Looks like we set some new PRs at this race! Jonny and the kids have a new one at 6:21 minute miles and I have one at 6:54. But we have to note that the course is downhill nearly the entire run. Jonny says we can count these as our "downhill PRs" but we need to have separate ones for more flat courses. Alright, I guess. Still, fun to set some new records! (And please note in amazement that Jonny ran this race 4 minutes faster than the Linda Buttars one two weeks ago. Sure, this one is downhill, but 4 minutes!? And sick all week!? Wow. Way to go, my running man.)
I was actually surprised Jonny ran so fast, as he hasn't been running much and has had a bad cold all week. But you gotta keep up with that stroller on the downhill - you practically have to chase it! Even though it was a small crowd, I was impressed with his 4th place in men overall and 3rd in men 13-29. (Yes, a ridiculous age span. What about all those 13 and 14 year old boys who would've placed first in a more narrow category! Silly. Especially since they give no ribbons or medals, what could it hurt to split up the ages more reasonably? Anyway...) I placed 4th overall in women and 2nd in women 13-29. I felt great while running and after. It was exhilarating to use the downhill to my advantage. Now, if I only didn't have such short legs I may have been able to catch Jonny and the kids!
After the race a woman, Jenny Richards, stopped me and we chatted. She said we've run many races together and so we may as well know one another! She is in her 40s and came in just before Jonny. Phew! I hope I can keep my pace up over the years. (Not that 40 is old, I just wonder if I will slow down as I age. I don't plan to!)
As fun and fast a course as this one is, we were pretty disappointed with the lack of organization and high price. $20 for a city 5k with the cheapest of white t-shirts (that just say the name of the race in a cheesy font) is just too expensive. Hopefully next year they will have a family rate and/or t-shirt opt out like I requested in an email. Also, they bus you up to the starting line. Why a charter is the transportation method of choice for the three mile ride, I will never understand. Anyway, they had to take four bus loads up. Each trip took 15-20 minutes. So the race started 40 minutes late and some poor runners who rode the first bus were up there for an hour. All of us were cold. So, as I said, terrible organization. (There was no race day registration, so they knew exactly how many people would need to be shuttled. No excuse, really.) Anyway, I don't mean to be so negative, but I believe unless things change for this race in the future, we may skip it. I hope we don't have to. It is fun to run in our own city. Here's hoping the race directors learn from this year's mistakes. I don't really see that happening, though, as last year the race ran just as non-smoothly for the same reasons. Come on, Eagle Mountain! Represent!
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