Eight Mile 'Test Your Manhood ' Route

In an effort to build my endurance and leg strength I have created a local running route which is eight miles in length and features multiple hill climbs and descents. Because the route contains a fair amount of hills, it would not be regarded as a route where I would set a personal record for an eight mile race.

I have compared this eight mile route to other routes where I have run eight plus miles and this route is so demanding I complete it at a pace of about nine minutes per mile in contrast to the typical eight minutes per mile I can run on a flat eight mile course.

My next run will be a five mile run in York at the end of October called the White Rose run.  I ran this five mile course in 40 minutes and 36 seconds or a pace of about 8 minutes and 7 seconds per mile.  I finished 117 out of 292 runners - barely in the top 40% of the field.

The inaugural Hershey Half marathon is this Sunday.  I got locked out of the race as registration closed in early September for this October 3rd race.  I don't think I am ready for a thirteen mile race - but I would have liked to run it bandit style.  (i.e., Didn't sign up for the race - but run the race anyway because it's only three miles away from my house.)

Ironically this course is listed as a relatively flat one the MapMyRun website - but I know there are hills galore to contend with.  If a quarter mile section goes up and down several times within the section, but begins and ends at the same elevation - MyMapRun incorrectly lists the section as flat.  There will be many runners who will be surprised by how hilly the course is.

I am not going to make any predictions or goals for the York White Rose race.  I can only hope my training in the interim results in a better performance than last year.