Lets first say that the fact that this event exists is a minor miracle. The former Columbia Marathon was officially declared dead in October last year, which was all of about 4 months and change from the race date. Most 5ks have more planning time than that, so I had already chalked this race up as a loss. There was an immediate surge from the running community to get the marathon back, but we were all thinking that this would assuredly mean a restart in 2015. I mean no one can put together a city marathon in 4 months, right?

Enter Jesse Harmon. My only recollection of Jesse was from one of my many wrecked trophy hunts, where he beat me in 2010 to win the ridicuously poorly attended Kiwanis 5k out in Lexington. Yes, I realize there are more important things to remember, but your name will be forever etched in my mind if you deprive me of my precious trophies. At any rate, he and his Run Hard organization (An after school running program for boys, analagous to Girls on the Run) swore that they would bring the marathon back to life in 2014. I admit – my first reaction was probably something like “good luck with that”.  But damned if he wasnt enthusiastic about it. Not more than a month into the process he was recruiting a ton of volunteers, reaching out to the Columbia Running Club, securing sponsors and getting the police to approve the course. Wow, dude is serious.

So 4 months later, here it is. No idea how he put this thing together, because I know he has a wife and kids. He is a youth pastor so he probably had some divine intervention for sure. Just an amazing feat.

My plan all along was to field another relay team to defend Team Blue Shoes – Columbia Running Club’s win from 2013. We blazed a 2:48 last year, mostly on the backs of our beasts Angel Manuel, the Code and Derek Gomez. But Angel was doing the full marathon this year, Gomez had a cross country meet that morning and the Code said he was also doing the full. Suddenly I was the only returning member. And I was the slowest from last year, when I was also in the top shape of my life and hadn’t kissed the Hawaiian lava rocks at 20 mph. But if Jesse could resurrect the marathon than surely I could scrape together a team in a month. Spence and Trophy jumped in right away, and then we were able to secure my pale 38 year old archnemesis, the Vowles.  OK, so we werent Nirvana, but at least we were the Foo Fighters. And I was still the slowest.

I had gotten the final relay email this past week, and it was looking good. Sure, I didnt recognize a lot of the teams, but none of them were racing teams and I figure we could hold our own with guys like “Team Sloth”, so the trophy hunt was still on. Even with some competition, I figured we were all solid age groupers and Spence was our 25 year old ringer. But then the expo happened. In comes Randy Finn all excited about a last minute mens relay team that Strictly was putting together. Him, Hedgecock, Steven Johnson and Coach B.  The trophy hunt was officially flushed. At least we wouldnt get epically chicked by the women’s team though.

I got to the race my customary hour in advance and gave Trophy his bib. Spence showed up and was planning to warm up to Brennen Elementary…except it was 5 miles away and he didnt know where it was.  Oh jeez. I guess he eventually figured it out.  I was scheduled for the first 5.1 mile leg, Spence for the 8 mile 2nd, Tyler for the 5.1 mile leg 3 and Vowles for the last 8.  Pretty good crowd on hand. Dean Schuster and Winston were handling pacing duties along with Kristin, Drew Williams, Rick, Larry Jourdain, Brad Marlow and others. Angel, Plexico, Bishop, Jen Ward, Jen Lybrand, Randy Hrechko, Joyce, Israel, Linn Hall, Jeff Godby, Mary Howk, Mike Compton, Joe roof, Anita Recchio, Usa, Carol Caulk, Mike and Kat Hudgins, Jesse Smarr, and Greta Dobe were all out for the half or full. I didnt see the 5kers since they started 30 minutes after.

I lined up front row because my melon head cant take the fact I’m significantly slower. I took off fast at the start because I still think none of the last 8 months happened. It doesnt matter in the opening mile because its awesome. Mostly flattish couple of blocks around the state house and hunter gatherer/Sandy’s hot dog area before turning on Blossom for a freefall down the Gov Cup finish.  It’s probably high 30’s at the start so my toe is pretty locked up, but all the adrenaline and the downhill helps. As the mile 1 marker nears around Maxcy Gregg park, Steven Johnson is still not too far ahead. Surprisingly, Erin Miller, who I knew to be doing at least the half, is destroying both of us already. I hit mile one in 6:20ish. Whoops. I was supposed to shoot for 6:45. And I’m already starting to suck wind. Not good. Some guy doing the half starts asking me about the relay, the gist of which is “ISN’T THAT CUTE, YOU DOING THE RELAY.  WOW I’M SO MUCH FASTER THAN YOU”. Let’s just say he is lucky the baton is only plastic. I wanted to pull a Gilooly to his knees. About 1.25 miles in is the left turn onto the Saluda mountain. Its just soul crushing. Fairly steep and a half mile long, I knew it would be brutal. And it was. I’m getting passed big time. Even hot marathon girl in microshorts cant motivate me to go any faster.  I saw Shufy at the “summit” taking pics and I tried to pose, but I wanted to just crawl into the fetal position and die. Thankfully there is a left turn off of Saluda onto Heyward that leads you into Shandon, which is a steep downhill. Instead of flying down the hill, I was stomping down trying to catch my breath. Jeff Godby, who is doing the half, passes me, followed by Linn Hall. OK, nothing shameful to be passed by these guys but I’ve got way less than half their distance. Pretty depressing for me. But at least Shandon brings back some flatness and I’m able to hold off the tide of people blowing by me. Steven and Erin are now out of sight. The one good thing is that I havent seen any more batons, though my paranoia is that they have them tucked away in some layer of clothing. Yes, I need some of my own meds. It seems like an eternity before we reach Kilbourne, because the fast start has rendered me completely useless to mount my usual negative split charge. Somehow I’ve forgotten that Kilbourne has hills, but damned if there arent some nasty little inclines. Once we pass Devine street there’s a mile left. I’m trying to speed up but there’s not much left in the tank. Until I hear talking couple. Suddenly right behind me is a couple chatting it up. And they are dangerously close to passing me. I even hear them mention the relay and get quieter (note: this may be my oxygen deprived brain causing psychosis). This awakens my dark passenger and I kick it into some unknown gear, exploring new sections of the pain cave that I’ve never spelunked. I’m making Devereaux street my bitch the best that I can, but she comes up and slaps me with one final hill just before Brennan Elementary. I round the corner in a haze of death and I can hear the band blasting some mid 90’s cover tune and Spence screaming at me. Total headless chicken to the finish. We pass the baton like its the olympic 4×100. Full running start and everything.  Almost right at 34 minutes, 2 minutes slower than last year. I’ll take it though, because I’ll be damned if chatty couple was taking me down!

I find Shannon who confirms we are running second behind Strictly, so my paranoia was luckily just that. Not more than a minute later comes Leyden Hane of the 621 ninjas “Pardon my Fartlek” team. They are a coed team but pretty fast. I’m hopeful we can hold them off now that the blue shoed liability is done. I recovered and took pictures for about 15-20 minutes or so, but was soon faced with having to get back to the start. I debated several times about cutting it as short as possible (probably 4 miles) but eventually decided to experience the rest of the half course (8.1 miles) starting from just behind the 4:30 pace group. I was such toast I barely made any headway on the field for the first mile. It was interesting. Lots of run/walkers. One young guy was doing a weird pattern of taking off at sub 7 pace and then stopping to rest when he hit the mile marker. Everytime he saw me he started again, dodging through the 10 minute pace crowd. At mile 9 he was a little late and as soon as he took off I followed him. Because I’m an ass. A big one. Of course after I managed to pass him I had to then slog up Trenholm hill. Basically you turn left on to Trenholm at about 8.5 miles and its just one relentless incline to Gervais street about 1.5 miles later. My legs were hating me by this point and my toe was not liking the racing flats. Thankfully Sarah Blackwell and the hashers had their beer stop operational. It was probably just Bud Light or something but damned if it didn’t taste like heaven. Gervais street was kind of a haze. Twelve miles is my longest run since November and that was last weekend. The sun started beating down and it got a lot warmer. This was great weather for anybody else but I was hating this for the full marathoners. Three more nasty hills on Gervais, with the last one being the piece de resistance – a quarry crusher-eque 10 percent grade that I can only imagine what torture it must be at mile 23 on the second lap. I flirted with the idea of cutting the last loop off and going straight to the finish, but I decided to gut it out so I could get in the full 13.1. This is actually the best part of the course – pretty flat with an awesome finish down Main Street, through the Soda City market and finishing at the State House. Probably not as good if its only your first lap, but I was plenty happy to see it. Colleen (Ken’s wife) gives me this evil look, similar to the one she gave Ken at Judicata last week when he was behind me. Apparently I’m not going fast enough. Turns out she had missed Spence and thinks I’m phoning in the relay at 9 minute pace. You’d think she would know by now I never race less than 1000 percent effort. Turns out Spence absolutely crushed the 8 miles at 6:27 pace which pretty much sealed the 2nd place. Trophy actually got taken off guard and had to sprint to the exchange zone.

Now it was just a waiting game. The marathon finish was exciting with an epic battle of the Justins. Justin Gillette, last years winner and winner of 73 other marathons, was nearly taken by our own Justin Bishop. The two were apparently together until just after the Gervais hill, when Gillette threw the hammer down and took the race by a minute. Hedgecock had the anchor for Strictly and they easily took home the win in 2:50. I was hoping we might get a sub 3, but Ken came into view just after, and we took 2nd in 3:01:50 – still sub 7 pace on this super hard course. Really proud of the team with the performance!

Turns out we had a 35 minute cushion on the other men’s teams, but the coed division was much more competitive. USC Running Profs, Brie McGrievy’s team, ended up in first in 3:06. Brie told me they have some blazing fast guys. Fartlek , with Leyden, Shufy, Lee and Jennings placed third in 3:11.

