Tag: Night Road Races

Race #98 – Tour de Elvis – Albemarle, NC – 08/13/10

Posted on by Richard Hefner

Elvis Presley cor 04photo © 2010 Luiz Fernando Reis | more info (via: Wylio)

If you have a sneaking SUSPICION that I’m going to the TROUBLE of trying to fit in all of the Elvis song titles into this post that I can think of, forget it. First of all, it’s way TOO MUCH work. IT HURTS ME that some people have such SUSPICIOUS MINDS, but THAT’S ALL RIGHT.
Early in the day I told Linda we would need to leave in plenty of time for the race since it was WAY DOWN in Albemarle, and she said, “If you LOVE ME you’ll let me take a nap before we leave. I said to her, “This is ONE NIGHT race I don’t want to miss. RECONSIDER BABY. You can always take a nap tomorrow.” So she said to me, “TOMORROW IS A LONG TIME, and I JUST CAN’T HELP BELIEVING that if I get a nap I won’t be ALL SHOOK UP during the race and I’ll be able to run better and maybe not take any walk breaks. I told her not to worry about it because “plenty of people walk, so YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE.”
I decided since I have such a BURNING LOVE for her she could go ahead and take her nap. I learned long ago to treat the women in my life with respect. When I was young and we lived IN THE GHETTO I got a little frisky with THE GIRL OF MY BEST FRIEND (or maybe it was hisLITTLE SISTER). It’s hard to explain, but A FOOL SUCH AS I has certain things that are ALWAYS ON MY MIND. Now even though I don’t remember if she was HIS LATEST FLAME or his sister, we called her POLK SALAD ANNIE, and THAT’S SOMEONE YOU’LL NEVER FORGET. One day when my friend wasn’t around I said to Annie, “BABY, LET’S PLAY HOUSE,” if you know what I mean. Well, one thing led to another and next thing I knew people were treating me worse than aHOUND DOG. I was in A MESS OF BLUES for sure, but I guess I’m just one of those guys whoCAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE. Lucky for me I didn’t end up in the JAILHOUSE. ROCKy, who had been a really good friend up to that point, never forgave me, even though I tried to change and told him, “Rocky, I’m DOING THE BEST I CAN.”
But I digress. Where were we? Oh yeah, so I let Linda take a nap. No biggy. I’m somewhat of aGUITAR MAN so I picked my axe and picked a few tunes until it was time to leave. I yelled into the bedroom, “IT’S NOW OR NEVER,” and as usual, got no response. Again I yelled, “ANY DAY NOW,” trying not to sound overly sarcastic. One more time I tried: “I’M LEAVIN’!’” She whimpered back, “DON’T BE CRUEL,” and old romantic that I am, decided on a different approach. “Did you know there’s going to be a BLUE MOON tonight? Let’s go and enjoy it together.” I was lying of course, but finally she stumbled out of bed. Frugal people that we are, we decided to drive the Honda Fit instead of our LONG BLACK LIMOUSINE, and headed over to Albemarle.
The race was classic Vac & Dash (that’s a good thing). It was a less-than-stellar performance for me, finishing at 22:25, but it was a hot night (there’s my excuse) and there were a couple of cross country high school teams with 10 or 12 runners each who were there to demoralize most of us 58-year-olds. There was Elvis music a’plenty and lots of good food afterwards including peanut butter and banana sandwiches (Elvis’ favorite), jelly donuts, pizza, and lots of other good stuff in addition to the healthy fare, which of course I didn’t touch.
Race Rating:
8 – 1-10 Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
7 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
9 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
7 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
4 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
3 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
7 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
8 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
8 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
10 – 0-10 Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
8 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0-10 Other
TOTAL – 91
My Stats:
Time: 22:25
Pace: 7:13
Age Group: 1 of 5
Overall: 42 of 196

