Race #158 - Mount Mourne Christmas Elf 5k - Mooresville, NC - 12/24/11

I had heard a lot about this race from others who have run it in the past and the reviews were always good, so we headed over to the Mooresville area to experience it for ourselves. It actually exceeded our expectations, being just about a perfect race except for a glitch in putting down the cones or marking the course or something (I never figured out what exactly). The result was that the race was quite a bit longer than a 5k. According to several other people I talked to, they all had Garmin measurements of between 3.38 and 3.40 miles although personally my Garmin measured only 3.25. I don't check distances as I'm running, but I usually have a pretty good feel for how fast I'm running and I felt like I might have been somewhere between about 20:45 and 21:00, so as I approached the finish line and saw the clock at 22 minutes I was surprised. My final time of 22:39 still won my age group (55-59) and everybody else seemed to think they would have been about 2 minutes faster on an accurate course.

Other than that it was a really fun race. The race is sponsored the by Mount Mourne Fire Department and the runners are able to stay inside the building both before and after the race. The course was mostly flat and fast and the post-race food was spectacular. Of course, I ate too much as usual. It's beginning to look like I won't really get back on my diet until January rolls around, but since that's just a week from now maybe I won't do too much damage between now and then.

Notably, the winner of the race was Anthony Famiglietti, two-time Olympian and six-time National Champion at a variety of distances, who literally ran away with the race at a pace of 4:37. Back in 2007, Fam, as he is popularly known, ran the fastest 5k by an American on US soil at a time of 13:11. Now that's fast.

Click Here for Race Results

Overall Male Winner:

• Anthony Famiglietti  (15:52 -- 4:37 pace)

Overall Female Winner:

• Jean Hargett  (23:00 -- 6:41 pace)

(These paces were taken from the race results site and wouldn't be accurate for an accurate 5k. According to Dave Munger, the paces posted on the results site were adjusted to 5,541 meters.)

My Stats:

Time:  22:39
Pace:   6:35
Age Group:  1 of  15
Overall:  23 of  228


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

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
1 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
0 - 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
0 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
0 - 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)
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
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)
5 - 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)
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
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
0 - 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)
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)
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:  55*

* The new rating system generates lower scores than the old one but it's much more objective. For me personally I liked this race a lot and look forward to running it again. What made a lower score for this race was a lack of professional photography (which many races don't have) and, most notably, the glitch in the distance, which I'm sure will be corrected next year.

Race #157 - Columbia Half Marathon - Columbia, SC - 12/17/11

The Columbia Half Marathon is one of 22 races in the USRA Half Marathon Series held in cities around the country. It was the 12th half marathon in my quest to run at least one half marathon each month in 2011. Uh, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not but I missed the half marathon I had scheduled for November because we had company, and according to my wife Linda, "Nobody cares about that streak but you." After I thought about it for a minute I realized she was right, so I skipped it. No big deal really, because she's right. I'll still try to run a half marathon every month if there's one that I'm able to run, but I won't get too bent out of shape if there's not one, and some months maybe I'll run more than one.

Beginning with this race I've got a brand new Race Rating system in place. I believe it's much more objective than my original rating method since it's mostly yes or no (you can see the details below). I decided to make it add up to a maximum of 100 points so it should give a better idea of how each race really stacks up against the others. I designed my first rating system in about 15 minutes after I had run around 5 or 10 races, so I feel like I've learned a lot since then about what's good or not good about races. Of course, I could never be completely objective since it's still partly based on my own observations, but it should be better than before.

One reason for a more comprehensive rating for each race is that it's easier than writing about each race. I'm not really a writer but I do want to document my races so at least I'll know I'm still hanging in there and maybe I'll refer back to the ratings in case I plan on going back in the future. Currently my job has me too busy to spend a lot of time on a blog so I'll possibly just write a couple of sentences about a race unless there's something great I want to share.

Hope you like the new rating system, and if you think I can improve on it let me know and I'll definitely consider it. It's just some things I thought up one afternoon and I'm sure I've left out some items that might be more important to others than they are to me so let me know if you think something should be changed.

Oh yeah, we were talking about the Columbia Half Marathon...