In the marathon, Jim Cooper from NY finished third behind the two Justins in 2:53. The top 20 was almost all out of area except for the A Standard, but Ty Thomas finished a very impressive 16th with a 3:21. Angel finished 21st after having a rough finish. In masters, Usa Engelbrecht took home the win in just over 4 hours. In the 30-34 Jessica Workman took the win followed by Kristin Cattieu. Kenneth Ebener won the 40-44, while Pam Rodriguez placed third. Pam Griffin finished third in the 45-49. In the 50-54, Jonathan King took the win followed by Howie Phan. Mike Griffin completed a  good day for Team Griffin with 3rd in the 55-59.

In the half, Sango Assante came up from Moncks Corner again to vanquish Ryan Plexico for the second consecutive week. Erin Miller was on pace to easily take the women’s win but took a wrong turn at mile 12 and cut the course short. She actually disqualified herself even though she would have been the winner. Classy move – must have been really tough. Linn Hall took 3rd behind Caroline Peyton and Becky Younger. Joyce Welch was glad that Linn is one week short of 40 as she picked up the masters win in the middle of a training run. Jeff Godby and Randy Hrechko took 2nd and 3rd among masters men.

In the half age groups, Jennifer Lybrand crushed the 25-29 with a 3 minute PR in 1:36. PRing on this course is nuts and probably means she could go 1:34 or lower on a flat route. Mark Tibshrany won the 30-34 men while Jessica Chiu won the female division. Drew Williams won 2nd in the 35-39 as a 3:05 marathon pacer. Jennifer Glass crushed the 40-44 for the win with Betsy Long finishing 3rd. Matt Buffum took 1st in the 45-49 with Jim Fadel 3rd.  Anita Recchio won her 45-49 age group also as a training run. A trio of speedy CRC ladies in the 50-54 with Lisa King taking the win over Coleen Strasburger and Sandy Smith. Larry Bates placed 2nd in the 55-59. Neil Derrick, Mike Compton and Jack Kuenzie swept the 60-64, while Mary Howk won first in the women’s division with an incredible 8:08 pace. Shawn Chillag placed 2nd in the 65-69 in bright green hair, making USC’s Internal Medicine department proud.

In the 5k, looks like Jason Dimery barely made it to the race on time, but easily won in 17:47. Brandenburg took 3rd in 19 flat, while Parker Roof finished just behind in 4th. Will Brumbach and Geary McAlister also placed in the top 10, with Geary winning masters as well. Among the women, Barbara Brandenburg just missed out on the win by 8 seconds to Kathryn Ryan. Maggie O’Toole took 3rd at age 15. John Gasque placed 3rd in the 55-59 while Alex Ponamarev did the same in the 60-64. Sharon Sherbourne took 2nd in the 60-64 women, while Ken Lowden won 1st in the 65-69 while doing volunteer duty as well. Wife Patti Lowden won the 65-69 women.

Overall, a great event and amazing it was put together in so short a time. Hope it will continue!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/457990800

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/14runhard.txt

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/14RUNHARD_HALF.TXT

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/14RUNHARD_5K.TXT

So this is one of the few weekends a year where the stars and races align to produce a double dip opportunity (i.e. 2 races in the same morning).  Last year was an even rarer occurrence, with 3 races perfectly spaced for a triple dip, culminating in an epic beatdown of the Trophy in race number 3. It was sweet. This year the Colorectal 5k  didn’t happen, so we were down to two. Is it a coincidence this confluence of excessive racing occurs on my birthday weekend? I think not.

I actually was thinking of just doing March for Meals earlier this week. March for Meals, after all, is the site of my first age group win and the spark that ignited the racing obsession. Judicata was also of Blue Shoe significance though, as the first official blue shoed race and first sub 20 5k. Recent years at Judicata had met with some disastrous misdirects and 20 year age groups, so my initial decision was to pass. However, Gasque told me they had really low registration this year and it was iffy a while back if the race would continue.  I’d like to say I then signed up to support the race, the cause and the Tour de Columbia. I wouldn’t be telling the truth. Whenever I hear low registration, my dark passenger wakes up and all I can think is…TROPHY HUNT.

I mean, you can revel in the honor of competing against the top competition in your city and regale in stories of valiant efforts against worthy opponents. Or…you can clean up some easy age group and overall points against 30 newbies who just finished the couch to 5k. I know – shameless.

Race#1 – March for Meals

The March for Meals is a 5k at Riverbanks Zoo, which, for those of us with multiple small children know, is almost completely flat. This would all be well and fine if we were running through the animal exhibits. What they don’t make fully clear is that the course runs around the outskirts of the exhibits and then crosses over the river into the botanical gardens. My first time running the race I had never been to the botanical gardens. FYI, the botanical gardens are on the TOP OF A FREAKING MOUNTAIN. Really. Like single track paved trail with switchbacks and STEPS. Just brutal. But at least miles 1 and 3 are flat.

I get there maybe 40 minutes early because I cant drag myself out of bed early enough for the 7:30 start across town. I made sure to park outside of the race area, which is an important double dip concept. If you get trapped in, you cant make a clean getaway for race #2. This was critical last year, when a train delayed the start and the 2nd race was only an hour later. Luckily there were no cops on Huger street that morning.

I get a little concerned at the packet pickup because some elementary school team leader is having a breakdown because they couldn’t find their packets. Seriously, I thought I was going to have to order some Haldol and Ativan. Luckily, I got out of there quickly because the line started backing up. Did a couple of laps around the huge parking lot as a warmup. There is a nice crowd, but my trophy hunting sense feels there isnt much competition. I dont recognize hardly anybody.  Pete and Gasque are there to double dip. Plexico has won this race like every year for the past decade so he was there. Diesel, Jen , Brady and Brooke were representing for Team Ward. Joe and Luke Naylor, Crystal Cordoba and Team Robertson is one board. Dave Hale is in full Velocity Distance Project regalia and is also double dipping.  And who strolls up the last second…Ken “damnit dont call me vowels” Vowles. Vowles has made it his mission this year to take full advantage of my gimp status and deprive me of age group points, and I unfortunately have been unable to stop him. Both he and Trophy destroyed me at a disastrous LRAH 10k last weekend. Did you notice no blog entry? Yeah too depressed and traumatized to recount.

We all gather at the start, and they have the PA system set up about 200 meters from the line. I can hear some of the speakers but figure someone will come up and fire the gun from the start. I’m turned around talking when I see Plexico say “I think they said go” and he takes off. I can barely turn around and almost get trampled because sure enough, somebody did. Most abrupt start ever. Fortunately Plex is the fastest and knows where to go, because the parking lot loop, which is usually coned off,  isnt really marked at all. Its over a half mile in the lot as we loop back towards the finish and head into the zoo. The large crowd has a very thin top end, as I expected, but I can already hear Vowles breathing down my neck like an oversized rabid monkey. Between Plex and our mini pack of pasty white 38 year olds, there appears to be only a few unknown guys in their early 20’s.  Things stay pretty static as we cross the bridge over to the botanical gardens. I would know my mile 1 split, but apparently I neglected to hit the start button on the Garmin in my haste not to die by stampede. I felt it important to educate Vowles about Mount Riverbanks, pointing to the ominous shadow of the mountain as we entered the trail portion. Total psychological warfare, Billy tisdale style. As soon as we start hitting the twists and stairs portion I blow past two of the 20 somethings, who probably were unaware of this hidden torturefest.  It starts out OK but the relentless climb starts killing me about 3/4 of the way up, and I get reduced to quarry crusher pace. Vowles uses this opportunity to climb down off my back and pass me. I am determined to keep him reined in. In reality though, I am crushed, because hills are where my gimp toe is the least noticeable. I have always been terrible at downhills, but especially post cliff. Vowles and I come out on the summit of Mt Riverbanks basically together and he suddenly turns off course. For a millisecond my dark passenger begs to let him go, but then I yell at him to go the other way. The mountain has one more little incline just to burn your legs one last time, before you fall off the other side. While the climb up is winding and gradual, the downhill is a complete freefall. I’m all legs and arms and trying desperately to not overstress my newly healed achilles. Vowles flies down the hill and puts a nice gap in between us. As soon as I’m back on the bridge I pick up the pace. Mile 2 is around this area by my memory but with no marker and no Garmin, I’m guessing. the next half mile is on the outskirts of the other side of the zoo. This is also what I call the elephant poop part of the course. Just when youre sucking wind on the last mile of a 5k, you get to get to inhale the eau de colon of 6 elephants. Fortunately I’m not one to hurl in races, but this area always gets to me. The elephant poop distracts me momentarily when I realize I’m tracking that Vowles kid down again. Oooh, I am totally going to pay him back for last week. I turn on the jets, but then we break out into the parking lot again and he just flat out dusts me. I’ve used that last half mile in the lot to blow by plenty of roadkill the last few years, but now I’m getting left for dead. I keep ramping it up to see if I can step a little further in the pain cave, but its not helping. Vowles almost catches the next two in front of us while I’m left to straggle behind by myself. I finish in 21:24 I think. Results aren’t up yet (i.e. this is not a Strictly timed race). I’m pretty sure I finished top 10 and 2nd in AG, but I guess we’ll see. I do know this is a lot slower than my 19:46 from last year, with just as hard of an effort.

Plex easily won the race despite going off course. He says he did about 18:30. Not sure on everyone’s times/finish without results, but Dave Hale wasnt that far behind me. Brady Ward crushed a sub 25 on this brutal course, so I’m sure he’ll PR on his next flat course. I stay to see most of the field finish before I take off for Judicata. Nice to have a 1.5 hour cushion this year instead of the 40 minutes or so from 2013.