Race #96 – Athletic Quilt Street Light 5k – Morganton, NC — 07/17/10

Posted on by Richard Hefner

As we all know, there are NO TIME OUTS in running, so before I lose track of where I’ve been and where I’m going, I’ll continue on my merry way, so please forgive my indiscretion if I seemed to lose my train of thought for a day or two.
Actually, things are starting to get interesting for the first time in a while. After almost two years of pain-free running over which time I’ve never missed a race because of injury, it’s looking like Race #97 won’t happen as scheduled, but I’ll talk about that in a later post.
Morganton’s Athletic Quilt Street Light 5k is a race I had heard quite a few people talk about as one of their favorites. I’m not a huge fan of the nighttime races since I don’t like running in the dark and it seems to mess up my running schedule, but this looked like our best option for the week and except for it being a rainy night in Morganton it turned out to be an enjoyable experience. Linda and I both finished in 1st place in our age groups and I won $50 in cash in a drawing after the awards. That’s something this race does that makes it stand out from other races. Each year part of the money taken in for the race is given back to the runners. To encourage people to hang around for the awards, the drawing is held after the awards are given out. I’m not sure if it changes from year to year, but this time around they drew six names who each received $50 in cash and also picked two winners who won $100 each, giving back to the runners a total of $500. Great idea, and it attracted more than 400 runners to this small Burke County town.
A couple days before the race I had to cut one of my training runs short because of a nagging knee pain that was developing, but during the race I felt fine, at least as far as my knee was concerned. My time was 21:48, which is maybe 15-30 seconds slower than I have been running lately, but I won my age group and the trophies were really great! My good buddy Michele Hoheiser, that speedy and loquacious Lolita from Long Island, surprised me by finishing just 1 second behind me and finished as 3rd female overall. I have a feeling that next time I’ll be chasing her. The overall top 3 as well as the Masters winners received really nice plaques instead of trophies.
With the race beginning at 9:30 at night and about 75 miles from home, I ended up getting in bed at 2 o’clock in the morning, knowing that I had to get up and meet a couple of friends to run an 18-mile long run at 6:30 on Sunday morning. I didn’t have any problem making it to the Sunday morning run, but a few miles into the run the knee pain that had bothered me a few days earlier came back and over about the next 5 miles I would be in pain for a while then it would get better, then it would happen again. At about 11 miles I had had enough and had to call Linda to come pick me up. As I write this it’s Thursday evening and I’ve already made the decision not to run a race this weekend, and it will be the first time I’ve missed a race because of an injury. Hopefully it will just be a temporary setback and I can get back on the road in the next week or so.
Click Here for Race Results (Partial list of age group winners only. If you know where a link can be found with full results please let me know.)
Race Rating:
1 – 1-10 Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
8 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
3 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
7 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
4 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
8 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
9 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
5 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
10 – 0-10 Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
5 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
10 – 0-10 Other (Gave $500 back to runners in drawing — I won $50)
TOTAL – 89
The race director, Robert Murray, sent me the following information including full results and age group winners a week or so after the race…
Light rain and somewhat cooler temperatures greeted a record number of runners at the 16th annual Athletic Quilt Streetlight 5K last Friday in Morganton.
The twilight race drew 393 registered runners with 373 finishers.
Matthew Elliott of Green Sea, S.C., led one of the most competitive fields in years across the line in a blistering 15 minutes, 38 seconds. Close behind Elliott was 20-year-old Justin Gragg of Lenoir (15:47).
Former Freedom High and UNC Charlotte standout Josh Baker rounded back into shape with a third-place overall finish and a time of 15:51.
Another former Freedom High runner led the ladies across the finish. Erin McKee, who now resides in Durham, destroyed the field by almost two minutes, with a time of 19:39 in the 3.1 mile race.
Melissa Darling of Granite Falls (21:34) and Michelle Hoheiser of Lincolnton (21:49) placed second and third respectively in the women’s race.
The masters division, consisting of participants age 40 and over, was won by Jeff Larson. The Connelly Springs resident ran a speedy 17:46 to win the group by nearly one minute.
George Patterson of Kings Mountain (18.44) and Bob Heck of Charlotte (19:01) went second and third.
Angi Hendley of Marion (22:34) slipped past Morganton’s Donna Thackwray (22:55) to win the female masters.
Adam Freudenthal of Spartanburg, S.C., ran a time of 15:58 to break the previous record in the 19-24 age male group.
