2004 October 17: KC101 5K for Breast Cancer Awareness
Larry and I were planning on running the Manchester Road Race this Thanksgiving, but we wanted to get seeded to avoid
starting with thousands and thousands of huddled masses. (We had
run the Manchester Road Race in 2001, and we found that because of how
many people were on the road with us, we only got to actually run in the last mile or so of
it.) So we needed to run a certified course in advance of the
Road Race (and we needed to run it quickly enough!), and this little
course in New Haven was what we found. We figured that we'd have
really fast times, since New Haven doesn't have any hills.
We ran this race with Melissa, who has been known to be rather fleet of
foot. The three of us warmed up with a little running around the
Yale campus and then lined up near the front for the start.
Bang! Larry and I set out at a decent pace, with Melissa right
behind us. Within 3/4 mile or so, she decided that we were
pushing a little too hard, so we dropped her.
We soon learned that we were wrong in believing New Haven to be
hill-free. New Haven might not have many hills, but this little 5K
course certainly made the most of the hills there were. At our
monstrous pace, the course was tough going! Larry & I hung
together for a long time,
but then Larry started pulling away, and I didn't feel like I
could/should do much about it. It turned out that the hills were
his undoing, though. In the last mile or so, I caught up to him
on a hill, and we ran together for a bit more. Coming up on last
half-mile flat stretch or so at the end, I sped up, but Larry was out
of gas. I pulled away from him and passed someone else to finish
reasonably strongly (although rather breathlessly!). It turned
out that I was third in my age group, so I received a little worthless
trophy for my efforts, and I must admit to being oddly pleased to have
gotten
it. The guy between me and Larry was in our age group, so even
though he barely finished behind me, he was fifth in his (our) age
group.
As Larry and I cooled down, Melissa hove into view. She had spent
most of the race in second place among the women, but near the end the
leader faltered and she took the lead. She won handily and was
given a free pair of running shoes for her efforts.
The three of us talked with other racers, and we all decided that--
certified or not-- the course was not
5K. Even taking into account the shockingly substantial hills,
the race took more out of everyone than a 5K should. (Larry and
Melissa made some noises about how they're going to verify the course
distance; I imagine they haven't followed through yet.) Nice
race, though, even though it kind of beat us up. And most
importantly, of course, we got our seeding for the Thanksgiving race.
My final time for the race was 20:04, and Larry's was 20:13.
starting with thousands and thousands of huddled masses. (We had
run the Manchester Road Race in 2001, and we found that because of how
many people were on the road with us, we only got to actually run in the last mile or so of
it.) So we needed to run a certified course in advance of the
Road Race (and we needed to run it quickly enough!), and this little
course in New Haven was what we found. We figured that we'd have
really fast times, since New Haven doesn't have any hills.
We ran this race with Melissa, who has been known to be rather fleet of
foot. The three of us warmed up with a little running around the
Yale campus and then lined up near the front for the start.
Bang! Larry and I set out at a decent pace, with Melissa right
behind us. Within 3/4 mile or so, she decided that we were
pushing a little too hard, so we dropped her.
We soon learned that we were wrong in believing New Haven to be
hill-free. New Haven might not have many hills, but this little 5K
course certainly made the most of the hills there were. At our
monstrous pace, the course was tough going! Larry & I hung
together for a long time,
but then Larry started pulling away, and I didn't feel like I
could/should do much about it. It turned out that the hills were
his undoing, though. In the last mile or so, I caught up to him
on a hill, and we ran together for a bit more. Coming up on last
half-mile flat stretch or so at the end, I sped up, but Larry was out
of gas. I pulled away from him and passed someone else to finish
reasonably strongly (although rather breathlessly!). It turned
out that I was third in my age group, so I received a little worthless
trophy for my efforts, and I must admit to being oddly pleased to have
gotten
it. The guy between me and Larry was in our age group, so even
though he barely finished behind me, he was fifth in his (our) age
group.
As Larry and I cooled down, Melissa hove into view. She had spent
most of the race in second place among the women, but near the end the
leader faltered and she took the lead. She won handily and was
given a free pair of running shoes for her efforts.
The three of us talked with other racers, and we all decided that--
certified or not-- the course was not
5K. Even taking into account the shockingly substantial hills,
the race took more out of everyone than a 5K should. (Larry and
Melissa made some noises about how they're going to verify the course
distance; I imagine they haven't followed through yet.) Nice
race, though, even though it kind of beat us up. And most
importantly, of course, we got our seeding for the Thanksgiving race.
My final time for the race was 20:04, and Larry's was 20:13.
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