Race#2 Race Judicata

Judicata has been around for at least a decade and is put on by the USC women in law, to benefit sexual trauma services of the midlands and the women’s shelter. This race is always a bit of a wild card. The race director changes every year and most graduate students dont have time to be regular runners/racers or race organizers, so there have definitely been some problems in the past. Last year it was a misdirect resulting in a 2.8 mile course. In 2009 we ran all the way to Rosewood and had to turn around for a 6k. And years past have featured 20 year age groups and a “50 plus” category that made our grandmasters level runners none too pleased.  But this years director, Michele Baxter, had reached out to myself and Gasque, and seemed genuinely interested in correcting the previous problems. So I had some hope things would be better. Whenever I get too critical of the law students, I think of the now defunct USC med school (my alma mater) race Strides for Strength, where the race ended after the director gave himself heat stroke in running his own race. Oh, and despite its problems Judicata has always had great swag – gift certificates to local restaurants.

I get to the race about 30 minutes prior to the start, but I can tell almost instantly that my trophy hunt has been sabotaged. For one, Vowles, basking in the endorphin glow of another victory, decides he cant get enough of beating down the blue shoes, and registers on site. Angel Manuel comes bounding in a moment later. Plex is back to defend his title and complete his double dip. Brandenburg suddenly is back racing again. Randall Hrechko, new CRC member Alex Wilcox, Arnold Floyd, Stephanie Dukes, Gasque and Poore are all on board to make this a very CRC and age group winner dense crowd. There is definitely a small crowd, but at least six of the above names and 2 of the 35-39ers could beat me. So much for phoning it in for an easy age group win.

The start was a touch late but I’m glad the race has gone to an official certified course, using the Hot Summer’s Night route. The start feels predictably rough. An hour or so is plenty of time to get tight and the 40 degree temps with wind don’t help. Still, I’ve found the second race of double dips to not be as bad as they might seem. I’ve actually run the 2nd race faster on most occasions. About a half mile in and I’m feeling pretty good. Vowles is close behind me. Ken’s wife Colleen is at one of the corners, offers me some lukewarm words of encouragement before laying into Ken about being behind me. I hear Ken saying he’s “pacing himself”.  Great.  The course has some long straightaways and a mile in I can still see the lead car. An African looking guy actually is giving Plex the beatdown, whcih I’m sure he wasnt prepared for. Behind him is another guy I dont know, then Brandenburg. Hrechko and Alex Wilcox are locked into an epic battle, running virtually side by side. And then there’s me, trying to maintain a sense of pace. The toe is slightly tighter this go around but not too bad.  For awhile I sense some distance between me and Vowles, but at the turnaround just before mile 2 I can hear him again.  I am trying really hard by now, but my lack of endurance is starting to catch up to me again. I’m glad to see the course marked well this time, so at least this will be a legit distance. The rabid elephant behind me is getting closer and making grunting noises. I remember the last turn as being 0.39 miles from the finish, because I am an incredibly obsessive running nerd, and because this is where I usually kick it in. Unfortunately, Ken uses this turn to burn past me. NOT AGAIN. I hang with him most of the way there, but I’m running on fumes and his kick is too good. Colleen has come back to watch the finish. I look over and she she gives me a sheepish look and says “Sorry”. Oh, the shame. I finish in 20:38, 4 seconds behind Vowles, 3rd in AG and 9th overall.

OK, so I guess this is payback from last years triple dip and my shaming of the Trophy on facebook and this blog afterward. I now feel your pain, Trophy. On the bright side, this is my second road race back from my achilles nightmare of January, and at least I didnt reinjure myself. All this shaming is providing me some motivation to get back to my old form too.

Sango Assante was the winner over Plexico. He’s from Moncks Corner but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen his name before – I think the Runway Run where he battled Eric Ashton. I’ll have to check this. Plex still ran a 17:44 on double dip legs. Third pace went to Rick Southard, whom I’ve never seen race before. On the women’s side, it remained a trophy hunt. 49 year old Karla Cummings won in 23:16, followed by Kathryn Ryan and Allison Truitt.  Masters went to JB and Meredith Mona. In the age groups, Alex Wilcox easily took the 25-29.  Angel won my age group, followed by Ken. Stephanie Dukes won the 40-44 and is poised to break 30. Hrechko barely edged out the 45-49 competition by a mere 9 minutes. Dave Hale broke 22 minutes en route to winning the 50-54 and claiming the double dip. Alex Ponamarev and Pete Poore finished 1st and 3rd in the 60-64, while Arnold Floyd ran a 23:31 at age 71 to win his age group. John Gasque completed his double dip but somehow got squeezed out of the AG, as I almost did.  Double dippers included Plex, Ken, Dave,  Albino Sasquatch, John and Pete. Very happy with the changes Michele made this year to the race, hopefully this will help Judicata grow again.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/14judicata.txt

As you might of guessed from the majority of posts here, I am usually a road racer. This is not for some hatred of trails – I live right next to Sesqui state park and run there all the time. It’s me. Laws of physics state that when nearly 200 lbs is put in motion, it tends to stay in motion, so all this intertia turns me into a stampeding elephant through the forest. I’d like to think I’m some lithe, agile athlete bounding through the trails with cat-like quickness. But yeah…I’m not.

But I do like variety, and I love the Make my Day race. Its got a cool course through Harbison, and its just long enough to be a challenge without being a real struggle for endurance. And its absolutely swag-tastic. I guess because they have big sponsors in Salomon, and Suunto, and put on by a business (Half Moon Outfitters), this is no mom-and-pop operation. The shirts are always really nice quality and this year there was a pair of smartwool socks to boot. With race prices at 25 and 35 dollars, you virtually come out even before you even step foot on the trails.

This year I’ve had some recent injuries and my endurance is shot anyway, so I figured it would be good to go with their new 5k – the 12k has been around for 4 years, but this was the first time adding the shorter option. Also, this was an unabashed trophy hunt. Go green events actually has a participant list by registration – a trophy hunters dream. As expected, all the beasts were doing the 12k and I hardly recognized most of the 5k field. Sign me up, baby.  I knew this would be the case because trail specialists always like to go long, and I suspect the 5k was added to increase the number of newbie runners. I love me some newbie competition. Bring on the same day race shirt wearers, sweatpants and ipod crew. Yes, I am shameless.

Of course, this week has been absolutely nuts. My 5 year old vector of disease gave me a wicked stomach bug on Wednesday, that luckily cleared in 24 hours. This happened in midst of 3 days of snow, sleet and freezing rain. After recovering from the pukes, I thought it would be good to go sledding for hours and run 5 miles on Thursday. Obliterated me.  Then I had trouble sleeping on Friday night after losing my earthquake virginity at about 10:30 pm. Scared the crap out of me.

So race prep was less than ideal. Oh, and I decided that D’s wings and raw fries would make an excellent Friday dinner. The next morning I woke up a little on the queasy side and I went back and forth about even coming to the race about ten times. I get to Harbison and its pretty rough – cold and windy. My legs feel like jello from all the sled-induced hill repeats. The trails look like hell. There’s still a nice snow coat in the forest, and between all the melting and last nights rain, its a total swampfest.  I make my way to Harbison’s lone bathroom and its a house of horrors – apparently there has been a water main break so all the toilets dont flush. That didnt stop people from using them though. Dear God.

They had a good crowd, most of them doing the 12k (perfect). Harbison trail beasts Brian and Jen Clyburn and Rob Yerger were on hand, representing the Harbison crew with their Hairy Bison shirts. Geary McAlister and Rick Gibbons are never ones to turn down a trail run, along with Travis Cowan, Harry Strick and Ramsey Makhuli. Team Utopia had a presence with Andrew Touzel, Stephanie Dukes , Kana Rahman and Lucia Velicu. I even brought out the singlet again. Finally got to meet FB friend Jenny Prather, who was doing the 12k. Megan Weis, Sherry/Alex/Tyler Robertson, Brady Ward, Amanda Charlton, Lois Leaburn, Teresa Harrington, Dina Mauldin, Heather Alexander, Pete O’Boyle, Hunter McGahee, Dave Hale, Nina Brook and the Naylor family were some familiar faces. Some of the Dutch Fork high team. Alejandro Arreola was representing Reckless in the 5k.  He’s based out of Charlotte but seems to travel all over.

I decided to start this race easy and see how I felt. There was a big mob scene with the start but I actually didnt get carried away with a sprint. It helped a lot of the crowd was doing the 12k. This was very evident at a quarter mile in where the races split off, and you went from the wide open trail road into the forest. There were only a few people ahead of me, and I was probably doing 7:30 pace.  I’m distinctly aware of someone riding on my back and I turn and see its Andrew. Dude is drafting in the wake of the albino sasquatch in his natural habitat. But there’s no one behind him. Well, I did trophy hunt this race..but I didnt know how well.  I had seen Hunter and Alejandro peel off the crowd first but I figured us to still be in the top 10.  We had been told that we would run out to the Eagle trail, do a loop, then repeat the loop before heading for the finish. When we reached the Eagle there was a guy there directing us.

