The Jesus Center Run For Food

What a great race…sure, it was just a short 5K walk in the park but it started out auspiciously with a large, very large, crowd showing up. The story was that they had hoped for about 200 runners and when all the dust settles, they think they will have registered a little over a thousand entrants.

I got there about 8 this morning and found a good parking place. The sun was bright and the skies were clear, making for a chilly morning if you were in the shade; as we all were. I got in a short line and picked up my bib number and t-shirt and then I headed back to the starting line area to do a few sprints.

The race was supposed to start at 9 and so I wandered back over to the registration area to see what was happening and I was surprised to see a line that stretched for at least a block; and more people were coming.

Of course the race did get off on time, more or less, though they announced that they had run out of bib numbers and entry forms…but invited all to run anyway and take care of the paperwork later.

A large crowd like this did wonders for my attitude and my speed. I got off to a good start and kept it up, passing lots of would-be runners. I heard someone behind me comment that they would like to learn how to “speed walk” like the guy (me) that had just passed them. I was tempted to slow down and let them know how to accomplish that, but had second thoughts and decided to keep on moving.

Finally, about 3K into the race, a couple of runners decided to pass me…and I decided to not let that happen. I accelerated and kept them just a few paces behind me until the final 100 yards. They must have decided they didn’t want to be second to a “walker” and so they sprinted past me.

I was quite happy to enter the chute and see that the clock had just turned to 37 minutes and I estimated that I passed the finish line at 37:07. Taking some time off the “gun time”, I estimate that I did the 5K in just under 37 minutes. That would be an 11:94 minute mile! Not bad at all and about 90 seconds faster than my last 5K. What a difference some competition makes…

Almond Bowl 2006

Well, the race is over and I think I did well, or at least good enough. I did the 5K in 37:30, more or less. The last time I raced in a short race like this, I did it in 37:49. Am I really faster? Not! I know I could have done a lot better if I only had someone to race against or race with. It makes a big difference and after about one and a half miles I was out of people to race against. Now I have to do the Jesus Center 5K walk on Thanksgiving morning...and just do a little better than this.