The race also saw its first ever contestant over 80, as Dawson Hunter of Black Mountain finished with a time of 40:00 at age 81.
16th annual Athletic Quilt Streetlight 5K
Friday, July 16, 2010
Morganton, NC
Male overall
Matthew Elliott 15:38
Justin Gragg 15:47
Josh Baker 15:51
Male masters
Jeff Carson 17:46
George Patterson 18:44
Robert Heck 19:01
Male 11 and under
Kaleb McKinney 22.30
Seth Warren 24:59
Caleb Lutjens 26:14
Male 12-14
Luke Lowry 19:53
Eric Gilbert 20:15
Ben Pleasant 20:22
Male 15-18
Travis Franklin 16:51
Alex Griggs 17:17
Zach Millsaps 17:27
Male 19-24
Adam Freudenthal 15:58
Matt Trivette 16:16
Zack McKee 16:40
Male 25-29
Alejandro Arreola 16:54
Jonathan Dameron 17:39
Michael Settlemyre 19:28
Male 30-34
Jonathan Thacker 17:52
Joe Cornwell 18:36
Derek Reinhardt 18:56
Male 35-39
Mike Lawson 17:34
Bryan Jones 21:35
Dan Briggs 21:59
Male 40-44
Jerry Custo 19:32
Scott Mosteller 21:01
Allen Alfare 21:07
Male 45-49
Richard Lilly 19:40
Richard Vance 21:09
Tim Summers 21:39
Male 50-54
Charles Thomas 20:22
Stanly Stewart 21:17
Gary Moore 22:52
Male 55-59
Richard Hefner 21:48
Daryl Simpson 22:17
Fred Carpenter 24:03
Male 60-64
Chuck Bayles 20:48
Bubba Anthony 21:10
Jerry Sofley 22:27
Male 65-69
Bill Fitch 22:15
Will Cooper 31:07
Male 70 and over
Harold Blankenship 27:25
Lester Copeland 27:44
David Whitaker 34:19
Female overall
Erin McKee 19:39
Melissa Darling 21:34
Michelle Hoheiser 21:49
Female masters
Angi Hendley 22:34
Donna Thackwray 22:55
Angie Burn 24:33
Female 11 and under
Chloe Fountain 29:12
Lanie Bumgarner 34:45
Tyler Johncock 35:02
Female 12-14
Allie Castro 22:45
Morgan Ellis 22:53
Neely Hallman 23:08
Female 15-19
Kady Braswell 22:35
Courtney Hull 22:37
Sarah Lowry 23:31
Female 19-24
Jessie Morrison 23:23
Hannah Simpson 25:28
Laura Kisselberg 27:57
Female 25-29
Ingrid Anthony 25:32
Emily Rhoney 28:09
Sara Smith 30:16
Female 30-34
Mitzi Triplett 22:50
Stacy McKinney 25:13
Kate Harrington 25:58
Female 35-39 
Kim Oates 23:32
Jennifer Martin 26:12
Dawn Hershenson 26:18
Female 40-44
Shirley Yancey 26:00
Kelle Huffman 26:51
Shannon Burel 27:23
Female 45-49
Sherry Morrison 25:01
Elizabeth Parson 25:42
Stephanie Hammett 29:27
Female 50-54
Kathy Smith 25:18
Bubbi Siefert 25:34
Pam Jolley 27:55
Female 55-59
Linda Hefner 34:51
Anne Teague 40:46
Female 60-64
Joyce Pharr 29:13
Kinda Beane 38:37
Overall Results
1 Matthew Elliott 15.38
2 Justin Gragg 15.47
3 Josh Baker 15.51
4 Adam Freudenthal 15.58
5 Matt Trivette 16.16
6 Zack McKee 16.4
7 Travis Franklin 16.51
8 Alejandro Arreala 16.54
9 Alex Griggs 17.17
10 Zach Millsaps 17.27
11 Noah Green 17.31
12 Mike Lansen 17.34
13 Jonathan Dameron17.39
14 Jeffrey Carson 17.46
15 Benjamin Lowry 17.49
16 Jonathan Thacker 17.52
17 Landon Minton 17.53
18 Jonathan Sharp 18.03
19 Jake Warren 18.06
20 Hunter Townsend 18.32
21 Cameron Witherspoon 18.34
22 Joe Cornwell 18.36
23 German Perez 18.39
24 George Patterson 18.44
25 Derek Reinhardt 18.56
26 Zeb King 18.59
27 Jonathan Williams 18.59
28 Robert Heck 19.01
29 Richard Bilhorn 19.04
30 Mike Darling 19.07
31 McClain Stoneburner 19.10
32 Joshua Mosteller 19.19
33 Dwight Winters 19.22
34 Justin Boyd 19.23
35 Michael Settlemyre 19.28
36 Jerry Castro 19.32
37 Erin McKee 19.39
38 Richard Lilly 19.40
39 Colin Burton 19.50
40 Luke Lowry 19.53
41 Justin Kuhn 19.56
42 Ben Godfrey 20.03
43 Kevin Holder 20.03
44 Galen Keene 20.04
45 Nathan Thacker 20.05
46 Zachary Arensman 20.10
47 Travis Byers 20.11
48 Eric Gilbert 20.25
49 Anthony Felkins 20.20
50 Charles Thomas 20.22
51 Ben Pleasant 20.22
52 Bo Rutkowski 20.24
53 Zachary Wesson 20.28
54 Zachary Shuping 20.29
55 Austin Winters 20.30
56 Brian Rider 20.30
57 Robert Lyday 20.40
58 Chuck Bayles 20.43
59 Brett Hilton 21.01
60 John-Elam Foust 21.01
61 Scott Mosteller 21.02
62 Jake Ford 21.03
63 Allen Alfaro 21.07
64 Richard Vance 21.09
65 Bubba Anthony 21.10
66 Trenton Burnette 21.15
67 Stanly Stewart 21.17
68 Jeff Kenst 21.20
69 Melissa Darling 21.34
70 Bryan Jones 21.35
71 Tim Summers 21.39
72 Kasey Hernandez 21.40
73 Richard Hefner 21.48
74 Matthew Lowry 21.49
75 Michele Hoheiser 21.49
76 Scot Hayward 21.52
77 San Briggs 21.59
78 McCartney Barrier 22.07
79 Matt Bradshaw 22.09
80 Mark Stinson 22.10
81 Grant Barnette 22.12
82 Bill Fitch 22.15
83 Daryl Simpson 22.17
84 Josh Folan 22.18
85 Byron Wesson 22.20
86 Jerry Sofley 22.27
87 Jessie Supernor 22.29
88 Kaleb McKinney 22.30
89 Tres McNeil 22.31
90 Angi Hendley 22.34
91 Kady Braswell 22.35
92 Courtney Hall 22.37
93 Dylan Dessecker 22.43
94 Allie Castro 22.45
95 Mitzi Triplett 22.50
96 Gary Moore 22.52
97 Morgan Ellis 22.53
98 Donna Thackwray 22.58
99 Drake Johncock 22.59
100 Austin Jones 23.00
101 Tyler Henry 23.00
102 Neely Hallman 23.08
103 David Mitchell 23.17
104 Graham Fleming 23.22
105 Jessie Morrison 23.23
106 Stephen Horan 23.23
107 Lee Johnson 23.3
108 Sarah Lowry 23.3
109 Kim Oates 23.32
110 Ashton Creech 23.32
111 Chris Lineberger 23.25
112 Joseph Pless 23.39
113 Kaleb Feeback 23.4
114 Tom Perry 23.52
115 Hannah Arensman 23.52
116 Ian Troutman 23.53
117 William Matthew McNeill 23.54
118 Frank Cooper 23.57
119 Dave Erchman 24.02
120 Fred Carpenter 24.03
121 Luke Shely 24.04
122 Collin Foster 24.05
123 Brenneman Thompson 24.06
124 Logan Ruppard 24.06
125 Grayson Barnette 24.07
126 Hannah Bolick 24.08
127 Cody Burel 24.12
128 Bruce Caldwell 24.13
129 Taylor Whisenant 24.14
130 Andrew Call 24.14
131 Amelia Bruce 24.15
132 Colt Chester 24.19
133 Grant Medlock 24.2
134 Mike Wilson 24.25
135 Ben Lineberger 24.27
136 Lee Starnes 24.28
137 Gabe Ellis 24.28
138 Angie Burn 24.33
139 Bradley Baldwin 24.34