The trail is pretty funny. Total swamp. I tried to avoid all the huge swaths of water, and when I did that I stepped off the trail into ankle deep snow and leaves. Ridiculously slow. Almost walking at times. I was tippy toeing like a sasquatch ballerina on all the declines, some of which were covered in slush. I was just waiting for a wipeout. Whats worse, Touzel flies by me at some point. Oh hell no. I give Andrew the “Sydney Frontz at Safe in the City” treatment and eventually he releases himself from the breathless gorilla chasing him through the jungle. Finally the trail gets a little cleaner so that helps the speed. I feel surprisingly fresh for a 5k, probably because I’ve just completed mile one in 8:15. I’m able to throw in some good speed bursts and I start making up ground on teenage kid and very tall half moon shirt guy – the 2 ahead of me. Every time I get some speed going though, I have to stop and trudge through some slop straight from the Dagobah system. I’m actually liking the hills because at least I can be a little more aggressive and not worry about footing as much. I keep thinking about how much this will suck the second time around. Or is there a second time? I haven’t seen any markers. Suddenly I come upon a deep stream, about 10 feet across. Definitely not jumpable, especially for distance runner white dudes. Two or three steps, almost knee deep in this stream. Jenny loved the stream too – see:

Instantly the shoes weigh a pound heavier and are numb from the sub arctic water. Awesome. Next time I wont be such a pansy ass road racer and just plow through the mud the whole time. Some guy on the trail gives us directions around mile 2 and I start recognizing the last part of every race at Harbison – a couple of nasty inclines leading to a flat tree-lined gravel road. I blast past teenager and half moon on the hill and start cruising towards the finish area, where I’m sure there must be another little loop or something. Nope. I make a turn and bam, there’s the clock. I finish almost right at 21 minutes, which I know is a joke, since I was doing what amounts to a brisk power walk through some of that slop. Yep – About 2.6 miles by Garmin.  I cant tell but it looks like I’ve finished 5th? Alejandro, Meg and Hunter are at the finish and they both confirm we’ve run a super short course. But where is Geary? He was definitely ahead of me. Teen, half moon and Andrew come in a little later and then there’s a long time of nobody. Ruh roh. Stephanie Dukes comes in and she says her course was short too, but where is everyone else? Turns out the 5k has turned into a complete cluster. 5kers continue to come in over the next 45 minutes or so, quite a few after some of the 12kers finish. Distances range from our 2.6 up to almost 7 miles. People are muddy and none too pleased. Some did the “creek fording” 3 times. Luckily the 12k apparently went off without a hitch, and I didn’t hear of any misdirects in the longer event.

Apparently there was some computer glitch in the timing and awards took forever. To their credit, the organizers gave away every bit of swag they had left in a raffle during the wait. They did, however, neglect to inform us that they weren’t doing 5k age groups, though they did do the 5k overall. I wouldnt care – but my childlike self wanted a make my day gun and of course I wanted the Tour de Columbia points. And I could have done without waiting around for an eternity for nothing. At least I did get to see the 12k awards. The results are still not up yet, so I really don’t know who won what. I do remember Dave Hale, Brian and Jen Clyburn, Rob Yerger, Anna Battiata, Missy Hunnicutt, Alfie Hipps, Nina Brook, Hope Whisman, Frank Eichstaedt and Rick Gibbons were age group winners.

The organizers did say they would give the 5kers entry into next years race, so I guess thats the best you could ask for, considering the circumstances. The proceeds go to benefit Friends of Harbison State Forest, so I wasnt going to ask for a refund. Apparently there was a rogue guy on the course giving directions that wasn’t associated with the race? Damn you, rogue guy. Hopefully they can post the 5k course online next time and patrol the route better. But definitely keep the swag factor.

UPDATE: Hey, we have some results.  http://go-greenevents.com/resultsdetail/id/1560. For some reason they changed the 5k results from order of finish to bib number. I have no idea why.  I actually finished 7th, 2nd in AG if I remember correctly from this morning.  Tim Gibbons won the 12k followed by Harbison trail regulars Kyle Buck and Robin Shook.  Strictly Running’s Anna Battiata actually won the overall women’s race with Dutch Fork’s Hope Whisman finishing 2nd. Luke Naylor took 2nd in the 12 and under, while Alex Robertson finished third in the 13-19. The Yerg took the 30-39 male, while Jen Clyburn and Alfie Hipps went 1-2 on the female side. Missy Hunnicutt and Heather Alexander finished 1st and 3rd in the 40-49, while Brian Clyburn took the mens win. Ken Sekley and Dave Hale finsihed 2-3 in the 50-59 while tri specialist Lisa Powell won the womens division by a landslide. Frank Eichstaedt won the “60-98” while Brigitte Smith finished 2nd among the women.

So its been a while since my last entry. Have I suddenly decided to show restraint and race less? Have I picked a goal race and decided to actually train for it like a normal person? Have I decided to give up running and devote my life to good beer and Korean food?

Nope. Well, maybe a little of the last one.

On January 9th, I had one of those really nice, blissful easy runs. About 6 miles in the mid-afternoon on a nice clear day. I was thinking, “I’m going to be OK, I’m right on track towards getting back to sub 19 shape. Everything is good!”

Until I got home and decided to throw an armload of laundry in the hamper.

Ow.

My left achilles area had just a twinge of pain. Ah, its nothing, just a little tweak, right? Nope. Hurt like hell the next morning. Tried to run again 4 days later and felt good, only to hurt again the next day. Took the next 10 days off, did 2 miles on MLK day and still didnt like the way it was feeling. I finally got back to running consistently the last few days of January, and I still had done no more than 5 miles in a day leading up to this race.

In the meantime I had been hitting the gym like a beast, pouring all that energy into the weights and the boring as hell stationary bike. I was so mad, having come so far in the cliff recovery only to get derailed again. I was a wreck the last week, picking up a nasty cold and sleeping like crap, sniffling and stressing about making sure the CRC banquet would go off OK.

So, needless to say, I was less than hopeful about this race. I figured I’d go out easy and see how I felt.

The Race for the Place is a nicely done event in Shandon, held in February, starting and ending at St. Joseph’s church in Shandon. Like most Shandon routes, this course is pretty flat. Just a rectangle orbiting around Hand middle and back. They adjusted and recertified the finish this year, making it a nice straightaway instead of a few tight turns.

This race has historically been ridiculously fast. Not a big race, but heavy on the beast content. I ran 19:00 last year and finished like fifth in age group. I remember Derek Gomez barely got third with an 18:36. Nuts. So I figured zero chance of getting an AG award in 2014. It’s a shame, because I love the hand painted ceramic coasters they give out. I have one for a 3rd place that I think I got in the first year.

I showed up 45 minutes early and did race day registration. I still got a shirt, which was nice. I’m not there more than five minutes and its already crawling with some pretty blazing fast people. Most of the SR entourage is on hand, with Kenzie, Shannon, Erin, Jennifer, Steven, Dimery, Brandenburg and Jordan. There’s also two singlet dudes that look they could run a sub 20 hopping on one foot.   Brian Talkington showed up to take pics. Heath brought Brady and Brooke to try and dominate the kids division. Wayne Shuler was volunteering, so I was able to get him the CRC jacket he earned from last years Tour de Columbia. Travis Moran, Andrew Touzel, Chris Fawver, and Tracy Meyers were there to represent TUS. I was too afraid of wearing the TUS singlet for what could be a disaster of a race for me. Tigs and Eric showed up for Reckless Running.  Because its a race in Columbia, Pete Poore, Alex Ponamarev and John Gasque were there. Gasque was doing the double dip with Cupid’s Chase at 10 am. I think he was the only one. Parker and Joe Roof, Sharon Sherbourne,  Michele Parnell, Travis Cowan + stroller, Shufy Rowe and Matt Buffum were some familiar faces. Missy Caughman was RD this year I believe.

I stroll up to the line for the start…. Ok… lets just ease into this. But of course I toe the line because I am both a) ridiculously grandiose and  b) an unabashed attention whore. The starter shouts go and “ease into this” goes out the freaking window. I start blasting away like it s a 400 meter interval. After the first quarter I try and rein it in a bit. Then I see Tigs and J-Lybrand pushing ahead of me, and my melon head of an ego cant take it. MUST. NOT. GET. CHICKED. Of course this is a forgone conclusion, because I can barely see Kenzie, Erin and Shannon absolutely kicking my ass already. And there’s an audience. The CR multisport/Run Hard preview runners are running down Heyward St. the other way, so I can’t let myself be shamed in front of half the Columbia running community. So I push ahead, as if the wreckage of the past 7 months never happened. My one suspicion I’m taking it too fast is that I’m not too far behind Brandenburg , Shannon and Steven Johnson at the first marker. Tigs and Jen are right with me. Mile one in 6:19. Oh jeez. This is going to suck.

And it does. I do manage to pass Lybrand and Tigs, but I can still hear Tigs riding my butt. I could hear her better, except for all the gasping and sucking going on. The legs feel good, its those damn lungs. That’s what a month of maybe 20 nine-minute miles will do for your speed and endurance. I reach a low point at the turn around. The hurt has settled in and I still have another mile and a half to go. Plus, I’m running completely solo – the next guy is maybe 50 meters ahead and I can’t hear anyone behind me. I hit mile 2 in 6:45. Holy slowdown, Batman.

I try and muster something of a kick but the whole needing oxygen thing is getting in the way. I’m feeling like death, but at least the toe, achilles and knee are cooperating. It’s nice not to have to think about my legs giving out, though I could do without the lungs trying to free themselves from my chest. But I’m deathly afraid of getting Tigsed or Lybranded – so spelunking into the pain cave I go . There’s no one around to help motivate me. I can only make out one guy ahead and he’s not catchable. Finally I hit the last straight on Blossom St and I’m begging for the end, miscalculating not one but two stoplights as the finish block. I’m going to have a map of Shandon burned into my skull because of this. When I do make out the clock I’m glad to see it still in the 19’s, though it quickly flips over to 20. I pull a little headless chicken to make sure I break 20:30 and cross in 20:24.  19th overall and, surprise..3rd in age group! I get my precious ceramic tile after all. I’m actually pretty happy with the result. I was wondering if I might have backslid beyond 21 minutes with all the down time, lack of sleep and sickness. This was actually faster than my last 5k before the achilles injury so I’ll take it. It should be noted my last race before my first sub 20 was the first year of RFP back in 2010. My time that year: 20:24. Hope I can break through again!

