him I'm glad I'm not in his age group anymore (he's still in his 50s).  He told me to come along and we could work together.  Sounded good, but I didn't have it.

I struggled over the remaining four miles, never coming close to dipping under 6 minutes again.  As a result, it was pretty frustrating watching so many runners pass me.  About four miles in, I remember watching a guy in shorts over tights pass me.  Ugh.  This was not a fast course, with about 20 turns and many rolling hills, but I knew that beforehand and figured I would somewhere around 31 minutes.

Finishing in a chip time of 32:06 was much slower than I had planned.  

Final result:  Gun time 32:08, chip time 32:06.  49th overall of 365.  1st in age group.  Full results here.

Went for a 2-mile cooldown, and then came back inside the school for awards.  They had two different hot soups, chicken noodle and lentil.  That was very much appreciated!

Nice mug for age group award