Race #472 -- Stop Soldier Suicide 10k/5k -- Belmont, NC -- 09/21/19

Now in its fourth year, the Stop Soldier Suicide race keeps getting better and I've now run all four times that it's been held. Race director Ronald Rhodes always does a good job with the little details that makes it an enjoyable experience for all the runners who participate. For the first time, this year's race was held at South Point High School instead of downtown, and that made parking much better. The course remained almost the same except for the start/finish location and the route was reversed, which was a good move since it made the course flat over the last mile instead of a tough uphill.

The 10k course was exactly 6.22 miles according to my Garmin, which is perfect, but I heard a few 5k runners say the 5k course was about a tenth of a mile short, so maybe that'll be fixed next year. Although the 10k course remained basically unchanged, the 5k course is different now, which on the map looked to me straight out and back and almost completely flat so there were some faster-than-normal 5k times (which is better than slower-than-normal).

I like the race size -- not too big and not too small -- with about 300 finishers in the 5k and 10k combined (214 in the 5k and 95 in the 10k).


Stop Soldier Suicide is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to veterans and active duty soldiers who are in need of their services, and there is plenty of patriotism on display for the race festivities.

For the really fast people (not me), the 10k offers a Visa gift card to the top three overall winners in the 10k -- $125 for first, $75 for second, and $50 for third.

One of the best perks for this race was free photography, with several photographers covering different areas of the course and providing well over 1,200 professional quality photos of runners. I would guess that every runner had at least one or more pictures of themselves along the way. I didn't count but I think there were about 10 pics of me at various locations and at the finish. When you consider the majority of races charges as much as $20 per photo, if they even offer race photos at all, it's a no-brainer that this is one of the best benefits a race can offer. Of course, some people would rather not have a visual record of their misery as they're plodding along, but most of us like it.

I had a good race thanks to some recent seriousness about my diet and exercise regimen, and I cut about two and a half minutes off last year's time!



Race Name: Stop Soldier Suicide 10k/5k and Kids Dash

Location:  Belmont, North Carolina

Date: September 21, 2019

Race Rating: 102

Top 10 (10k):



Top 10 (5k):


Course:


Elevation Per Mile:

Weather at Start:


Click Here for Race Results

 Click Here for Photo Collection #1 on Facebook (600+ Photos)

 Click Here for Photo Collection #2 on Facebook (600+ Photos)


My Stats:

Time:  47:42
Pace:  7:42
Age Group: 1 of 2
Overall:  14 of 95
Average Heart Rate:  156
Maximum Heart Rate:  167
Age Grade Percentage:  74.56%

***************
* RACE RATING *
***************

RACE COURSE 
0 - 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
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION 
2 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
3 - 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
3 - 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
0 - 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
5 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
5 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0-9)
3 - 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)
2 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY 
x - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (1)expensive  (3)reasonable  (5)cheap
10 - 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
2 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (2)yes, some  (5)excellent
2 - 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:  102



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