As I mentioned, this race is always stacked. A little less so for the 35-39ers, but overall there were some seriously impressive performances. I can only imagine the battle for the win was amazing, as Martin Maloney edged Jonathan Kinsey 15:54 to 15:56. I wouldn’t know since these guys exited my view after the first turn. On the women’s side Kimberly Ruck crushed a 17:37 for the win. She’s from Columbia but I’ve never seen her race before. Kenzie smoked an 18:27 for 2nd and Erin Miller rocked a PR 18:44 for third. Pretty blazing fast. Masters winners were no surprise with Shannon nearly PR’ing in 19:34 and Eric Allers killing it with another sub 18.  Age groupers included Jordan Lybrand pulling out a 17:39 for first in the 25-29. He was running with me 6 months ago, but I guess marathon training has turned him into an absolute beast. Travis Moran wasnt too far behind for second with an 18:03, another guy that was in the Blue Shoe area code early last year. In the 2-14 Parker Roof broke 20 and won the boys side, with Brady Ward in second. Sister Brooke one upped him by taking first on the girls side. Jennifer Lybrand broke 21 again en route to a first in the 25-29 and nearly PR’d again in 20:50. The 30-34 was led by Jason Dimery in 18:13, with Andrew Touzel taking second in a huge minute plus PR (22:29). Phil Midden and Steven Johnson went 1-2 in my age group, while Michele Parnell won first on the women’s side in 23:36. The 45-49 was one of the most competitive with Jeff Brandenburg winning in 19:07 and Matt Buffum finishing 2nd. Wife Barbara took 2nd among the women. In the 50-54, Gasque took 3rd in the first leg of his double dip. Tigs easily won her age group by 4 minutes. Shufy Rowe and Wes Spratt won the 55-59, while Pete Poore and Alex Ponamarev took the 60-64. Sharon Sherbourne won the female 60-64 by a whopping 9 minutes.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/443023726

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/14RACE4PLACE.TXT

The WACH Resolution run  is a first time 5k that starts and ends at Maxcy Gregg Park , with the course mainly a loop in Shandon. It’s the same route used for the William Wilson memorial 5k in 2011-12 and the Colorectal Cancer 5k last year. Not a bad course – basically features the long, gradual Blossom St hill from Get to the Green  (not the Gov Cup – thats the other way) in the first mile, with the rest flat to downhill. It was the second race (Colorectal) in my triple dip in 2013, on my way to an epic victory over the Trophy in the third race. That seems like a long time and several bone fractures ago. The victory is still sweet though, Lady McGaha.

So I always view 1st time races with a little skepticism. Especially ones that are “corporate” and are done by people with no idea about running. I was worried both of these caveats would be true in this race, which wasnt helped by “Running on Empty” playing when I arrived and various other running related songs following on the loudspeaker. Kind of a yay-lets-get-on-our-sweats-and-jog  feeling. These guys had never gotten back to our tour director about being on the TDC, so there wasn’t the usual CRC contingent. I was going to not race in protest, but our tour race this weekend was the Harbison 50k, and there was no way I was going to give the gimp leg a 31.1 mile beatdown in the forest. There was also the option of not racing at all, but that was inconceivable to the melon head.

I showed up and it was cold. Damn cold. Like low 20’s. I had to christen one of their portapotties as soon as I got there and about had frostbitten unmentionables. Not fun. They had a decent crowd there with a few familiar faces.  Brian Talkington, Michele Parnell, Jennifer and Jordan Lybrand, Erin Miller, Ashley Horton, Andrew Touzel, Angel Manuel, Eric McMichael were all on board. Diesel was hiding behind Brady. Dimery showed up last second to crush the hopes of trophy hunters . I had no goals for the race. Just see how it goes. The toe felt terrible in the cold – complete block of ice.

With the start the crowd thinned instantly with the limited competition. Dimery left us all for dead and I saw a mini pack form of Talkington, Erin Miller and Jordan. Jennifer and Angel were a few steps ahead of me, though Angel assured me he was going to hold back big time in this race. Some kid in a green shirt was killing it and ran with me most of the first half mile. We hit the hill about a half mile in and it really sucked. Breathing like a champ is what I do best, but the 25 degree air was blasting my lungs. Toe still block like. I kept up with Jen as I’ve typically seen her throw down about a 6:15-6:20 first mile. I caught her right at the mile mark so I figured I was in good shape – I was wearing long sleeves so I couldn’t access the Garmin easily, so I just continued to go by feel.  I saw Coleen, then Usa and Anita running up ahead as part of the Starbucks Saturday group. The last two were really getting it because I was slow to pass them even in 5k race mode. I kept up with Jen and paced off her for about another half mile before finally making a move, somewhere near that squiggle of an intersection between Wheat and Shandon St (which is the part of like 10 races in Shandon). Along a flat stretch on Wheat I hit mile 2, and I figured something was up. True, I could see Angel just ahead, though Brian and Erin were in another zip code and I had long lost sight of Dimery and Jordan. The main thing was that I felt too good, which is just wrong for a 5k., Its supposed to be pure torture. The toe had finally warmed up some and was moving better, so I started ramping up the pace big time. I started to make up some ground on Angel, though the downhill at 2.5 miles had him pull away a little. I just suck on the declines. I hit the flat homestretch on Blossom toward the finish and it felt like I was flying. I was making significant headway on Angel but I could tell I was running out of real estate….and WTF??? Its already over 20 minutes? I made out the clock at like 20:10 and was so pissed. Kind of phoned in the finish to 20:36 – standing up, not sucking wind. It’s just shameful for me not to headless chicken it.  Good enough for 6th overall and 2nd in AG though. I was confused until I pulled up my Garmin data when I went home. I ran the first 2 miles at 6:46 pace, which is just a touch faster than my pre-cliff half marathon PR. Turns out if you cruise through 2/3 of the race you are not going to be able to make that up. Jen apparently decided to run even splits, so I was completely thrown off. Damn her for showing some restraint! I did do a 6:20 in the final mile, which is better but still not where I want to be.  Gotta warm up that toe more on the cold days!

Dimery crushed the win with a 17:40, which is like a walk in the park for him. Jordan ran like a complete beast and took 2nd in 18:04. Dude’s marathon training is definitely paying off. Erin ruthlessly chicked Talkington in the home stretch to take first female and 3rd overall in 19:36. Brian settled for 3rd male and 19:41, which helped bump me up in the age group with him taking an overall placement. Angel ran at like his marathon pace and finished in 20:29, still shaming me and taking 1st in AG. Jennifer had a very strong race and broke 21 again with a 20:59 for 2nd female. Eric finished 8th and took 3rd in our brutal 35-39.

Green shirt kid was 10 year old Garrison Budic, who crushed a 23:11. Pretty impressive. I wont tell little Alex a kid his age beat his 5k time by almost 20 minutes, Not a good confidence booster. Speaking of elementary schoolers, Brady Ward ran a  25:46 and second behind Garrison. Andrew Touzel took 1st in the 30-34. Ashley is coming back strong after her injury and won 1st in the 25-29 in 25:13. Michele Parnell took the women’s 35-39 by over 2 minutes, while Harry Strick won the 55-59.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/14RESOLUTIONRUN.TXT

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/424509953

So some part of me wanted to relax and savor my first post-cliff sub-20 for a while, but I don’t miss Cold Winters Day. Although my first 3 5ks in my life were in Charleston in 2007, I ended up overdoing the training thing (Hard to believe, I know), got shin splints, and didnt race for more than a year in 2008. I finally decided to get back into running late in 2008 after I had moved back to Columbia . I got fitted for some stability shoes at Strictly Running and signed up for their Cold Winter’s Day race, which would be my first in my hometown. It was billed as “flat and fast” and I threw myself into training, starting with an angry run after a loss in the Carolina-Clemson game. Yes, its hard to believe we actually used to lose to Clemson. 

In keeping with my overwhelming grandiosity, I thought I would go out and try to break 23 minutes in this “flat” race, since I had gotten down to high 24’s over a year earlier. Yeah..that sounds logical. This was before I had heard of Garmins, but I knew there was a yellow arrow sign right before the downhill to the finish. I went all out in that race and when I saw the yellow arrow sign in the distance I redlined it with an epic  pre-blue shoes kick…right to about the 2.5 mile mark. Turns out it was the wrong sign and it left me over a half mile to go, during which I almost had to walk. I think I basically collapsed in a heap at the finish but I did PR in 23:59.

Note Steve Rudnicki, Ted Hewitt, John Richards and Lynn Grimes. Little did they know the Blue shoe kick was being born. That and the hideous race face.

So this is the race I use as a benchmark for the year. In 2009 I donned the same “magical” blue under armour shirt and tried to break 20 for the first time. Yeah…not so much:

Back off ladies…I know you cant resist yourselves.

I had steady improvement over the last couple years. Ran a 19:20 something in 2010 when it was 34 degrees and sleet/snowing,

I didnt choose the thug life, the thug life chose me.

and 19 teens in 2011 when it was almost 70 degrees. Last year was one of my best races of all time, blasting out a sub 6 last mile and ruining Kenzie’s winning pic in the classic “beauty and the beast” photo:

I usually get the official finish pic from Strictly in this race, but it turns out the female overall winner takes priority over some lumbering sasquatch. Luckily Angel was on hand to capture the  moment.

