2009 Racing Season End is Nearing

I began my running racing season the first week in May in Reading at what turned out to be my smallest race of the year, the Winning Kick 5K. I finished the race in 26 minute 58 seconds. I posted a 23 minute and 20 second time for my last 5K race in early August, the Run for Reading 5K in Mechanicsburg. Five kilomters has become my race length of choice so far this season. I have shown decent improvement over this duration and it does not consume an excess of my time training for 5K's.

I have yet to complete my scheduled September races of 20K and a half marathon (21.1K). These longer races will have a much different character than the 5K and 10K races I have run to date.

First and foremost there will be thousands of racers for each event. Because these are longer events, runner congestion should dissipate by mile marker two or three. Since there are so many more people than my typical races, I anticipate the miles will go by quicker because of all of the visual interaction with the runners. You have to keep an eye on racers around you to make sure your lane is open ahead of you. In the course of doing so you often notice some 'character' runners such as folks running with flags or other self-promotional paraphernalia. On occasion, you will see a runner wearing a tribute message to a deceased love one on their shirt.

Another difference will be the number of spectators lining the roads at these races. Each race is expected to have 15,000+ spectators supporting the runners. In many ways these two races are city-wide festivals where the locals engage in what amounts to be a very large party.

My first running racing season is scheduled to end in late September. Although my last two races are not my forte distances, I believe they will be very memorable lifetime events both for myself and my family.

Note: I just went over 250 miles for the year on my Mizuno Wave Rider 12 sneakers. They are holding up remarkably well with no tears in the uppers or any indication of substantial wear on the soles.