Race #175 - Beach Blast 5k - Albemarle, NC - 05/12/12

It's a little bit of a drive to Albemarle so we don't get over there as often as we would like, but it's always fun to run a Vac & Dash race. For the uninitiated, Vac & Dash is a store in downtown Albemarle that sells, you guessed it, vacuum cleaners and running gear. That may sound like an odd combination, and it really is, but thanks to owner Peter Asciutto's outgoing personality, ingenuity, and unique perspective on how to organize a race, Albemarle's running community is one of the largest and most enthusiastic you'll find anywhere.

 Never mind the fact the Albemarle is a couple hundred miles from the beach. We're approaching summertime, which is beach season, so I'll just guess that's the reasoning behind the name. It's probably best not to try to over-think these things.

After my less-than-stellar showing in last week's race I decided last Sunday that I needed to lose weight. Instead of Weight Watchers this time around I thought I'd take the free route and go with Calorie Count, which is a great online program that doesn't cost anything and works beautifully. Of course, like any diet plan, it only works if you do the things you're supposed to do, and that's where I generally trip up. This time though I managed to stick with it all week. I ate less than 2,000 calories each day and didn't eat extra because of running, and by the end of the week I had lost 5 pounds, going from 152 to 147. With two big races coming up in the next two weeks I know that the only way to do well is to drop those extra pounds I've been carrying for the past six months. So far, so good, and now that I'm on a roll I plan on sticking with it until I get back down to my optimum weight of 140 pounds.

The first two miles of the race were tough, with a gradual series of uphill climbs of varying degrees. Fortunately, the last mile paid us back for all of that climbing with a lot of downhill. If I get to choose (and I rarely do), I prefer the uphills to be in the first part of the race and the downhills in the last half, so it worked out well for me.

Two weeks ago I ran two 5k races: the Cherry Blossom 5k (21:57) on Friday night and the Bulldog 5k (21:20) on Saturday morning. Having lost 5 pounds this week my main goal was to run in under 21 minutes. I crossed the finish line today at 20:58, and I'm pretty sure the improved time is the result of losing the 5 pounds. I'm hoping that when (and if) I lose the other 5 pounds my 5k times will dip back down to the range of 20:30 or so.


Click Here for Race Results


Click Here for 400+ Free Photos on Facebook (Vac & Dash page)


My Stats:

Time:  20:58
Pace:  6:46
Age Group:  1 of  9
Overall:  19 of  420

**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
2 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
0 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
2 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
2 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
1 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
1 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric (had to register in advance)
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes  ------> 400+ free pics!
5 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
2 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  77

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Race #174 - New River Half Marathon - Todd, NC - 05/05/12

Being a glutton for punishment, I was elated to hear the alarm go off at 3 a.m. Saturday morning. It wasn't so much the early wake-up time -- I try to get up a 4 a.m. every morning anyway. The day's punishment that I eagerly anticipated was the 13.1 miles of hills at the New River Half Marathon. I ran this race last year and it was my slowest half marathon of the year out of 13 that I ran. I remembered that there were hills but I don't think I appreciated the magnitude of the hills. There are a couple of 300-foot climbs as well as a couple of 100-foot climbs, and since I do very little hill training the results are just about what you would expect. I've always been a proponent of the run/walk method and used to incorporate regular walk breaks in every race. Over the past couple years I've mostly stopped doing that, instead trying to run the entire race without any walk breaks, at least most of the time. This race is an exception to the rule though. Last year I walked a considerable amount and this year I did the same. As you can see by the downward spikes on the chart that represent walk breaks (because of the slower pace) I walked about 15 times in this race, and so many times on the last hill that I couldn't distinguish where one stopped and another started.

This was an unusual race for me in that it was the first time I had ever started near the back of the pack at the beginning of the race. Usually I line up near the front and take off fast -- always faster than I should according to most people. The result is that I slow down and get passed by a lot of people that I left near the starting line. The theory I'd heard was that if I would start off slowly and gradually build up my speed, then I'd have much more left for the end of the race. It sounds logical and since I didn't have any great aspirations for today's race I thought it would be a good time to try it. Looking back now after the fact, it did work out pretty much the way it should.

I did some calculations that I don't want to bore you with, but the bottom line is that I ran the first three miles 3 minutes and 16 seconds slower than I did in last year's race. I did indeed have some extra steam in the last three miles and ran those last three miles 3 minutes and 20 seconds faster than the previous year. I actually did feel better in those last three miles this year, and the slower miles at the beginning felt good as well. As a matter of fact, being able to pass hundreds of people gradually over the first few miles after starting in back was kind of fun.






There were a couple of drawbacks that I encountered with this experiment though, and I think I'll go back to my previous way of doing things. The first problem is that even though it was fun to pass all of those hundreds of people, it took a lot of jostling around left and right to pass people. There was a bigger problem though: after starting out slowly I never really seemed to build up enough steam to get to what I think of as my cruising range -- the heart rate I normally build up to in a race and try to hold it throughout. No doubt my actual pace gets slower but most of the time I'm able to hold that same heart rate. In this race after starting with such a low heart rate for a couple miles I never really got into that zone.