Which brings us to the 2013 edition. I was decidedly less than motivated to crush it out in this race, given Bayler’s 4 days prior, but once I pin on a bib I find it physically impossible not to try really, really hard. Especially in this race.  So I was going to give the sub 20 another shot.  Perhaps more important to my fragile ego was trying to return the favor for the ruthless beatings I’ve received from Trophy, Sydney and Ken Vowles in the past few months. All three showed up, though Syd didn’t make an appearance until the last second. Thankfully Justin showed up, since I had noticed right before the race that my serial racing had led to me overtaking his 2nd place in the Tour de Columbia overall standings. Since he could  literally finish this race and then go order lunch at Zoe’s kitchen before I crossed the line, that would just be wrong.

Tons of familiar faces were at the start, really too many to name. Geary and some of the Strictly running elite women (MC, Shannon and Linn) were there to at least give me an idea where 19 something should be. I lined up a couple of rows back with Trophy, Ken and Kenneth. Teams Howell, Roof, Naylor, Diesel, Lowden and McGrievy are on board. Mitch Prosser, Brian Talkington, Jeffrey Godby, Jen Lybrand, Hunter McGahee, Naomi Rabon, Eric McMichael, Rob Weber, George Smith, Meme Spurgeon, Jason Dimery, Arnold Floyd, Randy Hrechko, Rocky, Henry, John Gasque , Michele Parnell, Andrew Touzel, Jeff Smith, Lucia Velicu, Omar Sharif, Jennifer Hill, Ashley Horton and sister Lauren, Laurie Royson, Mike Compton , Crystal Cordoba, Lois Leaburn, Teresa Harrington and Hou Yin Chang were some of the frequent racers who have appeared in the blog this year. Trophy has recently identified David Pappas as yet another fast 35-39er who would be in the mix.

The start is straight up a hill. Have I mentioned how much I hate hills at the start? Allow me to note it here. Its really not too bad – nothing like the MLK start, but you will run this too fast because – 1) 5k starts are always, always way too fast and 2) there are so many fast people at this race that its tough not to get caught up in it. I hold back as much as I can and try to dodge the inevitable kid who toes the line and runs 100 meters before stopping. After the trenholm road hill start is a long plunge into a valley. I try my best not to get passed since I suck at downhills and gimp knee and toe prefer not to accelerate in a downward direction. Syd and Jen Lybrand are kicking my ass already and Geary/SR ladies are even further ahead. After the valley is another nasty incline but I feel OK, and start mentally patting myself on the back for running a smart race, and this training is really paying off and….WTF? Is that the clock???  20 minutes is 6:27 pace and its already passed when I see the clock, which is a long way before I actually reach the clock, and its about 6:43 on my Garmin. Nice pacing, smart guy. Turns out you feel better when you go too slow. Go figure.

In my mind I’ve already blown my chance at sub 20, so I try and focus on keeping the pale beasts (Vowles and McGaha) behind me and catching up with Syd. Turns out Syd is having a less than stellar race and lets me know with various breathless expletives when I pass her at the next bridge. OK, surely I’ve picked up the pace back into sub 20 range now. Unfortunately the red singlets and Geary’s industrial machine  is still looking very far away. Mile 2 has a lot of flat and downhill save for one soul crushing long hill in the middle. I try to push it up the hill a bit and manage to pass some people. I reach the top and I feel OK – sucking some wind for sure but not wanting to die. I feel good until I see the clock for mile 2 and its like 13:17 or something. The math is a little hazy in my oxygen deprived brain but my general feeling is that this is not good. Garmin confirms it with a 6:33 split. DAMN IT.

I thought I was earning back time towards the sub 20 goal the whole time and I was actually LOSING more seconds. I figure I’ve completely blown my chances of a 19:59 by now, but the specter of getting Vowlesed or Trophied still hangs over my head. I catch up with Pappas who announces my arrival with a “Blue Shoes!” I know I’m in trouble because I can barely say anything in return. You know, the whole needing oxygen to speak thing. Regardless of starting to die, I know I need to blast it out lest Vowles tries to kick it in like he did at Turkey Day. Pappas is not going to let me go that easily and he surges right with me. I finally get a few steps on him as we take a right turn towards the finish (aka the faux finish yellow arrow sign from 2008). The last half mile plays well to my strengths with a couple of nasty inclines before the freefall to the finish. Though my sense of pace apparently sucks now, I can tell I may be picking it up some since I am gasping and flailing like a dying elephant. But damn it, I am not getting passed. I see Jeffrey Godby, who I mistakenly think is in my age group (actually 40) and really push it to catch him. I try to offer some encouragement (he’s had a rough year with the death of his friend Jake at Savannah) but all that breathing is getting in the way. I actually see Geary and the SR girls make the last turn, so at least I’ve made up some ground. Tigs is at the last turn and starts screaming at me, and in  my delirium I just know Vowles is getting ready to track me down. I go into full on headless chicken mode and then I see the clock still in the 19’s. But I can also see that its just not going to happen. I watch the numbers click over to 20 and finish in 20:09. Chip time was 20:07, 32nd overall, 6th in AG.

So definitely disappointed in not getting my goal, but happy to even be close to 20 after those first 2 miles. So much for trying to be comfortable in a 5k – those 2 things just don’t go together. Especially for  me. This guy gives it a thumbs up though.

In the overall, Omar crushed a 15:59 en route to the win, followed by Justin in 16:40 and Avery Dominick in 17:06. Jason Dimery and Hunter Mcgahee both broke 18 and finished in the top 10.

In the women’s overall, Dutch Fork high’s Anna Johnson won in an impressive 18:28 followed by Heather Costello and Lauren Jaynes.

Age groupers included Brady Ward taking second in the 2-10, finishing with Diesel and Jennifer. Interestingly, Jen beat them both by chip time. 22 seconds Jen? Were you in the portapotty when the gun went off? The O’Toole girls finished 1st and 3rd in the 11-13, while Luke Naylor took home a trophy on the boys side. Hunter Jarvis finished 3rd in a tough 14-16. Wells Thomas, who won Baylers, finished 3rd in AG here. Syd ran 21:08, which I think was still her 2nd best, and took home 1st in the 20-24. Jen Lybrand was just one second behind Syd and won 2nd in 25-29. Mark Tibshrany finished 3rd in the brutal 30-34 (behind Justin and Dimery). Brian Talkington PR’d in 19:19 , good enogh for third in the 35-39.  Heather Costello, Heather Hunt and MC Cox completed a female 35-39 which was almost as fast as the guys division. Jeffrey Godby won 2nd in the 40-44. Shannon Iriel broke 20 with a 19:51 and won the 40-44 over Meme Spurgeon in 23:24. Randy Hrechko also got his sub 20 and finished 2nd in the 45-49. Sue Porter won third in the female division. The 55-59 was a trio of beasts with Geary McAlister, Pete O’Boyle and Larry Bates. Lynn Grimes and Patti Lowden went 1-2 in the 60-64 women, whil Mike Compton and Alex Ponamarev did the same among the men. Peter Mugglestone won 3rd in the 65-69, while the usual trio of Arnold Floyd, Rocky and Henry swept the 70-79.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/13cwd.txt

Oh, and lest it go unnoticed, this has to be published. Even I bow to the awesomeness of Ken’s race face.

The Harborside 5k is a nighttime race held in Lake Carolina that features a course through the Christmas lights of the neighborhood. This is apparently its 10^th year, though I’ve only been aware of it for the last two. It’s a part of the YMCA of Columbia series organized by Erin Roof so I knew it would be well organized, in addition to possibly adding to my YMCA pint glass collection.  The race is associated with the Harborside Christmas festival. I waited around last year to see if the Santa line thinned out, but it never did. I was so hoping for a pic with a sweaty pale sasquatch in racing shorts crushing poor St. Nick’s lap. Oh well.

One thing nice about the dark and all the Christmas lights and cheer is that it distracts you from how brutal this course is. Just thinking of last year’s race started me breathing heavily, since I about exploded my lungs in 2012. I remember trying to chase down the Yerger and Brandenburg, almost getting chicked by Claudia Cannon, who is literally like half my size. I ran the last quarter like a maniac and just missed catching JB and narrowly avoided getting beat by a middle school girl. Nice.

The course kind of sets you up to fail if you’re unfamiliar with it. You get all worked up crushing a largely flat then long downhill in the first mile, only to turn around and hike back up that hill, bringing you close to the finish line. You then head back out by plunging down another steep downhill and then climb for what seems like forever. You turn into another subdivision but the pain keeps coming. Finally you loop back around and fly down the mountain you just climbed, only to face that same steep quad blasting hill before the turn to the finish. Flat and fast, right?

Night races are fun, but this one has the added challenge of being out in Lake Carolina, near rush hour, in the middle of the holiday shopping season. Read: you’d better leave early. With my native northeast Cola knowledge though, I was able to back road it and get there pretty quickly. Find Bookman road. That’s all I’m saying.

I got there about an hour early and luckily found some parking, which is always dicey in the LC. Not a whole lot of familiar faces, but a few of the CRC regulars were there. John Gasque was on hand to bring his race total over 50 for the year. Meme Spurgeon and Brian Talkington have both caught a bad case of race addiction and were there to trophy hunt. I did a mile or so with Meme to show her the monster hill in mile 2, lest she go all out like I did last year. Tenacious J and Jeff were there with daughter Sophie and Ted Hewitt made an appearance after being MIA for a while. Eric and Angel showed up but the traffic held them up too late to register.