140 Brooke Anderson 24.36
141 Zane Millsaps 24.43
142 Jason White 24.44
143 William McNeill 24.44
144 John Zimmerman 24.46
145 Rodney Sprinkle 24.47
146 Ty Stephenson 24.53
147 Michael Flicker 24.55
148 Garret Linquist 24.56
149 Mark Brooks 24.56
150 Seth Warren 24.59
151 Sherry Morrison 25.01
152 Keith Ruppard 25.03
153 Joe Hord 25.06
154 Daniel Gardner 25.08
155 John Gibbs 25.1
156 SR Evans 25.11
157 Adam Lineberger 25.12
158 Stacy McKinney 25.13
159 Brittany Porter 25.14
160 Phillip Gardner 25.14
161 Kathy Smith 25.18
162 James Wachsmuth 25.19
163 CJ McPherson 25.24
164 Alexis Mitchell 25.27
165 Hannah Simpson 25.28
166 Ingrid Anthony 25.32
167 Bobby Siefert 25.34
168 Michael Bingham 25.41
169 Elizabeth Parson 25.42
170 EllenSchilkowsky 25.43
171 Gary Coonse 25.44
172 Rodney Poston 25.57
173 Kate Harrington 25.58
174 Shirley Yancey 26
175 Charles Hall 26.09
176 Joshua Lowry 26.11
177 Jennifer Martin 26.12
178 Jason Ekkus 26.13
179 Caleb Lutjens 26.14
180 Michael Gonzalez 26.17
181 Dawn Hershenson 26.18
182 Monte Cable 26.18
183 Logan Winstead 26.19
184 Couby Stilwell 26.22
185 Junior Lain 26.22
186 Steve White 26.25
187 Mike White 26.26
188 Scott Whitmire 26.29
189 Richard McNeil 26.3
190 Steven Hice 26.37
191 Stan Winstead 26.46
192 Kelle Huffman 26.51
193 Tyler Turner 26.53
194 Steve Corder 26.53
195 Cassidy Mull 27.02
196 Dave Johnson 27.07
197 Mary Jessamine Michaels 27.09
198 Paul Haarala 27.09
199 Trevor Propst 27.1
200 Davis Biggerstaff 37.15
201 Lacey Warren 27.16
202 Tanner Melton 27.17
203 Will Copeland 27.17
204 Thomas Townsend 27.29
205 Zachary White 27.2
206 Caleb Craig 27.22
207 ShannonBurel 27.23
208 Harold Blankenship 27.25
209 Robin Bowen 27.3
210 David Lowry 27.32
211 Deana Barrier 27.32
212 Shane Hamby 27.34
213 Emily Harris 27.35
214 Steve Connor 27.35
215 Jon White 27.37
216 Ray Burnette 27.38
217 Jason Peidl 27.4
218 Lester Copeland 27.44
219 Pam Jolley 27.55
220 Johnathon Kersey 27.55
221 Nicole Brittain 27.56
222 Bailey Ragle 27.56
223 Sheri Dale 27.57
224 Laura Kisselburg 27.57
225 Madison Smith 27.58
226 Jacob Pratt 27.59
227 Neil Farris 28.02
228 Emily Rhoney 28.04
229 Hannah Corde 28.1
230 Kathy Robb-Williams 28.12
231 Scott Dagenhardt 28.19
232 Brian Rhoney 28.2
233 Jeff Hilton 28.32
234 Joshua Coates 28.42
235 Henry Warlick 28.47
236 Anna Ollis 28.52
237 Tony Daugherty 28.55
238 Unknown Runner 28.56
239 Donna Cope 29.09
240 Tracy Cooper 29.1
241 Wade Brittain 29.11
242 Andrew Robinson 29.12
243 Chloe Fountain 29.12
244 Joyce Pharr 29.13
245 Ellen Fountain 29.15
246 Ryan Farris 29.16
247 Caleb Hart 29.17
248 Cameron Connor 29.19
249 Stephanie Hammett 29.27
250 Karen Connor 29.31
251 Lisa Heller 29.33
252 Sydney Tomblin 29.33
253 Lisa Warren 29.36
254 Mason Streppa 29.38
255 Melissa Streppa 29.44
256 Mike Carpenter 29.45
257 Amy Evans 29.5
258 Amber Queen 29.5
259 Ernest Mitchell 29.52
260 William Pleasant 29.54
261 William Mitchell 29.54
262 Lori Whitmire 29.56
263 Jamie Minton 29.57
264 Wayne Burns 30.01
265 Chad Bolick 30.01
266 Donna Burns 30.02
267 Dawn Barnette 30.07
268 Kirsten Blanton 30.08
269 Sara Smith 30.16
270 Keith Clontz 30.18
271 Sara Poovey 30.19
272 Brooke Wilson 30.19
273 Michael Cope 30.21
274 Laura Wesson 30.38
275 Susan Bumgarner 30.43
276 Steve Bumgarner 30.47
277 Stephen Lyday 30.47
278 Amanda Berry 30.54
279 Christy Fleming 31.01
280 Bobbie Hilton 31.02
281 Will Cooper 31.07
282 Jennifer Lyday 31.11
283 Kerri Whitener 31.17
284 Madelyn Cockrell 31.18
285 April Hirons 31.2
286 Ashleigh Cox 31.21
287 Eleni Zenteno 31.25
288 Angela Myers 31.25
289 Margaret Ward 31.24
290 Amanda Bowen 31.27
291 Jessica Minton-Coble 31.32
292 Taylor Rios 31.34
293 Jamie Linquist 31.42
294 Sherri Russell 31.52
295 Arielle Lancaster 32.04
296 Ben Lancaster 32.12
297 Mary Simpson 32.14
298 Vicki Bradshaw 32.14
299 Stormi Bingham 32.23
300 Amanda Powell 32.39
301 Michael McBride 32.29
302 Roxanne Stiles 32.34
303 Joseph Martin 32.35
304 Chester Ragland 32.38
305 Angela Proffit 32.55
306 Bobbi Williamson 33.02
307 Rebecca Winkler 33.05
308 Alex Brown 33.08
309 Nick Cunningham 33.09
310 33.11
311 Kati Lockhart 33.13
312 33.16
313 Lonnie Porter 33.17
314 Tabetha Faught 33.34
315 Dana Ledbetter 33.4
316 Anne Gonzalez 33.42
317 Alex Pleasant 34.03
318 Shannon Pleasant 34.08
319 Brandi Bumgarner 34.09
320 David Whitaker 34.19
321 David Lowman 34.26
322 Melissa Bowman 34.27
323 Diana Caldwell 34.27
324 Kelsey Turnmire 34.28
325 Casey Caldwell 34.45
326 Lanie Bumgarner 34.48
327 Linda Hefner 34.51
328 Tyler Johncock 35.02
329 Reba Martin 35.03
330 Sydney Clawson 35.11
331 Jason Ledbetter 35.11
332 Mike Rutkowski 35.37
333 Tatum Rutkowski 35.54
334 Sydney Lockhart 35.54
335 Rick Moore 35.55
336 James Hart 35.57
337 36.1
338 Deanna Rios 36.2
339 Walter Pharr 36.37
340 Jerry White 37.08
341 Annette Ramsey 37.32
342 Luke Fountain 37.55
343 Robin Lail 38.03
344 Tracy Stilwell 38.21
345 Angela Porch 38.22
346 Hal Hershenson 38.24
347 Micah Hershenson 38.24
348 Danny Seagle 38.24
349 Loinda Beane 38.37
350 Kade Clawson 38.41
351 Shawn Beane 38.42
352 Shannon Horan 38.42
353 Ashley Hart 39.04
354 Ginger Biggerstaff 39.04
355 Pam Plemons 39.04
356 Juliet Horan 39.06
357 Don McMahill 30.09
358 Lisa Goersch 39.12
359 Susan Bruce 38.36
360 Shirley Hilton 39.44
361 Kelly Sizemore 39.59
362 Dawson Hunter 40
363 Anne Teague 40.46
364 Sydnor Thompson 41.51
365 Lucy Lutjens 42.09
366 Chuck Hensley 43.24
367 Jerry Neill 43.24
368 Caroline Foster 45.4
369 Corey Martin 45.52
370 Christian Ragle 46.02
371 Heidi Minton 46.3
372 Agnes Dillingham 46.32

