The Old Runner

This Memorial Day race gave me an extra race for the week. Having run a 5k on Saturday followed by a 17-mile training run on Sunday, I'm not sure it was the smartest decision to run another 5k on Monday but it worked out fairly well even though I was a few seconds slower than in the race two days earlier. Pros: Lots of post-race activities honoring those who are serving and have served in the military. Congressman Robert Pittenger helped hand out the race awards. Nice setting in back of Southpark Mall. It's generally the same area as Racefest and the Turkey Trot although not nearly as crowded. Photographer Ron Deshaies from Treasured Events of Charlotte did the photos. He's the best race photographer I've ever seen and will take thousands of pictures at a race all by himself. They're priced reasonably too, and anytime he's at a race I'll buy at least one photo just to support his good work. Cons: Only bad thing was that there were 10-year age gr...

Pros: Well established local race now in its tenth year. Nothing fancy but it's been one of my favorite Gaston County races for several years. 5-year age groups this year after "accidentally" switching to 10-year age groups last year. It's one of the few courses I've run often enough that I actually know the entire course. Pretty good race for me. I finished in 21:01, which was my fastest 5k this year so I can't complain although I wish I would have finished about 2 seconds faster so I would have been under 21 minutes. Good job of timing and results by the Gaston County YMCA. Cons: Tough hill in the last mile. Course was actually a little short because we started about 100 yards in front of where the race normally starts. Click Here for Race Results My Stats: Time:  21:01 Pace:  6:50 Age Group: 1 of  6 Overall:  13 of  199 Average Heart Rate:  166 Age Graded Equivalent Time:  16:36  (77.68%) One of the things I...

Wow... Just when I thought my best running days were over, this one has me thinking that maybe there are still a few all-time Personal Records waiting to be set with these old legs. Over the past month I've added about 10 extra miles per week to my training regimen and I think that made the difference. I had been running 10-12 miles for a long run each week, but I've bumped it up to 15, 16, and 17 miles over the past three weeks as I begin training for my first full marathon in four years, which will be coming up in September. I'm feeling great right now so I thought I'd do okay, but I was shocked when I found out my chip time was 1:32:13, only 16 seconds slower than my all-time PR that I ran three years ago, the fall of 2011, when I ran all of my all-time PR's. I didn't win my age group but I didn't expect to since New York City is one of the most competitive racing communities in the world. My goal was to finish in the top 10 in my age group and I fini...

Pros: RRCA State Championship 5k road race. Hundreds of free photos (many professional quality) from "Vac and Dash" and "On the Mark Sports." Big downhill in the last mile makes for a fast finish. Great post-race party. One of the best awards ceremonies for any race. This is one of Albemarle's premier races, and Albemarle is arguably the greatest running community in the state (maybe the whole U.S.), with more runners per capita than any other city thanks to the outstanding Vac and Dash running programs. Cons: There's nothing bad I can really say about this race. Additional Comments: For me personally, I was hoping to win the North Carolina Senior Grandmasters 5k championship but I finished 25 seconds behind speedy Will Morrell, who also beat me at last year's 10k championship. I actually felt okay about my time though, which was 21:08. Hoping to get back under 21:00 before long but at the age of 62 I feel fortunate that I haven...

Pros: Drawing after the race for lots of great stuff from meals to vacations.  Plenty of volunteers at all turns with someone pointing you in the correct direction. Nice technical fabric T-shirt for this year's race. Well established small-town race near home. Cons: 3-deep, 5-year age groups (which is good), but oldest age group was 60-and-over. All races should have 5-year age groups to at least age 70. I knew runners who avoided this race for that reason. Just one entry would have paid for the extra awards. Click Here for Race Results My Stats: Time:  21:13 Pace:  6:51 Age Group: 1 of  5 Overall:  13 of  139 (9.4%) Average Heart Rate:  169 Maximum Heart Race:  173 Age Graded Equivalent Time : 16:46  (76.94%) After the race with some friends. *************** * RACE RATING * *************** RACE COURSE 3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes) 0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes) 2 - Water Stops: (0)none ...

Pros: First race of the Gaston County YMCA series. Friday evening small-town race close to home. Held in conjunction with the town's Cherry Blossom Festival. Hot pizza post race! 5-year age groups to 75+ Cons: Several runners kept going straight at a turn that was either not marked or was very poorly marked, and there was no volunteer posted at the turn. I would have missed it too if not for a runner ahead of me being familiar with the turn. I finished 11th overall in the race and 4 runners who were ahead of me missed the turn and finished behind me. Not sure how many behind me missed it but it was definitely an issue. Hilly course, but there's probably not much that could be done to make it flatter. Slow race for me (I walked four times) but I'm not great at evening races anyway. Click Here for Race Results My Stats: Time:  22:20 Pace:  7:14 Age Group: 1 of  5 Overall:  11 of  151 (7.3%) Average Heart Rate:  167 Maximum Heart R...