Mile 1: Between the crowd and the flat around town square I managed to throw out my planned restraint in about 30 seconds. I paced with Eric for awhile and we both went way too fast down the ensuing long downhill into the Harborside subdivision. I think there were pretty lights around, but my maniacal competitiveness was focused on not letting McMichael kick my ass. I finally separated from him at the bottom and caught up with two guys in red shirts, one tall (taller than me even, though less Sasquatchesque)  and one short. I swear both are wearing the race t-shirt, which among the middle school like clique of frequent road racers, makes you a total noob. These guys were hardly out for a jog though, because we hit the mile mark in 6:15.

Mile 2: Pure misery. Long climb out of the Harborside subdivivion – the same mountainside you just flew down way too fast. Had to dodge a couple of people who were parking for the festival and seemed surprised to see a bunch of people out for a very brisk jog in the dark. Not too brisk though, because it felt like we were barely moving. Our little mini pack finally reaches Lake Carolina Drive, which is right near the finish and the top of the Harborside hill. We make a sharp turn and go careening down a steep hill that I know we will have to climb back up right at the finish. After bottoming out over a bridge, there’s a solid half mile of climb. If I thought Mt Harborside was bad, this was much worse. I try to remember my trophy hunt overall win  for 2013 took place on this course and this hill, but that was in January and obviously pre Kauai. Short guy starts dying and falls back, but the two biggest dudes in the field are now running in tandem. Mile 2 in like 7:05, almost all of it uphill.

Mile 3: Finally we make the turn in another subdivision and crest the hill and start flying back down. Flying is probably an overstatement because it takes a few hundred meters before I can start breathing again from my mountain trek. My beastly twin and I actually exchange a few words because we are running like a few inches apart. Just before the turn back onto Lake Carolina drive I switch into kick mode, or whatever you’d call it in this Gimp era. I’m trying to crush it down the hill, but its hard not to be tentative with my Hawaiian knee and toe. Rapid downhill acceleration brings back some bad, bad memories. I start to hear footsteps and I know tall guy must be tracking down. as he draws by my side I turn towards him and its freaking Ted Hewitt. WTF?? Ted is a fast dude but usually clocks about 22 minutes in a 5k. I figured maybe I slowed down hardcore on that hill, since I didnt check my Garmin at the 2 mile mark. And then he passes me. My oxygen starved brain is begging me to let him go and have his glory, because im about toast. But the dark passenger inside was not having it. Somewhere , somehow, I took a few more steps in the pain cave and totally redlined it up the finishing hill. I caught Ted but he was getting it too. I cranked my heart rate to about 300 and was pushing so hard up the hill it was more like leaping than running. Finally it flattened out and I saw a 20:15 just as I turned the corner and sprinted it out in total headless chicken mode. Finished in 20:28, just 5 seconds ahead of Ted, who PR’d by like a minute. Pretty happy with the time – this is a brutal course and I did a 19:36 last year, so I think this is the first time in the comeback that I’ve been within a minute of my 2012 times. The course was 3.09 by my garmin this year, having been altered slightly, so maybe not completely legit, but I’ll take it. Fun to see Ted crush it like that and help me blue shoe it at the end.

Results from the CRC newsletter:

Among a lead pack of three, Velocity Distance Project’s James Palmer kicked it in to take the win in 17:38, with Matthew Egbert and Justin Jones also going sub 18 for 2^nd and 3^rd. The women’s race was won by ultra-specialist Pam Rodriguez, who went on to run and win age group glory in the Columbia Half Marathon and Rudolph’s Rampage half. Jenna Dent and Kathryn Ryan completed the overall female winners.

Erin’s son Parker Roof continues to get faster, cruising to a 19:52 for fourth now that cross country is over. Brian Talkington is a new race addict and finished 5^th despite cramping late in the race. Ted Hewitt had an incredible race, crushing his old PR by about a minute and very nearly blue shoed the Blue Shoes. He passed me about a quarter mile from the finish but between the final hill and my best ugly race face finish, I was just able to edge him out. Ted won his age group as well in a smokin’ 20:33.

In the age groups, Jennifer Hill and Jeff Curran paced daughter Sophie Curran to a big PR and 2^nd in age group. Congrats Sophie!  Meme Spurgeon  has been unstoppable this year and PR’s once again in 23:14, winning the 40-44 age group. John Gasque easily took the 50-54 in 25:29, while Henry Holt passed 450 TDC points with another age group win in 28:33

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/417532758

Billy with the thumbs up…and Shannon typing?

The Jingle Bell 5k is in its sixth year and is put on by a small local gym called the Fitness Zone out in Lugoff, SC. I’ve done this race every year since 2009, so I guess I’ve done it every year except its first. It started out for me as a trophy hunt and a rumor that it had a flat course, but since that time I’ve come back just because I love  small-town races. However, between us putting this race on the Tour de Columbia and Strictly putting it on their Palmetto Grand Prix, its become one of the fastest small races in the state.

There were actually 4 other races on this weekend, so had I been the sub 19, pre-Kauai Blue Shoes I might have been tempted to go looking for an overall win. My bet was on the under-the-radar Spring Valley “Vikings for Educaion” race, but the Friends of Sesqui trail race also beckoned for a trophy hunt. Sadly though, my current McGimp fitness requires a minor miracle for a top 3 finish, so I just settled on the race I knew I liked. The two other races were the Jingle All the Way5k and Warm a Heart Patty Packs 5k/10k.  JATW was at 9:45, allowing for a potential double, but I just wasnt up to driving a half hour just to face that Turkey Day hill once again. Brian Talkington, who has turned into a Blue Shoe style racing freak, did say he was going to try it though.

As I mentioned this course is known for its flatness, which is mostly true. There is a slight incline most of the first mile, like half a percent on the treadmill, and just one nasty bump just past 1.5 miles. The last mile is slightly downhill and has produced some of my fastest mile splits in a 5k, a couple of sub 6 ers the last two years. The only bummer to this course is that it has been consistently long by Garmin – in the 3.15-3.17 range. Say what you will about the accuracy of a certified course (it is certified) versus a GPS but the times here are always a touch slow, and its not due to hills.

I got to the race my customary hour in advance and there’s one glaring difference between this year and last. It’s warm. And humid. Like high 60’s. This is the same race I’ve raced in long sleeves and had to stay warm in the gym in previous years, so at least 30 degrees warmer than 2012. Trophy didnt bother to show up, but I can only imagine the complaining from him that would have ensued.

Since this race is also Grand Prix, there’s some masters all stars in attendance. Billy Tisdale, Geary McAlister, Birgit Spann, John and Nancee Sneed, Arnold Floyd, Henry Holt and Rocky Soderberg are all people who inspire me for my next 30 years. Newly minted master Shannon Iriel is there, though 2008 inaugural champ Coach B is taking the day off. Justin “A Standard” Bishop is there to apparently easily take the win, because I dont see Plex or any other people that might challenge him. The kid Jaz Greene, who has won this race twice, didn’t show up. The Code, who I think may have run this race every year, was on board. J-Reeves was getting back in the saddle after an extended time away. Joyce was there to try and take down her 5k PR, though I warned her about the extra distance.  This is Diesel country so the Diesel, Brady, and Jen were there with Brooke pulling water station duty. Other Lugoff-Elgin locals like Mitch Prosser, Chad Teal, Chad and Betsy Long and Sharon Cole were in attendance as well. Tri beasts Wes Spratt and Lorand Batten were back for another running only event. As mentioned, Brian Talkington was ready for his double dip, with car strategically parked for the quick getaway.

After a two mile warmup which felt like jogging with a warm wet blanket on my head, we were ready to start. First 50 meters had a bunch of puddles from last nights rain and of course I managed to find most of them. Because thats what my out of shape ass needs – some extra weight in my shoes. We turn out of the shopping center and begin a long straight on hwy 378 that makes up the whole first mile. And it sucks. The cold breeze im used to in this race has been replaced with oppressive humidity. Feels like I’m breathing with a surgical mask on. And I’m getting passed already. People I dont know. One guy behind me is literally shouting out random groans and various mild expletives. He scared the crap out of me when he goes “DAMN IT” right next to me. I feel your pain, dude. I’m not one for primal screams but my internal dialogue is decidedly less family friendly.  I feel like total death at mile 1 and the garmin spits back like 6:30ish. Not too bad, because I remember mile 1 to be on the slow side because of the slight incline. Way up ahead I see Billy and it kills me how bad he, Geary,  Shannon and Code are kicking my ass. Like chasing the ghost of your former self. We make the turn at 1.25 and “DAMN IT” surges ahead of me and Chad Long. Oh hell no. I keep up with him regardless of how bad I feel, which is pretty damn bad. The turnaround segment is about a half mile and has the one nasty bump of a hill, short and steep. I drop mr primal scream and immediately cross the street to the left side as we begin the trip back home. Someone yells at me (probably screamer..go figure) to go on the right side of the road, presumably so I can get run over from behind by the very 5k savvy Lugoff traffic. As I approach the 2 mile mark Birgit passes me. I cant tell whether I’m dying or she’s surging, or both. Just after the 2 mile there’s a slight rise and then begins the descent all the way home. But wait..who’s that loping along with the Team Utopia singlet? It’s the CODE. Now, I know the Code is either injured or having a very bad day, but nothing inspires a blue shoe kick like a weakened Code. See:

Granted our head-to-head is like 5-75, but Code doesn’t have a blog to publicly shame me. Code must be doing like 7:30 pace because we catch up pretty quickly. I briefly think I’m leading my age group but then I realize Talkington is in another zip code up ahead. He’s exacting major vengeance on the 2012 runway blue shoe. I’ve passed a few people in the last mile, including Lorand, so I know the pace has piicked up some. That plus my breathing and form now mimic a wounded elephant. Less than a half mile to go and I finally retake Birgit, who has had the most unpleasant experience of that elephant breathing down her neck for the past 5 minutes. I round the turn and see David “Buckleup” directing us towards the finish line. One more unknown guy in front that I can take down if I really try hard. Nobody can accuse me of not trying hard, especially in the home stretch of a 5k, so I empty the tank and go after him. We make the last turn  and I manage to pass him, but since I’m on fumes I’m deathly afraid of him returning the favor. I can make out low 20 on the clock and flop across the finish in 20:52. Garmin had 3.19 miles. Man, it keeps getting longer. Ended up 8th overall, 2nd in AG. I’ll take it. Garmin had 6:32 pace so probably sub 20:30 through 3.11.