Race #91 – China Grove 5k Main Street Challenge – China Grove, NC – 06/11/10

Posted on by Richard Hefner

It was a hot, steamy night in China Grove for the 13th annual Main Street Challenge. I dislike cold weather so much that I really don’t like complaining about hot weather at all, and since we all knew it would be a steamer before we got there, it’s all part of the adventure. Like it or not though, the wheels don’t seem to turn quite as quickly when you’re running on a hot summer night with a temperature of 85 degrees and I think quite a few folks ran slower times than they normally do although Jordan Kinley, the overall race winner, blazed the trail at 15:05.
I’ve been stuck in the 21-minute range in 5k races for a while and didn’t feel great going into this one, so I was happy to finish in 20:57 and win my age group just ahead of Steve Staley. Steve always provides me with a little extra motivation and since I knew he was right on my heels it helped me stay focused. Other than one or two gentle inclines that are barely noticeable it’s a flat out-and-back run all the way with the only turn being the halfway point of the race where you run around a barrel to head back in the other direction. This year’s race wasn’t nearly as dark as the one last year. I remember last year not being able to see where I was stepping but that wasn’t an issue this year. I think they had enough temporary lighting set up to eliminate the problem.
It was still dark enough though that I couldn’t read my Garmin, even when I turned on the backlight. I could wear my glasses and see it, of course, but what fun would that be? I’ve been monitoring my heart rate in races for the past few months. When I first started experimenting with it I would raise my heart rate to 166 — about 92% of my Maximum Heart Rate — then try to stay right at that level throughout the race. Over time I’ve begun to fine tune my 5k heart rate, finishing the first mile at about 166 beats per minute (bpm), then building up the second mile to around 168 or 170 bpm, then gradually going up to 172 or 173 bpm for the third mile. Of course, not being able to read my Garmin I had to go by perception instead of actually looking at the numbers, so I was surprised to find that it worked according to plan in the race, with my heart rate averaging 169 in the second mile and 173 in the third mile.
This is a fun race and one of my favorite local races. I’m using the term “local” loosely because it’s about a 40-mile drive but I consider anything within 50 miles or so local since we can get there within an hour. The town of China Grove really gets behind this race with support and it’s a first class event all the way. The word is apparently spreading about what a great race it is, and this year there was a record crowd of 531 finishers as opposed to 390 in 2009.
Before the 5k race begins at 9 p.m., there is a Tot Trot that starts at 8:00 for the toddlers, followed by a half mile fun run for bigger kids. Other pre-race activities include several inflatable bounce houses for kids (I think there were three of them), lots of music, and a free Krispy Kreme donut booth where you can design your own by dipping them in chocolate or add sprinkles or whatever.
The post-race food is some of the best you’ll find at any race including fresh watermelon and cantaloupe, free Pizza Hut pizza, cookies, bagels, bananas, oranges, sports drinks, Cheerwine, and more.
This year’s T-shirts were nice as well — gold colored tech shirts. There were nice trophies for the Overall, Masters, and Grand Masters, and nice custom-made medals for the age group winners as well as gift certificates from Dick’s Sporting Goods.
I still prefer morning races but the change of pace to a nighttime race is nice occasionally, and this is one that I’ll keep on the schedule for next year.
Race Rating:
3 – 1-10 Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
8 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
10 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
9 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
9 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
10 – 0-10 Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
5 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
7 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0-10 Other
TOTAL – 98
My Stats:
Time: 20:57
Pace: 6:46
Mile Splits: (1) 6:35 — (2) 6:51 — (3) 6:46
Age Group: 1 of 10
Overall: 52 of 531 (9.8%)

