Race #181 - NC Music Hall of Fame Rhythm & Run 5k - Kannapolis, NC - 06/16/12

We had a good time at this new race set in Cannon Village in Kannapolis just a block from the North Carolina Research Campus. After running through the research campus we raced along the Kannapolis greenway for much of the race before circling back around to Cannon Village. The race was sponsored by the NC Music Hall of Fame and proceeds were to support this nonprofit that honors musicians and songwriters of all genres who are from North Carolina.

This was the first race in what they plan on making an annual event, and I think it went well except for a couple of minor snafus mostly having to do with the awards. The awards were excellent -- and unique -- but unfortunately they combined both male and female runners into the same categories, and to top it off there were 10-year age groups. By their reaction to the disappointment with the awards I believe it was more of an oversight instead of trying to penny-pinch and save a few bucks on awards. I think that not being runners themselves they just assumed that it was normal to place everybody (male in female) in the same age groups. After they found out how they should have done it they made an announcement right away that next year they would have 5-year age groups and both male and female divisions. I think that's fair enough and hopefully everybody will be back next year and all of the kinks will be worked out.

Toni Cruz, Linda Hefner, Richard Hefner, Phillip Straight


For me it was a fun race. With 180 finishers it's big enough to be exciting but small enough that you don't get lost in the crowd. Just a quarter of a mile or so into the race I could count all of the runners ahead of me. Phillip Straight, who finished 1st overall, had taken the lead right from the start and was running alongside Ashley Baker, who was the women's eventual overall winner. There was a total of nine runners up ahead and I was running just a few feet back in a small group of four. After a while the three who were with me dropped back just a bit so I was in 10th place by myself. There wasn't a lot of switching around after that. I eventually caught the 9th place runner, then the 8th place runner and was able to hold on to 8th place overall.  As I approached the finish, about a tenth of a mile out, I could see the clock had already turned to 21 minutes. Lately my goal is to just finish in under 22 minutes. It's been about a year and a half since I've finished in over 22 minutes in a 5k and I'd like to keep that streak going for a while. It's inevitable, I know, but I'd like to fight it off as long as I can. I thought about just resigning myself to the fact that I'd be over 22 minutes but decided to just give it everything I had and see where I ended up, and I made it with a few seconds to spare at 21:48.



Click Here for Race Results

Click Here for Photos on Vac & Dash Facebook Page (45 Photos)

Click Here for Photos on Rhythm & Run Facebook Page (230 Photos)

My Stats:

Time:  21:48
Pace:  6:56
Age Group:  1 of  7 (men only)  
Overall:  8 of 180
Average Heart Rate:  161 
Maximum Heart Race:  175
Age Graded Equivalent Time:  17:31



**************************************
* 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)
0 - 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
0 - 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)
0 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - 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)
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!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
0 - 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
1 - 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

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 (posted on Facebook)

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

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 18, 2012 at 9:23 PM

    I love the 100 point scoring system you came up with! I enjoy your blog! Tessa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Richard HefnerJune 19, 2012 at 6:10 AM

    Thanks Tessa! I've revised the rating system a couple times and probably should do it again so it'll end up closer to 100 for the top races but so far I haven't quite gotten around to it.

    ReplyDelete

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