As expected Justin won easily, though he was quite disappointed with the 16:52. I hate when I almost slip into the 17’s. The horror!  Heather Costello was the women’s winner in 19:30. Shannon and Birgit took 2nd and 3rd. The 2nd male was a guy I havent seen race before, John Adams, who pulled an 18:41. And he’s 34, so I guess I’ll have to face him in the AG next year. Talkington actually took 3rd male, though they only went one deep with the snowglobe trophies.

In the age groups, Nancee Sneed took first in the 70+ , so she must have had a birthday recently. John is coming off an injury so he ran the race with her instead of giving Arnold Floyd a run for his money. Arnold took 1st in the 70+ men ahead of Rocky and Henry in 24:04. Brigitte Smith won the 60-64. The 55-59 men were a bunch of beasts with Geary taking the win over Lorand and Spratt. Birgit took the 50-54 women by only 11 minutes (21:14) . Slacker. Billy won the 50-54 men with Donald Prosser (Mitch’s dad) finishing 2nd and the victim of the blue shoes flop to the finish. Sharon Cole took the 45-49 just 2 seconds behind Birgit. Shannon finished agonizingly close to a sub 20 (20:01) but still got first in the 40-44 over Joyce (23:18). Chad Long has aged up to the 40-44 and won 2nd in 21:59. Jen Ward crushed a sub 24 and won the 35-39 women. Brian, myself and the Code in the 35-39 guys. Brady Ward, guided by the Diesel, ran a 24:39 and almost tracked down mom. Better watch your back, Jen.

Scanning the trophy hunt scene, I see Drew Williams won the overall at Jingle All the Way by over a minute in what may be one of his last SC races for a while.  New wife Tracy took home a first in AG as well. Way to end on a high note!  Talkington completed his double dip with a 2nd place. The Golbus twins, who double chicked me at the Turkey Day, finished 1st and 2nd female, with CRC rookie of the year Meme Spurgeon winning third.  Eric McMichael, Gasque, Ponamarev and Pete all won some AG glory. A ten year old named Garrison Budic won third overall make in 22 minutes. Impressive.

In the Patty Packs, Derek Gomez showed his River Bluff team who’s boss with a  39:33 win in the 10k on an ungodly brutal course. Kenzie Riddle took the female win, with Winston Holliday and Hunter Janus in the top 10. The 5k looks to have been a misdirected disaster, though Dutch Fork beast Anna Johnson took the win in one of two people who apparently ran the right course. Ted Hewitt did take an age group in like 30 minutes.  Nice 7k, Ted!

Friends of Sesqui winner Robert Rogers won in 22:12. Difficult to say whether this was a missed trophy chance since it was done on trails. Garris Haynes (7th) and Marie Queen are the only names I recognize. And then there’s Viking 5k for Education. Winning time of 20:35 by Trevor Drummond. Would have been an easy win for old Blue Shoes, close battle for the McGimp. Oh well. Hopefully back to trophy hunting shape soon!

Next races are Harborside Lights on 12/13,  Bayler’s Bash on 12/24 and Cold Winters Day 12/28.

The BGCM Turkey Day 5k has been around since 2005 and was run as an 8k up until about 3 years ago, when I started running the race. Its become the most prominent Thanksgiving race in the area and usually draws 500+ people. I’ve had the chance to run this race with my brother Ben the last two years. I paced him to a 21:23 as he was just starting back running and then barely held him off in a brother battle royale last year 19:40 – 19:56. He used to run 17’s in high school and owns a 16:45 PR , so I never know if he’s going to train back into that kind of shape. We had planned to renew the rivalry this year but he didn’t make it up to Columbia until after the race. He said he hasn’t been running much so between that and my gimp recovery it probably would have been close. My cousin’s husband Jason ran it with us last year and was actually in town that morning but opted out because it was “too cold”.  Sounds like Trophy!

Although this is a well done race, I can’t help but dread running it because of the course. If there’s anything that kills me its a race course with a hill right away. And oh, does this one have a hill. Basically a mile slog from the Colonial Center all the way to the middle of the Horseshoe on the USC campus before this thing levels out. Like a punch to the gut right off the starting blocks. The rest of the course isnt too bad, except for another short nasty incline at the 1.5 point. And you do get to plunge back down that hill at the end, if you have any strength and oxygen by that point. Its a certified course but also on the long side, about 3.16 by my Garmin history. Oops, sorry for that obscene level of running nerdery.

I get there about an hour early and it is damn cold. Mid 20’s by my car thermometer. I did a couple of miles with the Yerg and Geary. The toe felt like  freaking ice block but it got a little looser with the warmup.

We line up for the start and its a big crowd. Brian Talkington is back after his sub 20 from last week. Strictly Running ladies Shannon Iriel, Kenzie Riddle and Linn Hall are representing. Birgit Spann is back after a brutal runway run where it looked like she was going to collapse. And I thought my finishes were intense. Bill Haselden and family, the Diesels, Jason Dimery, the Roofs, Fadels, Mikulas and Golbuses were all on hand. Shiela Subbarao and Ken and Kenneth Vowles were representing TUS, in addition to the Yerg. Meg Weis was there on the road back from being a new mom. Ponamarev, Henry Holt, Hou Yin Chang, and Missy Caughman were also in the crowd.

I lined up first row to avoid the bottleneck of a big race and there’s a woman next to me, race day t shirt on, with a stroller. I was about to tell her she and her child are going to get trampled when Selwyn shouts go and we were off. I do a short sprint to avoid the stampede and what im sure is a pile up behind the stroller and then try to hold back because I know what misery is about to occur. Meg  and Ken catch up to me in a mini pack in the early going. Ken had told Kenneth to take it easy at the start because of the hill, but we both notice him leading the race up ahead. Typical teenager. After a quarter mile of flat and we start ascending the Pendleton street monster. Its not crazy steep but it slowly sucks your life away until youre pleading for death by the top. Meg apparently is back training hard because she kicks my ass on this mountain. I can’t see Ken but some beast is breathing down my neck so I assume its him. My the mile mark Meg has already gapped me pretty bad. First split was like 7:02. Thats not too bad considering the mountain climbing. I try to get my wind back on the ensuing straight but damned if the post cliff couch surf is rearing its ugly head again. Ive picked up a shadow too and finally I look over and its that damn Vowles again. We just battled at Shandon Turkey Trot and now its pale late thirties gimp battle royale part II (he’s also coming back from injury). We hit the turnaround hill side by side and I try and surge up the hill. Probably not a good idea because now I’m really dying. Ken repasses me and is a couple of steps ahead. Some rolling hills past the turnaround and we finally hit the mile 2 mark virtually together with the Golbus twins.  I think this sets up nicely for me, but damned if Vowles finds some other gear and just drops me. WTH? I try and stay with for a while but I sound like an elephant in heat so I cant push it any harder. The poor Golbus twins are going to have nightmares tonight, no doubt. The last mile is flat to screaming downhill and I just cant make any headway on Ken. In fact, he’s passing other people and even takes down Meg near the Colonial Center. I hear someone trying to blue shoe me but I give it all I have and avoid it, hit the finish at 20:51.

I would be disappointed with the time, but this the same race I did in 19:40 last year at 100 percent, so probably a better performance than the 20:41 at the completely flat Crit. Still sucks to get smoked by Ken, especially since, as I figured, he took the 3rd in AG. We will battle again Vowles! Graham Tribble, who won the CWD a few years back in low 15’s easily took the race in 16:13, followed by Hunter McGahee and Jason Dimery.  Leading the way for the women was Holly Ortund of Decatur, GA (always lots of out of towners for a Thanksgiving race) with Kenzie  taking second and Cheryl bell of NC third.  In the age groups, Parker Roof smoked a 19:49 to finish 2nd in the 2-14. Kenneth didnt listen to dad’s advice and finished with a 20:14 and 2nd in 15-19, with Evan Mikula 3rd. Golbus twins went 1-2 in the F15-19 and chicked me too. Anna Johnson placed third, which I assume was a stroll for her since I believe she’s Dutch Fork’s #1 varsity. Andy Mikula, coming off his SVPC 5 miler win, took 3rd in the 25-29. Brian Talkington took my 35-39 group ahead of the Yerg and Ken. Linn Hall won the women’s 35-39 just ahead of Meg. Shannon barely squeaked out a 4 minute win in the 40-44. Jim Fadel and Joe Roof had a close battle for 1-2 in the 45-49. Barabara Brandenburg and Sherry Fadel took the top two in the women’s 45-49. Birgit Spann eaily won the 50-54 while Bill Haselden took 2nd among the men. Geary destroyed the 55-59 competition by five minutes, just as Patti Lowden easily crushed the 60-64. John Hancock managed third in the 65-69 with coach Spurrier’s wife Jerri winning the female division. Rocky Soderberg had an awesome finishing kick to take the 70+.