One other consequence of starting in the back of the pack is that I ended up crossing the starting mat 38 seconds after the race began. At the awards I was named as winning 1st place in my age group. Looking at the results now though I'm listed in second place. Even though my chip time was 1 second faster (1:46:36) than the person listed in 1st place (1:46:37), his gun time was faster than mine by 35 seconds. Theoretically at least, if I had started up where I normally do and ran the same race I might have won by a second or two. You never know, and it doesn't matter a lot, but you can be sure that in the future I'll be up front. And just for the record, I do agree that the results should be by gun time and not chip time, so if there is a contest between two people, especially in the same age group, they are going head-to-head at the finish line.


Click Here for Race Results

Click Here for Photos from HD Elite Photography


My Stats:

Time:  1:46:36 (chip time)
Pace:  8:12
Age Group:  2 of  10  gun time  (1 of  10 chip time)
Overall:  40 of  477

**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
2 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
0 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
0 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
0 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
1 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
2 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
1 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
5 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
2 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  65

Race #173 - Bulldog 5k - Charlotte, NC - 04/28/12

After having run a 5k only about 12 hours before this one I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to submit myself to that first mile torture again or not, but I figured what the heck... the weather's nice so I may as well take advantage of it. Like many springtime Saturday mornings, there were races all over the place. I'd heard about the Bulldog 5k and it looked like a good race so that's where I landed. Linda decided to sleep in and let me fly solo since she ran the Friday night 5k.

As soon as I arrived and hopped out of the car I saw Aaron Linz, the president of the Charlotte Running Club. We talked a minute or two. I had seen on Facebook that he was the overall winner of the Waxhaw Town & Country race on Friday night and he was coming over to see if he could string together two wins in a row. A few minutes later I saw Alejandro Arreola, one of my favorite fast guys and last year's Running Journal Grand Prix Open Champion. He introduced me to Megan Lordi, a fast chick but who was at the race only to take a few pics and puppysit while Alejandro ran the race. Other than that I didn't know anybody at all at the race although I did meet a couple of nice people, which is one of the reasons that races are so much fun.



This is a fairly large 5k -- 455 finishers this year -- with many more kids than grown-ups. The race is held at St. Matthew Catholic School and I'm sure it's a big school event so there are kids everywhere. As usually happens in a race full of kids, as soon as it starts there are legs and arms flying all over the place with kids zigzagging in and out. I love to see kids running so I don't mind, but I do try to take some extra caution so that I don't get tangled up in the free-for-all for the first quarter mile or so. After that things tend to calm down as most of the sweaty, red-faced young'uns run out of gas and realize they've started out just a little too fast.

Thanks to Megan for the photo!

In the end, the only two people I knew at the race -- Aaron and Alejandro -- finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the race. I was 24th overall, but more importantly, 37 seconds faster than the previous night so I felt pretty good about that. The 1st place age group award included a $20 gift certificate at Omega Sports, one of the race sponsors. As more and more trophies and other awards end up in boxes in the garage I've come to appreciate winnings such as money and gift certificates much more in races.


Click Here for Race Results


Click here for Official Race Website


My Stats:

Time:  21:20
Pace:  6:52
Age Group:  1 of  3
Overall:  24 of  455

**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
1 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
2 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
0 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
0 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points) (May revise this later)
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
2 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
2 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  64

Race #172 - Cherry Blossom 5k - Cherryville, NC - 04/27/12

In the first of two races for me this weekend we headed out to Cherryville on Friday night for the Cherry Blossom 5k. This is a small but fun race we ran last year when it was a Saturday morning race. The move to Friday night proved to be a good one with about a 50% increase in the number of runners from last year to this year (72 finishers in 2011 -- 111 finishers in 2012).

I enjoy evening races and hope they'll keep this one in the evening. Having said that, however, I don't seem to do quite as well in night races. I did manage to win the 60-64 age group with a time of 21:57 and finished 7th overall, but that's my slowest 5k since October 2010, when I ran 22:01 at the HOP race in Morganton. No biggy really, but after having made a lot of progress last fall and running my best times ever I really don't want to start heading off in the opposite direction just because I'm now in my sixties.

Thanks to Karen Gagnon for the photos!

Much of first mile in this race is downhill, and of course, what the downhill giveth the uphill taketh away, so after running a fast first mile my second and third miles were pretty slow by comparison. I think part of my problem with evening races is not eating exactly right in the hours leading up to the race. With morning races I have a fairly standard healthy regimen that I follow, but with a night race my diet's usually a mess before I get there.

Some of the Gaston County Runners
Liz (on the left) was 1st overall female.

I really enjoy smaller races, especially when they're run as well as this one. The new race timing company "Racing Toes" out of Lincolnton did a super job with the timing and the much improved finish line. The age group awards were really nicely designed custom medals -- surprisingly nice quality for a small race. There was plenty of pizza for runners after the race, which always makes me happy. Best of all I think is that a lot of people from our group, the Gaston County Runners, were there. It's nice to run a race with a bunch of friends, especially when you can find them before and after the race. Some races are so huge that it's hard to find anybody, but in a race this size it's easy to keep track of each other.