Race #84 – Town & Country 5k – Waxhaw NC – 04/30/10

Posted on by Richard Hefner

This weekend we had the pleasure of keeping our 2-year-old grandson Jonas for two days. Linda and I were both excited to take him to his very first race. We had originally planned on running a 5k at McAlpine Park in Charlotte on Saturday morning but decided instead on the Friday night 5k in Waxhaw so we could sleep later on Saturday morning.
We left Gastonia just in time to hit the Friday afternoon rush hour traffic on I-485 heading towards Pineville, which is always a lovely experience. After an hour or so of stop-and-go driving we finally escaped the logjam on 485 and were headed down US 521 towards Waxhaw. We had brought Jonas some snacks but Linda and I were getting hungry. We thought we were leaving home in time to stop and eat but the slow traffic changed those plans. Race time was fast approaching so using my grandfatherly wisdom I decided our best move would be to find the race site and register to run, then find some food. Surely there’s somewhere to grab a quick bite to eat in all of downtown metropolitan Waxhaw. Uh… maybe not. The little cafe we spotted across the railroad tracks with the big red sign that said “OPEN” in bright neon letters was actually only open for breakfast and lunch. We walked down the main street and found an open restaurant that I thought looked a little too fancy for a quick snack (it was less than 30 minutes before the start of the race). Linda insisted on going in though, and we were met with all sorts of righteous indignation when we asked about something quick to eat. Note to self: When going to a small town at the last minute, either eat before you get there or pack a lunch. Luckily there was a small service station back up the street where we were able to buy 8 dollars worth of junk food to eat before the race. And I wonder why it wasn’t one of my better races.
I was happy to see Frank Golden, who I’ve come to know from the Charlotte races, just before the race and we went to the starting line together, positioning ourselves just behind the fast and mostly younger guys up front. Frank is one of the fastest guys in the 65-69 age group in the Charlotte area and was one of only two runners in that age group in this race. The other was Saied Eftekhari, who just happened to line up right next to us. Neither of us had met Saied before, but he is a long-time runner and is fast in the age group as well. After the race started, I went out ahead of both of them and didn’t see them again during the race, but from the final results it was quite a race between the two. Frank finished just 3 seconds ahead of Saied in what must have been a barn-burner for them. It made me think of why racing is so much fun for those of us who do it. In every race there is really just one overall winner, and that’s an enviable position that most of us will never be in. In my 84 races the closest I’ve come to the top was 5th place overall, and that was just a small race. To those of us who run though, there’s way more to it than being the overall winner or even winning an age group award. Every race has hundreds of little mini-races underlying the main race. I was fortunate to win the 55-59 age group today but I was unaware of the two fellas who finished 2nd and 3rd. They were only 11 seconds apart, which is pretty close over 3.1 miles. They might have been unaware of each other (it can get crowded out there) or maybe they had their radar on each other the whole way, but it was a race all the same. Even the 4th place finisher, who wasn’t too far behind, was in a race trying to catch the 3rd place, and it goes on and on. Neighbors and friends race against each other. People who work together run to see who’s fastest. To those who don’t run it may all seem too competitive and maybe too stressful, but to those of us who “get it” about running, it’s not nearly so much about trying to outrun all of the competition so much as it’s all of us together running a race, not so much AGAINST everybody else, but WITH everybody else. Sure we want to do our best, but for most of us trouncing the competition takes a back seat to enjoying the race and the people.
In the Law-of-Diminishing-Returns Department, I bought some new racing flats this week: Mizuno Wave Universe 3. In a sport where light shoes can make a world of difference, these are the lightest — 3.6 ounces! That’s a little like running in your socks, and that’s a little bit what it felt like. For an elite runner who’s running 5000 meters in 14 or 15 minutes, these could make a huge difference; for me, not so much. It’s not that they’re not great shoes. They’re actually kind of amazing for that weight, but for me the difference seemed to be minimal at best, and I managed to run exactly 1 minute slower than I did a week ago in my “heavy” 8-ounce shoes. It’s hard to compare races from week to week though, with changes in weather, different courses, and other variables all making small differences in your results. Several people warned me that the third mile of this race was tough, and my mile splits confirm that they were being honest. I ran the first mile in 6:32, the second mile in 6:47, and I crept along at a pace of 7:21 for the third mile.
We were glad to see that some of the Charlotte racing crowd trickled down to Waxhaw for the race and I especially appreciated three people coming up to me and telling me they enjoyed my blog: Frank Golden’s wife, Iris, who is also a runner and I was surprised she knew I had a blog; Steve Brown, who has been a Facebook friend for months and although we had done some races at the same time I had never met him until this race; and Joe Soehnlen, who is the head coach of Track & Field at Wingate University. Joe told me he had brought a couple of guys from his track team to run the race, but in all of his modesty he didn’t mention that one of them, 18-year-old Andrew Smith, was the overall winner of this tough race with a time of 16:59, a full 34-seconds ahead of second place.
Race Rating:
7 – 1-10 Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
4 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
4 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
4 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
4 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
7 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
5 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
7 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
10 – 0-10 Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
6 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0 – 0-10 Other
TOTAL – 75
My Stats:
Time: 21:47
Pace: 7:01
Age Group: 1 of 13
Overall: 25 of 489

Race #69 – Running of the Lights – Clemmons NC – 01/01/10

Posted on by Richard Hefner

Early in the afternoon on New Years Eve as I lay on the bed recovering from one of my numerous daily “power naps” (I feel less guilty describing them that way), in a moment of weakness/laziness I asked Linda if she’d rather just skip driving 90 miles to this race. We talked over the pros and cons for a few minutes. We had planned to run it last year and I pre-registered then and even got a prepaid hotel room, and wouldn’t you know it, we both came down with a stomach virus and were in no shape to run, so it cost me $150 or so and we never even made the trip. This year I didn’t pre-register for anything, but we both felt fine and decided the pros outweighed the cons so we headed up to Tanglewood Park for Running of the Lights.
The description of the race on the web left little doubt that by missing this race you’d be missing a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It read like this:
Start the New Year off on a healthy note! Join us for a night of fun and celebration that will begin with fireworks and end with a hot chocolate toast to the healthy New Year! This run course will be an experience of a lifetime. Runners will wind through the park at midnight and experience the Tanglewood Festival of Lights in a whole new way, on foot! This will be by far the most scenic run course in Christmas history. It will be a Christmas wonderland of lights and action. Don’t miss it!
This event is quickly becoming a family favorite. There’s no better way to spend New Year’s Eve than with a group of family and friends running and supporting a great cause!
This unique event is like no other running event in the state of North Carolina. Never before has anyone had the opportunity to marvel at the Festival of Lights outside of their vehicle! Now participants can stroll through the Christmas wonderland at whatever pace they choose, and then relish in hot chocolate provided at the finish line.
The race starts at the stroke of midnight. We will celebrate the New Year with a fireworks display and a Live Feed to New York’s Timesquare to count down the New Year and start the race!
The fireworks show will be near the front entrance of the park, so participants will be able to run through the lights (the best lights displays are towards the front of the park) while watching the fireworks go off! It’ll be a 6-8 minute display of fireworks!
All of that is true, of course, but reality sometimes gets in the way. It’s great to run through the lights and the fireworks, but when you’re in a race it’s really hard to concentrate on anything other than the act of running, so the lights are probably better appreciated from the comfort of a car. There were some nice lights that really did add to the atmosphere, but there were some places that the road was so dark you couldn’t see where your next step was landing at all. At those places you had to pretty much depend on blind faith, hoping there wasn’t a pothole or speedbump or some other obstacle. Bobby Aswell, who finished 2nd overall in the race, told me afterwards that he stepped on a speedbump that he didn’t see and almost fell but managed to stay on his feet. My wife Linda had a similar experience. I think we can all agree that falling on your face onto the cold, hard asphalt would be an unpleasant experience. I didn’t get tripped up at all but felt a little jumpy about the fact that I was guessing part of the time where my feet were landing.
I have to say the beginning of the race was pretty cool as there was a big screen TV set up showing the ball dropping at Times Square. We counted down as the ball dropped and precisely at the stroke of midnight the race began.
One thing that strikes me odd about this race is the 3.2 mile distance, which of course is just a tenth of a mile longer than a 5k. Before the race I imagined that it was just too hard to make the course a 5k so they just worked with what they had, but that wasn’t the case at all. At one point during the race there was a turnaround at a guard house. It was a fine place to turn around, but it would have been just as easy for the runners if the race directors would have placed an orange cone about .05 miles closer in, which would have resulted in a 5k race. That’s a standard distance, easily understood and compared by runners. For me personally, I log all of my runs through RunningAhead and my Personal Records are automatically generated from my race times. I don’t really want an odd distance race in there like 3.2 miles so I had to enter the race as a training run instead. No biggy, but this might be the only 3.2 mile race I ever run and I don’t want it showing up every time my PRs are generated for the rest of my life.
As far as relishing in the hot chocolate provided at the finish line, uh… not so much. There were packets of hot chocolate and you mixed your own. That’s not ideal but it’s do-able. Problem here was that there wasn’t enough hot water for people who wanted to make hot chocolate. There were two big coffee urns filled with hot water. I’m not sure what each would hold… 50 cups… 100 cups? Maybe. That’s not quite enough for 722 runners plus the spectators they brought along. Also, if you did manage to get water, it wasn’t really hot. Mine was lukewarm at best. There was other food. I wasn’t that hungry at 1 o’clock in the morning so I didn’t get too deep into the food section but I did get some pretty good chocolate chip cookies.
One other problem I should mention: the registration, entertainment, food, and awards were all set up in a big grassy field. Luckily it wasn’t raining during the race activities, but it had been rainy for a day or two beforehand and also the big snow of last week had been melting. With hundreds of people walking around it didn’t take long for it to change from a grassy field to a muddy field. It wasn’t terrible, but there was enough mud that my favorite racing shoes are now a mess. Maybe they’ll clean nicely.
The best part of the whole race was probably the T-shirts: dark red, long-sleeved tech shirts, and nicely designed. I never get enough of the long-sleeved tech shirts.
My Race Stats:
  • Time:  23:00
  • Pace:  7:12
  • Overall:  35 of 722 (4.8%)
  • Gender:  34 of 325 (10.5%)
  • Age Group:  2 of 12 (16.7%)

