The Retro Run 5 and 10k

This was my first race since entering the 40+ age categories. Not that I feel slower today than I did Thursday when I was still 30 something, but I thought the fact that this race was 80s themed felt right. Anyone who knows me knows that the 80s weren’t exactly my favorite decade, but I suppose there were still some fun times. To be honest, most of my fun times that decade involve running or my friends from running.

I really enjoyed all the Michael Jackson, Madonna and Olivia Newton John outfits at the race, however, I was dressed as a forty year old in 2012, sorry about that. J I’ve included a few pictures of the crowd, something I don’t normally do, but since there were so many people who put in the effort they deserved it.

I always comment on the T-shirt from races and this one was a gem. I usually add them to a pile I collect up and then have a quilt made from them. I might wear this one. It is a 80s style shirt that you might have worn in your softball league or something, with the neck and arms trimmed in red. The only thing I don’t like is that it doesn’t have the date on it. I guess next year I’ll see if they do a new shirt each year or if there is no date so they can just hand out the leftovers. So the shirt goes from a solid A to a B+ on that little detail. There a few sponsors on the back but not too bad.

The race itself wasn’t terrible but felt a little low budget at times. The start area was just two flags in the middle of a field and didn’t even have a line drawn between the flags. The starter of the race gave a countdown from his watch as it ticked to 9 am… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go! No gun or horn; that seemed really odd for a race that I was wearing a chip for.  The race had several spots where we were running on grass and several places with tight turns or narrow paths.

The 5k started 5 minutes after the 10k and this caused a few issues, but the race officials seemed to handle it okay. Several people who signed up for the 10k only ran 5k or something like that. Every time I looked at the official results my finish place went up. I finally settled in at 19^th overall, but 5^th in my age group. Since it was a race on the smaller side, the age groups were 10 year increments and not the 5 I prefer. I don’t recall what I paid for this race, but I don’t think it was much, so I won’t complain about the awards. I did like that they removed the top 3 overall from the age groups, some of the race organizers in town don’t do that, so less people leave with a keepsake.

The course ran all over the park with loops and dips and many turns and hills. Unfortunately the 10k was just the 5k run twice. I always pick the longer distance when multiple races are offered, but I did run into 5k traffic towards the end of the race. The race didn’t offer a way to distinguish the two groups, we shared the course and we all finished together. Hopefully no one cheated, but there was no means of preventing it. My GPS watch read 6.08 miles when I finished, but there were so many turns and opportunities to trim those turns that I won’t claim the course was short, I think my watch just cheated me a little. I don’t recall seeing a USTF certification, but I’m not exactly trying out for the Olympics, so who cares if it was a little short or not.

Overall this was a pleasant experience and I’m sure I’ll do it again. I think a B+ for the overall grade. Would be in the A range if they separated the two races more, either in time, location or both.