The Old Runner

For my running group, the Gaston County Runners (GCR), this has become our biggest event of the year. It was the fifth year of the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon and I've run four of them. I'm not sure about the year I didn't run, but for all four years that I've been there the weather has been perfect. The last five miles or so is straight down Ocean Boulevard, with a turn onto the new boardwalk to the finish line at the site of the old Myrtle Beach Pavilion. It's one of the best finishes of any race I've been a part of and I look forward to it every year. This is a pretty big race with more than 3,000 finishers in the half marathon, and this year the GCR had seven runners who finished in the top 3 in their respective age groups. For the third straight year I managed to win the 60-64 age group, this year with a time of 1:35:44. I'm happy with that time although it was on a flat course and was about 30 seconds slower than last week's Hokie Half Marathon,...

The 40% chance of rain turned into 100% and the rain didn't let up until sometime later in the day. There was at least one bright spot: I won the 60-64 age group with a time of 1:35:20 and was also the first Senior Grandmaster to finish (age 60 or older) so that gives me first place in my division in the Running Journal Grand Prix after two races. Other than that the race was a complete washout for me. I think it would have been a beautiful course and a fantastic race on a clear day, but with the pouring rain throughout almost all of the race I was just glad when it was over. Pros: Scenic course if the weather had cooperated. A few hills but not nearly as bad as I expected for a race in a mountainous area. Well organized race with 300+ volunteers that did a great job under the circumstances. "No Frills" option allowed you to save some money by not getting a shirt. There was an additional "finisher shirt" given at the finish line. When somebody offered...

With some big out-of-town races coming up in the next few weeks I decided to stay near home this week and run this small local race (49 finishers). It was fun and actually seemed bigger since the 2k started at the same time as the 5k. The first mile was nearly flat but the 2nd and 3rd miles were fairly hilly on the side streets of Bessemer City. Despite the small size of the race there were quite a few fast runners there and I barely squeezed my way into the top 10, finishing 8th at 20:26. I did enjoy the race and it was organized nicely, but I did have one beef: there was an extra charge for the T-shirt if you registered on race day. I understand if they run out of shirts at a race you might not get one, but I've never seen anybody charge extra for the shirt, especially since they were already charging an extra $5 for race-day registration. Not a huge deal for me personally since I've got more shirts than I want or need, but some people really want the shirt and it should ...

As I ran this race it occurred to me why I hadn't returned since 2011: they managed to design a course that included every hill in the Town of Stanley. I did remember that there were hills but I didn't remember that they were awful... the kind that turn me back into a Gallowalker. So I'd run a little bit and then walk a little bit. I didn't count how many times I walked during the race but it was probably around ten different times. It's mostly an out-and-back course so if you had to run up a hill you got to run down it coming the opposite way, but some of the hills are the kind that you have to put on the brakes as you run down because they're so steep, thereby negating the positive downhill benefits. Despite my woes I still managed to finish 5th overall, but there were only 32 runners in the 10k. Pros: Reasonable $25 race-day registration for either race (5k or 10k). Quick results from RacingToes.com. Nice Halloween themed tech shirt. Cons: Too man...

With two great half marathons that are always on the same day each year within driving distance from me on race morning, it's a juggling act to decide which one I'll run. The Run the Valley Half Marathon is a little bit longer drive but I really like the race, although this year I opted for the Run for Green Half Marathon, which I last ran in 2011. Run the Valley has a monster climb to the top of Morrow Mountain, but Run for Green has its own challenges and seems to include every hill in Davidson. Except for the relatively flat stretches on the greenway it's pretty much a roller coaster for the rest of the race. This time around I was only about a minute slower than in 2011, but that was the year I set all of my PR's so it's encouraging that I seem to be running at just about the same level three years later. It would be nice to keep that up for the next few years. Pros: Beautiful course (although hilly) that runs through upscale neighborhoods in Davidson a...

I registered for this race a few months ago with the intention of running the full marathon. I've only run two full marathons in the past -- New Jersey in 2009 and New York City in 2010 -- and after both I swore I'd never run another one. All runners are different in some ways and not all of us are suited for marathons. This week marks my sixth anniversary as a runner, and this was my 66th half marathon, so I'm averaging 11 per year. I've become comfortable racing for 13 miles and it's now my favorite distance. I've run many more 5k races (140+) but I always prefer the challenge and excitement of the half marathon if I have a choice. Being a little envious of the people running the Boston Marathon, I thought it might be time for me to once again test the waters of the full marathon even though my two previous marathons resulted in disappointment (4:02 in NJ and 4:09 in NYC). As comfortable as I am running 13.1 miles, the wheels start falling off shortly past...

After sitting out the entire season last year of the Running Journal Grand Prix, I was really looking forward to getting back with it this year, and this is the first race of the 9-race series that will end next Memorial Day. For the past month or two I've had some relatively minor running injuries such as a pulled hamstring and a sore calf. My mileage has been lower than normal and I haven't been eating as well as I should have so I was a little concerned that I might fall apart. Fortunately I made it to the finish line without any trouble, winning the 60-64 age group and finishing first among the Senior Grand Masters (60+). The Midnight Flight consists of three races that begin about an hour apart and you can run any or all of them (1-mile at 9 p.m., 5k at 10 p.m., and 10k at 11 p.m.). It's one of South Carolina's premier road race events with a total of about 1,500 runners in the three events (296 finishers in the 1-mile race, 954 finishers in the 5k, and 246 fin...