This race has a challenging course. Last year, it was modified to eliminate “Hell Hill.” Still, if the road is not going up, it is going down. And there are 282 feet up the bottom of Hell Hill.
I arrived at the Rouse Center about an hour before the scheduled start time. I wanted to run a 32-minute warm-up and keep 10 minutes to hit the bathroom, put on my singlet, and get to the start. So, I needed to start my run at 7:55 am.
On-time, I headed out to warm up, four repeats of walking for 2 minutes and running for 6 minutes. My route was on Courthouse Road, heading toward Colonial Forge High School.
Before the race, I looked for registered males older than 60. There were eight. I recognized four of them. I felt I could run faster than three. There was a runner from Alabama and a few other 60-year-olds. If I ran smart, I may finish in the top three.
The temperature at 8:45 am was 62 degrees with a dew point of 52 degrees, clear skies, and no wind. I wore my usual attire for these conditions: shorts over compression shorts, a FARC singlet, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 20 shoes.
I arrived a few minutes before the scheduled start time, stood in the sun for the national anthem, and headed for the start corral. There were about 80 runners in front of me. Too many were young kids.
My goal was to break 27 minutes, an 8:42 pace. I planned to run consistently, push Hell Hill after mile 2, and run as hard as possible to the finish.
After the gun, I ran comfortably up the first hill and down to the 1/2 mile mark. I clicked my watch where I thought the 1-mile turnaround location was. I didn’t want to see how fast I was running. So, I did not look at my watch the entire race.
After the first half mile, many little kids who started fast began to fade and block the road. The blocks were challenging to navigate. Before the one-mile mark, I noticed Rich Bovone running near me. He was one of the 60-year-olds I felt I could beat. I
I went through 1/2 Mile in 4:40 and 1 Mile in 8:32. It looks like I overshot the 1/2 spot.
Rich and I flipped the lead a few times. I didn’t want to pull him along, nor did I want to hang behind him.
Continuing on Mine Road, I started to see runners coming back. The Lomong brothers and Serena Burla were setting blistering paces. I saw Terry McLaughlin and one other runner with gray hair. If I wanted to place, I needed to beat Rich.
Of all the course sections, this part appears to be the flattest. I pushed ahead of Rich. After turning around, he is about 20 meters behind. I coasted, wanting to recover some before Hell Hill. The 2-mile mark is at the bottom of the hill, and my second mile is a 9:03.
As planned, I ran as hard as I could up the hill with an increased turnover. Coming down the hill, my lead over Rich has extended to about 50 meters. I can’t stop pushing now.
After turning onto Mine Road, there is a brief down, followed by an up, down to the 1/2 mile to-go location, an extended up, and then down to the finish. I caught a young lady I thought was in her 30s. If I can hook onto her, I can rest on the downs and push the ups.
On the ups, I reduced my heel strikes and kept my cadence up. We crest the last hill at about the same time and start working the final downhill. My third mile is 8:49.
In the last tenth of a mile, I passed Hannah McConnell and her friend, who encouraged me, in their onesies. I spotted the display clock with a time in the high 26 minutes.
I sprint if you can call it that, the last tenth in 49 seconds. My finish time was 27:14 for 83rd overall, 58th Male, and third male 60 and over. Yes, mister gray hair was second coming all the way from Alabama to run this race.
My time was 51 seconds faster than last year. This year’s field was faster, as I finished first in my age group in 2022.
And the young lady, Kendra Morgan, I ran with the last mile won the female 60 to 69-year-old age group.
I ran a 16-minute cooldown, then hung out for awards. The age group award was a large Halloween-themed blanket.
Being near the courthouse, I took advantage of early voting for the November election that was available. I usually vote on election day. However, I may not be in the area this year.
Three more 5km and a half-marathon will complete my 2023 season.