Race #465 — 08/17/19 – OrthoCarolina 10k Classic – Charlotte, NC


With 2,000 registered runners for the 10k and 5k races, this is one of Charlotte’s biggest race events. I ran the 10k, which is a tough course that seemed like there were a lot more hills than the 267 feet of elevation gain recorded by my Garmin would indicate.
As usual, I walked early and often, and when my friend and main competition Bob Nelson passed me walking in the first mile, he asked me if everything was okay. I managed a “Fine… You know me,” as he scurried by, and for at least the first half of the race we followed our familiar pattern of him passing me as I walked up hills and me passing him back as we went down hills. I’m apparently better at running downhill than uphill. Four or five miles into the race Bob stopped passing me and when I looked back I didn’t see him. I managed to finish a minute or so ahead of him and he said afterwards he was in good shape for 4 miles but not so much for 6 (he beat me at the 4-miler on July 4th).
After the race we went to check the computers for our results and I was a little surprised to see that I was 2nd in the age group instead of 1st, but it happens. Turns out there was a snafu with the timing and I actually did have 1st place, but it was a mess that took several days for the results to get straightened out.
The problem was that more than 20 runners signed up for the 10k but only ran the 5k, and their 5k times were listed as 10k times in the results, and this caused a rippling effect throughout the entire 10k. Five of the top seven overall females in the 10k had run the 5k distance. One girl I know had finished 5th in her age group when the results were first announced, but after they were fixed she was 2nd. All four age groups from 60-69 (60-64 Male, 60-64 Female, 65-69 Male, and 65-69 Female) in the 10k had a runner listed in 1st place that had only run the 5k. I emailed the race timers and never got a response, but I figured there were probably a lot of complaints so they got it fixed and that was the most important thing.
I do hope that next year they’ll make and effort to keep the same thing from happening again such as having different bibs for each race and having volunteers check to see if the correct bibs are being worn on the 5k-only and 10k-only portions of the race.
The 10k course was also long by more than 1/10 of a mile. My watch measured it as 6.33 and I heard others say they had distances as much as 6.44 miles. We all had to run the same distance, so it’s fair, but the longer mileage kind of makes it hard to run a good time. It would be nice if the distance was a little closer to 6.2 miles.
Race Name: OrthoCarolina 10k Classic (with 5k and Fun Run options)
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Date: August 17, 2019
Race Rating:  85
Winners (10k Top 10 Overall):

Winners (5k Top 10 Overall):

My Age Group (65-69):

Course:

Elevation Per Mile:
Weather at Start:

My Stats:
Time: 51:19
Pace: 8:16 (or 8:07 if you take into account the longer distance)
Age Group: 1 of 12
Overall: 117 of 955
Average Heart Rate: 162
Maximum Heart Rate: 172
Age Grade Percentage: 69.31%
Lots of professional photos, but too expensive, at least for me.

  • RACE RATING *
RACE COURSE 
3 – Chip & Gun Timing: (3 points if yes)
2 – Water Stops: (0)none (2)normal (5)extras [Gu, sports drink, etc.]
1 – Course Marking: (0)bad (1)good
3 – Course Scenery: (0-5) 1=bad and 5=fantastic
1 – Mile Markers: (0)poor or none (1)normal (2)with clocks or time called out
2 – Volunteers: (0)too few (2)good
7 – Finish line: (0-9) 0=bad and 9=spectacular!
0 – Certified Course: (0)no (2) yes
0 – Correct Distance: (0)no (2)yes (more than 1/10 mile long)
1 – Partly or fully on unpaved roads: (0)yes (1)no
REGISTRATION 
2 – Cost: (0)expensive (2)reasonable (5)cheap!
0 – Race Day Registration: (0)no (3)yes
RESULTS 
2 – Posted online within 24 hours: (0)no (2)yes
1 – Easy to find results: (0)no (1)yes
AGE GROUPS 
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)
2 – Top Overall M/F: (0)none; (1) first only; (2)top 3 or better
2 – Masters Category(40+): (0)no (2)yes
0 – Grand Masters Category (50+): (0)no (3)yes
0 – Senior Grand Masters Category: (0)no (5)yes
AWARDS 
2 – Overall Winner Awards: (0)none (2)yes (5)excellent
2 – Age Group Awards: (0)none (2)yes (5)excellent
0 – Door Prizes or Drawing: (0-9)
5 – Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no (3)yes (5)really cool medals
POST RACE 
5 – Food for Race Participants: (0-10 with 5 being average)
7 – Entertainment: (0)no (1-9)yes
2 – Finisher times posted after race: (0)no (2)yes
REST ROOMS 
2 – Porta Potties: (0)no (1)limited, long lines (2)plentiful
0 – Indoor Restrooms: (0)no (1)limited, long lines (2)plentiful
T-SHIRTS 
2 – T-Shirts: (0)no (2)yes
3 – Design: (1-5)
2 – Material Quality: (1-3)
0 – Discount for no-shirt option: (0)no (2)yes
PHOTOGRAPHY 
5 – Professional Photography: (0)no (5)yes
1 – Prices: (1)expensive (3)reasonable (5)cheap
0 – Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.): (0)no (1-10)yes
PARKING 
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
OTHER 
0 – Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no (2)yes
0 – Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no (2)yes, some (5)excellent
0 – Part of race series or Grand Prix: (0)no (2)yes
2 – Kids Fun Run: (0)no (2)yes
x – Miscellaneous not covered above: (-10 to +10)
TOTAL: 85

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