Click Here for Race Photos by Carolina Snapshot

Click Here for Overall Race Results

Race Rating
5 – 1-10  Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
4 – 1-10  Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
6 – 1-10  Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
6 – 1-10  Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
9 – 1-10  T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 4/6   Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
5 – 0/5   Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6   Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7   Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
4 – 1-10  Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
5 – 1-10  Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
6 – 1-10  Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
10 – 0-10  Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 – 0/5   Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
5 – 1-10  Bathroom Facilities
0-10  Other
TOTAL – 82

Race #59 – CaroMont Candlelight 8k – Gastonia, NC – 10/24/09

Posted on by Richard Hefner

It was one of the few nighttime races we’ve run, and now I remember why — you can’t see anything in the dark. There were supposed to be luminaires lighting the way, and there actually were some, but it looked as though they might have either run out of luminaires or volunteers who were willing to put them out, so the course lighting left a little to be desires. It actually wasn’t much of a problem. There were streetlights illuminating the way throughout most of the course and the weather was perfect.
The course itself was one of the worst. After leaving the hospital drive we took a left turn up a fairly steep and long hill. That wasn’t too bad in itself but the 8k course took us for three loops around the same circle, so we ended up having to climb that same hill three times. Not that anybody would cheat, but anyone could have easily just done two loops around the circle and went straight to the finish and I’d be surprised if some people didn’t do that. Linda said they tried to direct her to the finish at the end of her second loop and she had to go out of her way to tell them she needed to do another lap.
Overall, though, we had a lot of fun and it was a pretty good race. It was only our third race in our home town of Gastonia, and that’s always special, and I actually indirectly work for CaroMont. I work as an independent medical transcriptionist and all of the doctors I transcribe for are CaroMont doctors, so it was nice to be in a race sponsored by CaroMont Health.
There were actually three races, with the largest being a Fun Run for approximately 500 participants in the Girls on the Run program along with anybody else who wanted to run with them. The Fun Run was followed by a 4k race at 8:00 p.m., which was followed by the 8k race at about 8:15. Just as you’d expect, there was a huge crowd for the Girls on the Run, which always brings in a lot of family and friends for support, and by the end of the 8k the crowd had thinned out to only the 8k participants.
There was a cash prize of $500 for the 1st place overall finisher, and 1st place went to Julian Kogo, originally from Kenya but now living in Chapel Hill, who was going so fast when he lapped me (near the end of my 2nd lap) that I had to check to make sure I wasn’t backing up. His time of 23:21 (4:42 pace) beat 2nd place speedster Ryan Woods of Boone by over 2 minutes.
It was my first 8k race and I finished first in my age group with a time of 35:57 (about a 7:15 pace). Linda was also first in her age group, and the age group awards were gift certificates to TrySports (1st place $15; 2nd and 3rd place $10). It’s kind of a long haul from Gastonia to TrySports but we’re over that way pretty often so we’ll be using ours.
Instead of T-shirts they gave out hospital scrubs with the race logo. Kind of a nice change although I’m not sure I’ll ever wear it.

Click Here for Race Results

Race Rating:
8 – 1-10  Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
5 – 1-10  Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
7 – 1-10  Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
4 – 1-10  Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
6 – 1-10  T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 4/6   Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 – 0/5   Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6   Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
3 – 3/7   Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
3 – 1-10  Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 1-10  Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
9 – 1-10  Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
9 – 0-10  Age Groups (9 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 – 0/5   Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
3 – 1-10  Bathroom Facilities
0 – 0-10  Other
TOTAL – 71

