Race Report - 2007 New Charles River Run

Ah.... the New Charles River Run. Traditionally (well two years isn't much of a tradition), I have used this race to kick off my summer racing season. Here's my log entry from last year:

Sunday,Jun 25, 2006 Temp: 65, rainy

New Charles River Run 7.5 miles - 47:27

splits - 6:02, 6:15, 6:22, 6:34, 6:22, 6:30, 6:24, 2:58

Felt a bit like dry heaving after mile 5.

I guess dry heaving was the only thing that stuck out about this race last year! This is the 2nd edition of this recently resurrected race and it has become quite a draw for a local race... last count I believe they maxed out at 1000 runners for the 7.5m race and 600 for the 5K race. Kudos to the race director for making sure everything ran smoothly.

The weather today was perfect summer picnic weather, in the 70s, but a bit on the warm side for racing. I didn't have a goal today other than besting my time from last year. Training has been consistent the last three weeks (35 mpw average), but I spent most of last week worn out from jet lag after coming back from Alaska. I got up around 7:15 and was out the door by 7:45. Not feeling very peppy this morning. By the time I hit Greenough Blvd about 1/4 mile from the Marsh Post, the line of cars was growing, so I pulled a quick U-turn and joined the line. The proximity to the start line ended up being a boon for the warm-up. I made a beeline for the port-a-johns and luckily lined up in front of Reach the Beach teammate Ramses. We took a relaxed warm up jog together and did a quick change of clothes before heading to the start line.

There was an unusually long delay at the start line as the race director waited for late runners rushing to the start line. I chatted briefly with some folks I train with at Boston Fit, and then made my way to the third row. I spotted Josh, being his usual charming self before the start of race. I always marvel at people that can be so relaxed before the start of race. Bill Rodgers made a cameo before joking that he couldn't keep up with the fast guys, then walked back to the middle of the pack.

The race itself went remarkably well. After blazing through the 1st mile in 5:55, I found a small pack of 5-6 runners and settled into a 6:15-6:18 pace. I also spotted a runner from last years race that I ran with and passed near the end, which gave me a good reference point. After passing mile 2, this dude came up on my left and proceeded to cut me off. This irksome behavior fired up my competitive juices and I ended up tailing him for the next 4 miles. Call it runners rage at being cut off. I managed to reel off very consistent splits, which was a new thing for me in shorter races. The hill at mile 5 was not as bad this year... and no dry heaving either. A curious thing happened after mile 5. One of the runners in the pack (a triathlon guy by the look of his outfit) pulled what looked liked a gel pack out and I'm thinking, "with 2.5 miles left, that gels not going to kick until after you finish." Then, in the process of downing his gel, he somehow missed the water stop and had to make a u-turn. Pity... he was looking pretty strong and to be done in by a tactical error like that was sad. Back to the race.... I started losing Mr. Agressive Runner. I was still maintaining a steady pace and just trying to hold on until the 7 mile mark and then muster a kick from there. I found I had something left in the tank and reeled off three runners before I hit the finish line. I'm not sure if I was hallucinating at the end, but I think the PA announcer was actually rooting for me at the end and really getting the crowd going. As I crossed the finish line, I looked up and saw my wife on the bridge snapping a picture.

So, I blew away my time from last year; almost a minute faster! This is really encouraging, since it was much warmer this year than last. Here are the (un)official results. The reason I say unofficial is because like last year, a handful of slackers signed up for the 7.5 mile race and then dropped down to the 5K on the day of the race. When they first posted the results, a woman had set a new world record, having run 7.5 miles in 25:10, an average of 3:21 miles! According to Josh, there was no one 18 seconds behind him either. So, my placing in the race was anywhere from 11-13th, which I'm very happy with. After the race, I lingered at the finish line trading stories with Josh and Ramses, who had an amazing race despite not running for a week. We were joined shortly thereafter by former marathon world record holder Belayneh Dinsamo. We did a fairly long cool-down run.

I want to send a special shout out to my fellow Boston Fit runners (Roger, Anuj, Mark, and Mike) and Reach the Beach teammates (Liz, Jacquie, Carolyn, Dave, Theresa, Kelli, Lindsey) for a race well run!

Here are the vital stats:

1	5:55	160/171
2	6:19	171/173
3	6:15	174/176
4	6:17	174/176
5	6:17	174/179
6	6:13	176/180
7	6:18	175/176
7.5	2:55	178/184
	46:29	172/184