Something I should probably mentioned is I really liked this race. There were a lot of great things about it and very few negatives. Having said that, the total of 75 points out of a possible 100 would lead you to believe it wasn't great, but with my old system of rating it would have easily been over 90. The new ratings will definitely be lower and there's no way that ANY race will reach a score of 100, but I do think it's pretty fair the way it's set up and over time the best races should still have the highest scores.


Click Here for Race Results

Click Here for Race Website

My Stats:
Time:  1:33:34
Pace:  7:09
Age Group:  1 of  12
Overall:  18 of 290  (6.2%)

Alejandro Arreola (left) Overall Half Marathon Winner
Richard Hefner (middle)
Bob Heck (right) 9th overall

RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points)

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
0 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no [half mile stretch of gravel road]

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)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
0 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
0 - 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)
1 - 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
3 - 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!
1 - 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
2 - 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
0 - 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)
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
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
1 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes

TOTAL:  68

Race #156 - Speed for Children in Need 5k - Charlotte Motor Speedway - 12/10/11

We were able to sleep in today since this week's race was a rare afternoon event. You'd think Charlotte Motor Speedway would be a great place for a road race, and it does have certain advantages such as being private property so you don't have to worry about clearing off the public streets at a certain time, but this was the second race we've run at the speedway and one drawback of both races has been the parking situation. That seems a little odd since there are probably 50,000 parking spaces or so -- surely more than any other location in the Charlotte area -- but sometimes more is not better. There were parking attendants directing people on where to park, but our parking spot was probably about a half mile from where race registration was taking place. We arrived around 2:30, which was 30 minutes before race time. We were able to jog down and make it in time, but it's still nice to be able to park more closely.

In the end, it hardly mattered that we parked a half mile from the starting line, because we ended up at the finish line on the big track at the speedway. There might have been a faster way out but if that was the case, we couldn't find it, so we and everyone who was leaving as we did just backtracked the way we ran in, and after walking a mile or so we ended up at our cars.

There were 625 finishers in the race, which makes it a fairly large race. Any time there are that many runners there should be a starting mat, which would allow everybody to be timed fairly beginning when they cross the starting line. I was near the front so it wasn't an issue for me, but after I ran all the way down the dragstrip and returned 4 minutes later, there were some people who had just crossed the starting line. Since everybody's time started as soon as the gun went off, that means some people's times were as much as 3 or 4 minutes slower just because of their position at the start.

Lord knows I don't like to complain (huh??), but while I'm at it, the coup de grace, was the age group awards. I know everybody's not interested in such trivialities, but quite a few of us are interested, and we're the ones who are most likely to frequent the races. There were awards for the top 3 male and female finishers as well as the top 3 male and female masters (ages 40 and up), and that's fine, but it was definitely downhill from there. The age group awards went 1-deep in 10-year age groups, which is pathetic. I knew that going in since the website said that's how the awards were, but it still stinks. I finished 2nd out of 40 runners in the 50-59 age group (I'm 59) and 22nd overall in the race, but still didn't place. I would hope they'll consider normal age groups and awards in the future (3 deep in 5-year age groups).

I seem to be getting a little grumpy here, so I'll try to change gears before I have to go take a nerve pill or something. There were some good things about the race... It's a nice place to run and it's not everyday you get to run a race at a major speedway. They showed the finish line and all the finishers on the Jumbotron (the world's largest HD video board) and the post race food was pretty good. Run for Your Life always does a good job posting the results quickly and getting them online. Also the post race food was pretty good, with lots of assorted snacks and fruit as well as some of the tastiest bagels I've ever had, and there was plenty of it.

I'll be 60 next time this race rolls around, which would possibly give me a better chance to get that one top spot in the age group, but it's really deeper than that. I'm a conscientious objector when it comes to 10-year age groups anyway, and only one award in a 10-year age group is ridiculous, so I'd probably just stay away on general principles unless it changes.


