The Run with All Your Heart 5k is a race created by the Future Leaders of Medicine group at USC School of Medicine and goes to fund a charity which fights pediatric cancer (Curing Kids Cancer). It was originally run around Segra Park, but they recruited Erin Roof and GRIT endurance and moved the venue to the School of Medicine campus. As a former med student myself, it’s always fun to come back to the old stomping grounds. I honestly have no idea how these kids manage the informational firehose of med school and find time to manage a road race in their spare time. But maybe I was just lazy.
But I’m glad they got GRIT involved. The last time I remember med students putting on a race was the old Strides for Health, in like 2010. The race course was kind of chaotic and it was a minor miracle we stayed on the non-certified route. The med student director thought a) it was a great idea to run it in June and b) run the race himself despite being the director too. Being a typical med student overachiever, he went all out and then everybody got to practice their EMT skills as he passed out and required an ambulance to take him away. Fortunately, he was ok, but damn, dude.
But Erin was sure to avoid that epic cluster from happening again. The new race has actually been run pretty smoothly, though the med student directed years featured “top 2 overall” awards and nothing else. I was assured there would be standard 3 deep this year. Packet pickup was at Craft and Draft, and while there wasn’t free beer, at least I couldn’t complain with a portion of the proceeds going towards Curing Kids Cancer. Plus, it was a step up from the 1980s American macrobrew vibe of Nightcaps. However, I did miss the nostalgia of cigarette vending machines and Miller light.
Showing up on race day, things were not looking good. It was ridiculously hot. After a couple of weekends with temps barely clearing 60 in the morning, Saturday was 71 when I got there an hour early. After a Friday dinner of tikka masala, a couple of IPAs and a night of trash sleeping, my warmup turned into a combo of 11-minute slog jog miles and a game of find an open bathroom. Sadly, my 1998 student ID didn’t work on the other med school entrances, so I was forced to use the regular bathrooms for the race. Ugh. They even had a med student volunteer blocking the hallway to go further into the building. I thought about exercising my inexhaustible privilege and entitlement to push past him but decided against it. I do have poop performance anxiety with people waiting though. I’ll put it in the next DSM.
I did a couple of miles with Lady Godby and although the course seemed pretty flat, I was already soaked in sweat. Damn you Summer, part III. There was a huge crowd at the start and lots of Hammond XC runners, so I was already working myself up in a Debbie Downer funk about not even winning anything. But hey, usually I feel like trash at the start of what ends up being a really good race.
With the gun, all the kids take off like a bat out of hell, and we begin a winding route through the campus behind the main building. I’m not more than a quarter mile in and I feel like an absolute wreck. The sun is beating down, my legs feel like brick, the whole nine yards. Everyone is ahead of me, including Artis, who appears he’s going to make this the day he finally beats his geriatric-giant-headed-chunky-boy nemesis.
We then get thrown out onto Byron rd. which is essentially flat and straight. I kind of mail it in for a while, settling in behind Shannon, hoping I’ll catch my breath and feel better. Mile one in 6:26, so basically right at 20-minute pace, which isn’t too bad. The problem is, I just want to quit. Heart rate is too high and I’m really laboring for some reason. I assume it’s the heat. JLybrand is out on a corner with her kids so I decide I can’t bail out in front of them.
Finally, we make it to the turnaround on Parrott avenue and head back on Wordsworth. I manage to draw even with Shannon and maybe I can justify dropping out at 2 miles if I make it that far. We get back onto Byron, which is a little bit of a psychological boost and I zone out for a bit until mile 2 chirps back at 6:37. I feel terrible but I, incorrectly, think I may be first male masters, so I soldier on. The heat is awful, and I am sucking a lot of wind. I can see Artis way up ahead and I’m already thinking of how happy he’ll be to finally kick my ass. But hold the phone… I may me gaining on him just a bit. No, it’s probably me hallucinating in my half-delirium. I start to see the front of the pack turn back into the campus ahead. I’m off in la la land again for a while, and then I see McFall is still ahead of me. I swear I thought I passed him back. And Artis is definitely starting to get reeled in.
Dammit, I’m going to hate myself if I don’t give it a try. As soon as we hit the campus, I throw down hard. And man it hurts. I can tell McFall is probably out if reach, but every step I’m gaining on Mr. Love. I ramp it up to full Blue Shoe kick mode and blast by him near the parking garage. I’m so wrecked that I am not 100 percent sure I can keep this up for the only 200 meters or so left. Luckily the course is completely flat and falls down a notch heading into the chute area. I blast through the finish in 20:14 and immediately make sweet love to the grass nearby. HR was 180 according to Garmin at the finish, so I suppose I took the race’s name very literally. Not my best, but it was all I had on a crap day, so I will take it. Good enough for 2nd masters, 10th overall. Cool plates for overall winners and cups for age groupers. But the best prize is another few weeks of living rent-free in Artis’ head.