Click Here for Overall Race Results


Click Here for Age Group Results


My Stats:

Time:  21:57
Pace:  7:06
Age Group: 1 of  5
Overall:  7 of 111

**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
5 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast! (Pizza is always a feast!)
0 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
0 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
0 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
2 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  64

Race #171 - Run for the Money 5k - Gastonia, NC - 04/21/12

It was nice to be able to stay in town this week for a race, and this is Gastonia's biggest race of the year. As a fundraiser it's a huge success, bringing in over a million dollars for various organizations in Gaston County. The top two finishers in each age group get to direct $500 and $250 (1st and 2nd place respectively) to the organization of their choice. I won 1st place in the 60-99 age group and was happy to  be able to send $500 towards The Brice Foundation, which supports people with disabilities in Gaston County.

There's a lot to like about this race. It generates plenty of excitement for sure and is a huge event for the Girls on the Run of Gaston County. It's possibly the biggest event of the year held in downtown Gastonia, which many of us would never see otherwise. There's more entertainment on stage during the event than I've seen at virtually any racing event.

Nevertheless, with so much to like there are a couple of things about it that suck the appeal right out of it for many of the runners who get up on most Saturday mornings and head for a race. One is the age group awards. For a race this size there really should be 5-year age groups instead of 10-year age groups. Those 5-year age groups should go 3-deep. Instead of $500 for 1st place and $250 for place it would be easy enough to change it to $200 for 1st and $100 for 2nd or any other amount.

The other problem with the race is that there is no post-race food at all. I go to a lot of races and there's not another race that I can remember that doesn't have at least something for the runners afterwards other than a bottle of water at the finish line. Bananas, oranges, and bagels are considered the bare basics, and many races go way beyond that to ensure a memorable race and good experience for the runners. This is an even more glaring omission when you take into account the great entertainment at this race and the fact that there are dozens of booths set up by the different organizations involved. The argument can be made, of course, that it's for charity and the money is being used for charitable purposes, but hey, almost all races are for a worthy charity of some sort.

The course is a tough one, basically dropping in elevation the first half of the race and climbing back up during the second half, including the last half mile or so being uphill. To complicate matters there are also 18 turns on the course, as you can see on the map below. Somebody mentioned to me that this race used to be mostly flat, straight up Franklin Boulevard and back. It would be a definite improvement to go back to that.


Click Here for Race Results

My Stats:

Time:  21:36
Pace:  6:56
Age Group:  1 of  21
Overall:  63 of 1312 (4.8%)




**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
2 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
0 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
0 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
0 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
0 - 65+ group (1)
0 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
1 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
1 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
0 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
0 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
2 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes (Gaston Gazette photos)

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
0 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  44

Race #170 - Charlotte RaceFest Half Marathon - Charlotte, NC - 04/14/12

This was my 5th half marathon in the past 8 weeks, and while it's probably not the best training regimen for a 60-year-old runner to be following, it's the season when there are a lot of half marathons and since it's my favorite distance I may as well squeeze them in while I can. In a couple months the weather's too hot and just about the only racing distance that exists in the heat of the summer is the 5k.

Speaking of seasons, it's also tax season, and that means that a great portion of my weekend will be devoted to doing my taxes. Yes, I always put if off until the last weekend before they are due, and yes, I always owe money. Being pinched for time, this will be short and sweet.

I knew I was in trouble when I was talking to Butch Holt just before the race started. Something was mentioned about heart rate training and he asked me what my heart rate was. I looked down at my watch and it read 92. He held his up and it read 61. "I'm real relaxed," he said. Butch is most likely the fastest runner in the state of North Carolina in the 60-64 age group right now and has been running great lately, finishing 6th overall in an ultramarathon two weeks ago and easily running 50+ miles per week. I, on the other hand, have been struggling to run more than about 30 miles a week recently and each of the first four half marathons over the previous seven weeks leading up to this one was progressively slower than the one before it, so I was hoping to turn things around a little in this race.

Long story short, Butch passed me about 3 miles into the race and never looked back. I felt pretty good, if not blazingly fast, and still finished 2nd in the age division and 87th overall out of 1,652 runners in the race at a time of 1:36:36, which was a little over a minute faster than the Knoxville Half Marathon a couple weeks ago so I'm happy with that. I don't have another half marathon for three weeks so that'll give me some recovery time before the brutal New River Half Marathon up in the hills, where I ran my slowest race of the year last year.


Click Here for Race Results


My Stats:

Time:  1:36:36
Pace:  7:20
Age Group: 2 of 11
Overall:  87 of 1,652




**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
2 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
2 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
0 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
1 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent (Expensive New Balance clothing!)
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
1 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
1 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
0 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
2 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
0 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no (you can park close to the start or finish, but not both)
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
2 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  69