Race #46 – Hot Summer’s Night 5k – Columbia SC – 08/01/09

Posted on by Richard Hefner

It was slim pickin’s in the Charlotte area for races this weekend so we slid down Interstate 77 to the Hot Summer’s Night 5k in Columbia, South Carolina. I’m not sure of the official temperature at the 7 p.m. race time, but it was probably somewhere between 85 and 90 degrees, so it was probably too hot to be running, but I was happy we did it, at least after it was over. It was our first race in the Columbia area, and it was one of the Palmetto Grand Prix races. The race management by Strictly Running seemed excellent and included computers with fairly large and readable screens with the results just after you finished the race and an announcer who encouraged you across the finish line.
The course was pretty much flat, with just a few small inclines, but with the way I felt in the heat I decided to take a 20-second walk break in both the 2nd and 3rd mile and definitely felt better for it. I had been maybe 20 or 30 yards in back of two guys who appeared to be about my age and I figured I’d lose them if I walked, but whaddya know, I caught both of them after the two walk breaks and managed to pass them in the last tenth of a mile or so. Chalk another one up for the Jeff Galloway run-walk-run method! I finished 2nd in the Male 55-59 division with a time of 22:51.
The food was a little spread out — water and sports drinks at the finish line, more than enough pizza for everybody about 20 or 30 yards away, then across the field by the Hand Middle School (where the race registration was held) there was more fruit (including some great watermelon, apples, oranges, bananas) and lots of cookies.
We registered at the race and were too late to get one of the official race shirts but instead they gave us a Strictly Running shirt that says “See Ya” in big letters on the back. It’s white and cotton, but it’s a good one that will actually get worn.
It appeared that most (maybe all) of the Palmetto Grand Prix races have a professional photographer on hand at their races so I was happy to leave my camera in the car. The photos are pending as I write this but I’ll include a link to where they’ll be found when they’re available.
Race Rating
8 – 1-10 Website (Informaton, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
7 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
7 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
9 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
7 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
6 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
5 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
7 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
5 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
5 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
7 – 3/7 Age Groups (7 if 5-year groups; 3 if 10-year groups)
5 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
4 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0 – 0-10 Other
TOTAL – 95

Race #41 – Candlelight Run 5k – Greenville SC – 06/20/09

Posted on by Richard Hefner

It would be our third race in about 24 hours, but Linda and I agreed that the biggest nighttime race in South Carolina, on a course filled with 21,000 luminaries, sounded like fun and a nice way to celebrate our 30th anniversary (it’s the 21st actually) so we decided to head down that way. Mitchell Rippy had mentioned to me at the Summer Breeze 5k Saturday morning that he and Bubba Anthony were heading down to the Candlelight Run that night. I’m not sure if he said Columbia or I just processed the information wrong, but I was ready to set sail for Columbia. The race directors had a block of rooms reserved at Embassy Suites at a special rate for runners, and luckily we called ahead for reservations just before we left town. The reservations clerk informed us we were heading for Greenville instead, which was a nice surprise since it’s actually closer to us.
As we approached Greenville, a time and temperature sign along Interstate 85 rubbed in the fact that it was 95 degrees, but we figured it would cool off some in the two hours until race time. It did cool off a bit but was still probably about 85 degrees and muggy when the race started at 9 p.m., and as we crossed the starting line I was reminded that there’s a reason that many sane people don’t sign up for this type of thing. Nevertheless, there we were, heading up the first long hill with 2,000 other crazy people who paid money to run up some long hills on one of the hottest nights of the year. On the other hand, we also got to run down those same hills on the way back and the final mile was virtually all downhill. That was helpful, but I was so tired from going up the hill in the opposite direction I had a hard time running fast back down the hill. As you can see from the spikes on the graph from my Garmin, I reverted back to my old standby — the run-walk-run — and walked six times during the race.
I’d really rather prefer not walking at all during a 5k race, but when I feel like it will help me recover and possibly run better a little later in the race, it still works for me. Despite all of the walk breaks I still finished in 23:28, and Linda and I both got 3rd place in our age divisions, which we thought was a nice way to celebrate our 30th anniversary!
The post-race celebration was great, with plenty of food as well as music and lots of people dancing before the awards ceremony. The results of the race weren’t posted ahead of time so you had to wait around to see if you won an age group award. That’s no problem if you won, but if you didn’t win it’s kind of disappointing. I’m sure most people would prefer knowing ahead of time. The T-shirts were nice, but since we registered late we didn’t get one. No problem there, but the more thoughtful races (it happened at the Summer Breeze yesterday) give a discount of five bucks or so if they run out of T-shirts, but they didn’t do that here.
I didn’t get any good photos at this race but there were professional photographers at the race and photos as well as race results can be found through the Candlelight Run website and the Greenville Online site (see link below).
Race Ratings
9 – 1-10 Website (Informaton, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
3 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
9 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
7 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
6 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
6 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
5 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
7 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
7 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
8 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
7 – 3/7 Age Groups (7 if 5-year groups; 3 if 10-year groups)
0 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
7 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0-10 Other
TOTAL – 94

Race #37 – China Grove 5k Main Street Challenge – China Grove NC – 06/12/09

Posted on by Richard Hefner

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
With a start time of 9:00 p.m., the biggest challenge I faced in this race was seeing where I was going. Not to worry though… it was a straight shot down Main Street in China Grove with no deviation onto side streets, then run around the cone and straight back to the finish. Once you get out of the main part of town (maybe a quarter mile or so) there are no more street lights, so the later it gets, the darker it gets, and on the way back up the course I found myself thinking that I’m glad it’s a straight shot on a good road because I literally couldn’t see where my feet were landing.
It’s an extremely fast course due to the fact that turns do slow you down, and also there are no discernible hills, although you can sense a little rise and fall in elevation along the way. The overall winner, Ryan Woods of Boone, finished in a blistering 14:58, and I think a lot of PRs were set despite temperatures that were probably 10 degrees warmer than most morning races.
I finished in 21:51, which is just 10 seconds off my PR, but still didn’t place in my age group, finishing 4th among 12 runners (67th overall out of 390 finishers). My mile splits were: 6:38, 7:16, and 7:11, so I was happy to at least run the third mile faster than the second although I actually took a 20-second walk break in both the 2nd and 3rd mile. Interestingly, the 3 top finishers in my age division all finished within 1 second of each other at 21:24.
Theoden Janes, whose excellent Charlotte Observer running blog I’ve been following lately, was out to set a new PR, according to his blog, and about a quarter mile into the race I looked up and he was right in front of me. I stayed behind him for a while and then passed him when he was slowed down a little by a couple of runners who slowed down directly in front of him. Before long he passed me again and was gone, finishing in 21:39 and getting his PR.
Overall it was a great race and a lot of fun, with lots of good food and entertainment before and after the race, and the awards (one of which I didn’t get) were really nice as well. There were also technical material T-shirts, which is a rarity for the 5k races.
I got a few photos but as it grew darker that became more of a challenge, so it’s kind of limited, but I’ve included about 15 in a slideshow at the top.
Race Rating:
5 – 1-10 Website (Informaton, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
8 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
8 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
5 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
8 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
7 – 3/7 Age Groups (7 if 5-year groups; 3 if 10-year groups)
5 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
5 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0-10 Other
TOTAL – 92