In the overall, David Chen crushed a 17:25 for the win, with Charlie Krause 2nd. Michael “FLYING V” Visser claimed 3rd in a PR 18:02 after just getting a PR at Light Up for Leah the night before. On the ladies’ side, Sofia Baker, Emme Crosland and Simone Handfield swept the podium. Women’s masters winners were Shawanna White, just a second off the overall podium, with Shannon Godby second. Amy Magee was 3rd. Jonathan McFall whipped my tail for first male masters and Jerry Vaca was 3rd.
Female age groupers: Sara McFall won the 35-39, with Amanda Smyrl 3rd. Ashleigh Carpenter won the 40-44. Noel Schuch won the 50-54 with Clara Beaudet 3rd. Sherry Fadel won the 55-59. Lisa Powell won the 60-64. Lisa Smarr and Margie Shelburg went 1-2 in the 65-69. Martha Aultman won the 75+.
Male age groupers: Finn Jaworek was 2nd in the 10-15. Artis Love won the 30-34 in 20:29. Antjuan Seawright was 2nd in the 40-44. Jon Baysden and Patrick Hall went 1-2 in the 45-49. Michael Smyrl was 2nd and Michael Beaudet 3rd in the 50-54. Phil Smith was 2nd in the 60-65 in his comeback and Son Nguyen 3rd . Lorand Batten won the 65-69. Gerald Harmon, Robbie McClam and Pete Poore won the 70-75. Richard Wright won the 75+
Notable finishers: Jim Fadel, Hayden Hall, Rusty Painter, Cassidy Carter, Drew Dickerson, Sarah Soltau, Wendy Homeyer, Nicki Charlton, Maddie Homeyer, Ben Homeyer, Heather Herndon and Mikki Barthelemy. Please let me know if I forgot anyone -drachtungbaby@yahoo.com
Pics from JP photograpy, collages by Tracy Tisdale in the CRC newsletter
The Springdale 5k has been a mainstay on the Blue Shoes calendar since its inception in 2009. It started out an evening race (Springdale at Sunset 5k) in late August, run entirely on the grass horse track used for the Colonial Cup. Apparently, the original directors neglected to understand that August evenings in the Midlands are exceedingly unpleasant for running , and oh yeah, no one mows the grass in the horse racing off season. I high-stepped through ankle-length grass and about died in 95-degree heat in that first race. For those interested, there is a video on YouTube. My Sasquatch ass lumbers through around the 23-minute mark, desperately blue shoeing Chad Long with a race face for the ages.
Fortunately, Erin took over this race several years later and moved it a few weeks later, on the roads and in the morning. While lacking the uniqueness factor of the horse track, it was a hell of a lot easier to run. Easier, but not easy though. It runs through a neighborhood called Kirkover HILLS, so this should be your first red flag. The course is a simple loop but basically drops you down for a mile and a half, and then climbs you right back up. I will say the way back up is more gradual, but it’s pretty relentless. Definitely not a course you want to blast out hard in the beginning. At least there’s a waffle bar at the finish and golden horse trophies to ease your pain. This course is tough but generally plays to my negative split favor. Especially in 2021 when the top 3 dudes blew through a turn and left me behind to win the overall. Hey, I take holy grails any way I can get them. Just don’t ask Eric Masaitis or Steve Greer about it. Too soon.
So, this is race number 4 on the Blue Shoes comeback trail. It’s been a fat boy summer, so while the quad is mostly better, the food baby is still gestating. I’ve managed to drop my times from 21:22 to 20:08 in the last few weeks, so maybe there’s hope. I knew this race was not going to be fast with the course, so I was aiming to maybe make the masters podium. I show up an hour early and I am in full Debbie Downer mode. The second faux fall we were having gave way to third summer and it’s already 70 degrees at 7 am. Fabulous. Also, Friday night IPAs and whatever the hell I had for dinner are wreaking a category 5 colonic hurricane. I did my mile warmup trot and had thoroughly convinced myself this was going to be a disaster. Wah wah.