Click Here for Race Results


Race Rating:

9 - 1-10  Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
2 - 1-10  Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10) (there just weren't enough)
7 - 1-10  Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
7 - 1-10  Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
7 - 1-10  T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 - 4/6   Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 - 0/5   Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 - 4/6   Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 - 3/7   Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
6 - 1-10  Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
2 - 1-10  Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average) (bad logistics from start to finish)
7 - 1-10  Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
0 - 0-10  Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 - 0/5   Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
5 - 1-10  Bathroom Facilities
0-10  Other

TOTAL - 69

My Stats:

Time:  21:08
Pace:  6:44
Age Group:  2 of 40 (50-59 age group)
Overall:  22 of 625 (3.5%)

Race #155 - Silvia A. Martz Memorial 5k - Honolulu, HI - 12/03/11

It's taken me a week to get around to writing about this race, partly because I've spent all week trying to get caught up with the work I got behind on while on vacation, and partly because there's no way I can do it justice. This was just a small 5k, not unlike you would find anywhere else although since it was in Honolulu, just across the street from Waikiki Beach, it will go down as one of the most memorable and special races I've run. To make things even more special, my son Joe, who we were visiting, also ran the race. He's not a runner so a 3.1 mile race is definitely a challenge for him, but he did great and finished 3rd in his age group. I'm hoping that one day all of my kids will make running a daily part of their life. Hey, you gotta try to stay in shape somehow and there's no better way to do it.

I'm still pressed for time (another race this afternoon!) so I'll shut up and let the pictures tell the story.

We arrived early to make sure we would be at the starting line on time. It's nice to get to a December race with temperatures in the low 70s.

Joe and I warmed up just a little as we waited for the race to start.

The starting line...

Throughout the race I was near 47-year-old Craig Linghor. Up until this point about halfway through the race I was right behind him. I passed him here but we still finished within second of each other. The course was a double loop around 300-acre Kapiolani Park, the oldest public park in Honolulu.

Linda seemed to blend in with the background...

I finished 12th overall and 1st in the 55-59 age group at 20:33. I'd like to run the 5k races consistently in under 20 minutes but realistically that's probably never going to happen. Right now I've got a pretty good streak of sub 21-minute races going and it would be great if I could stay at that level for a while.

Here I'm talking to 54-year-old Ash Dustow, who finished in 17:34. That's fast at any age, and almost unbelievable for someone who's 54 years old. That's equivalent to a 25-year-old running it in 14:57. For the record, my age equivalent time would be 16:41.

I met Halina Zaleski before the race as we were both running around the parking lot warming up. She won first place in the 60-64 female age group. She has the distinction of being the first and probably the last person to ask me if I was "a ringer from the mainland." I'm sure it was tongue-in-cheek, and I just had to laugh.

My son Joe was a real trooper, being somewhat out of shape and running 3 miles. He also managed to get 3rd place in the 35-39 age group. My family accuses me of being competitive (maybe just a little bit) but to have Joe or any of my other kids running circles around me would be a dream come true. Of course it doesn't count if I'm so old I can't run anymore.

Linda made her way to the finish line as she's done more than 130 times over the past three years. I've been amazed how she's stuck with running since we began in 2008, especially since I can't ever remember seeing her run even one time prior to that in 30 years of marriage.

Pretty and fast (pretty fast) Constance Tammon from Oregon made a splash and finished 3rd overall among females (21:46)...

A post-race view from across the street...

Ash Dustow collects is award for 3rd place overall...

24-year-old Warren Nastivar was the overall winner with a time of 17:03.6...

I won the 55-59 age group. Second place went to Chris Mewhort, who would look more like Santa Claus if he weighed 345 pounds, which he did in 2006. His doctor told him to either lose weight or shop for a casket. Since then he's lost 160 pounds and has become an avid runner. I didn't get a chance to talk to him at the race but wish I had met him.

Jack Gubbins won the 85+ age group... Jack is 91 years old! Just running 3.1 miles at any speed is an accomplishment in that age group!

Click Here for Race Results


Click Here for Race Photos on My Facebook Page (96 photos)


Race Rating:

6 - 1-10  Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
6 - 1-10  Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
8 - 1-10  Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
4 - 1-10  Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
8 - 1-10  T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average) (white cotton but cool design... I'll wear it.)
4 - 4/6   Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 - 0/5   Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 - 4/6   Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 - 3/7   Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
9 - 1-10  Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
8 - 1-10  Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
7 - 1-10  Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
10 - 0-10  Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 - 0/5   Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
4 - 1-10  Bathroom Facilities
0-10  Other

TOTAL - 89

My Stats:

Time:  20:33.5
Pace:  6:38
Age Group: 1 of  4
Overall:  12 of 101