The Old Runner

It's a small race but a good one, and I'm not just saying that because the race director is a good friend of mine. It's also part of the Gaston County race series, which means there are a lot of friends there to run with (and to compete with). There are some hills but they're mostly smaller ones, and the course seems to be one of the fastest around since it results in some of my best times each year. Most years the weather has been cold for this one, but this year it was about as perfect as you could ask for, at least for me since I prefer warmer temperatures than most runners. I spent almost all of the race running a little ahead or a little behind several friends -- Andy Wilmarth, Scott Hammontree, and Kenny Primm. Scott had a score to settle with me since I beat him in the last race. I didn't realize it until about halfway through the race but he was staying just a couple steps in back of me the whole way. I could hear him breathing but didn't know it was...

I've run this race several times previously back when it was the Lungstrong 15k and I always ran the 15k until this year. With my self-imposed limit of 10k I decided the 5k would be better for me this time around and when it was over I was glad I chose the shorter distance. The temperature was warm for this autumn race that's usually on the cool side, and the 72 degrees felt fine to me although the 100% humidity made things a little more difficult. It's a pretty big local race with 327 finishers in the 15k and another 349 in the 5k, and when I arrived an hour before the race I was surprised at how many runners were already there. Guess I'll have to leave a little earlier next year. I wanted to run under 23 minutes but I didn't quite make it, finishing in 23:19, but I was happy with being 14th overall. Race Name:  Novant Health Lake Norman 15k/5k Location:  Cornelius, North Carolina Date:  September 29, 2019 Race Rating:  94 Winners: Course (5k...

After running quite a few bigger races lately, it was nice to get back to one of the smaller races in the Gaston County race series. This year's race had 114 finishers, and I usually like this kind of race where you can park near the start/finish, visit with everybody you know, and not get lost in the shuffle. With only 77 feet of elevation gain, it's also one of the flattest races around and my time of 22:53 landed me in 5th place overall (another nice perk of smaller races) although it might have been just a little short. My Garmin measured 3.04 miles and I heard somebody else mention 3.07, but it was close enough. The race was sponsored by Promised Land Baptist Church, and the pastor not only served as race director but also ran the race. All of the proceeds benefited their Nicaraguan mission fund. Age groups were limited to 1-deep in 10-year age groups, but the awards for 1st place were nice but small trophies (rare these days), and really nice trophies for the top 3 ma...