But as I made my way to the start, there were no elite guys to be found. A few kids and some young frat bro looking dudes, but no Jarvis types. Damn, I wish I wasn’t injured and fat. Shannon and Shawanna are on hand to battle it out for the women’s race. TONS of CRCers out there. The CRC team, captained by Margie Shelburg, stood at 41 at last check. We already had the team win in the bag, despite a valiant effort from the huge Clyburn family, who had over 30 runners.
The start of this race is pretty nuts. It’s flat down Knights Hill rd before turning right on Carter Street for a plunge down a mountain. Frat dudes take an early lead with Shawanna close behind. Shannon passes me and a bunch of young guys. There is one dude with a touch of grey in his hair and I latch on to him and Lady Godby. I’m pretty terrible at downhills and the early going of races in general, so this is rough for me. I start picking up Debbie Downer vibes and keep thinking about how we’re all going to have to make up this ground on the way back. We finally turn right off of Carter Street and mile 1 comes back in 6:21. Yikes. It is downhill, but now I’m afraid I’ve overcooked it. I’m still running in a pretty big pack at this time. I can still make out the leader ahead, but I’m probably sitting probably 8-10th place, which definitely opens the door for some rogue 40 year old to steal my old man glory. Mile 2 is largely at the bottom of the hill and I’m just trying to keep pace with everyone else. We pass the fateful turn of 2021 and here we go up the hill again. It’s clear to me a lot of these guys didn’t know the course because all of a sudden, the pack is dropping like flies. I pull up even with Masterish guy and he latches on me like a caboose. To be fair, my chunky boy physique is great to draft off of. Mile 2 is 6:42, so an expected slowdown. I don’t feel terrible though, and it feels good to be making ground against the field. My pre-race slog jog was a half mile out-and-back from the finish, so pretty soon I can see the turnaround point of the warmup. I start ramping up the pace, but then I realized I was wrong. I was well over a half mile out. Oh well, I already pushed the chips in, so here goes. I start flailing away and my good feeling from mile 2 goes out the window. But there is a masters dude on my tail and I can’t let him take me down. Jennfer Ward and Betsy Long are leading a cheering section and taking pics, so I of course have to momentarily pose for them. I manage to catch Shawanna, Shannon and some guy in a football jersey in the span of about 100 meters, but I can’t shake the feeling that masters guy is lurking just behind me. Suddenly I realize I’m also holding down 3rd with number 2 just up ahead. I try to crank it up another notch, but the heart and lungs aren’t having it. Finally, I see the horse crossing sign and the little library, my signs that we’re at the last turn. I blast out whatever I have into my kick, hoping my pics won’t be too horrible. Crossed the line in 20:28 and hit the grass immediately. Totally gassed. But hey, I will take a 3rd place and an overall podium any day.
In the overall, 21-year-olds Jordan Greenblatt (19:25) and Coleman Bland (20:19) finished 1st and 2nd. Shannon Godby and Shawanna White were tops on the women’s podium, with Sarah Carroway 3rd. Top male masters were John Campolongo, Nathan McKinney and Whitney Keen. Women’s masters winners included Nikki Barthelemy, Ronda Sanders and Rita Hipp.
Ladies’ age group honor roll: Hayden Hall won the 15-19, while Jennifer Carruth won the 30-34. Jennifer Thomas won the 35-39 , with Amanda Smyrl 3rd. Ashley Carpenter was champ of the 40-44. Amanda Holland was 3rd in the 45-49. Shenequa Coles and Angie Thames were first and third in the 50-54. Colleen Towery, Lisa Powell and Torill Nelson won the 60-64. Melody Kreling, Beverly Breuer and Lisa Smarr swept the 65-69. Helene Lipe was champion of the 70-74.
Men’s age group honor roll: Antjuan Seawright and Nic Collins were 1-2 in the 40-44. Michael Smyrl, Drew Dickerson and Michael Beaudet swept the 50-54. Tony Yarborough, Clay Ham and Joe Roof claimed the 60-64. Lorand Batten was 2nd in the 65-69. George Cassidy and Pete Poore were 1-2 in the 70-74. Alex Ponomarev was 3rd in the 75+.
Notable Finishers: Cotton Carroway, Clara Beaudet, Paul Laymon, Lance Towery, Mary Cassidy, Teresa Shelton, Deana Rennick, Hou-Yin Chang, Rich Wright, Nicki Charlton, Traci Smith, Heather Herndon, Jennifer Reeves, Jamie Zug, Karen Vidra-Zug, Ron Lipe and Margie Shelburg.
Tour de Blue Shoes 