Magnum Track Club Shirt Run 6.21.08 Recap

After racing last night, I headed over to Magnum, NC for the Magnum Track Club Shirt Run.

Several times a year the Magnum Track club accepts new members. Their club initiation is known as the Shirt Run. New runners are taken out to a very remote location in Rockingham County. There they are dropped off and have to run 15 miles back to Ellerbe, NC.

I say remote because compared to Charlotte, these their roads are lonely. Only 3 cars passed me during the entire 15 miles. Now only is it lonely but I only remember seeing a couple of houses to boot.

I covered the course in 1:38:54 which is about 6:30 pace. Feeling pretty good considering that I raced last night, I just let my legs float through whatever pace that feel comfortable.

Peter offered to car pool over to the run and I gladly accepted his offer. Not knowing the area, I knew if I tried to find the start or the finish, I would end up hopelessly lost.

Their Shirt Run course is really tough. The course is mostly rolling hills with a 2 mile hill from 11 to 13 miles. And, it is quite a hill. My legs were numb well before I reached the top. I recorded my slow mile of 7:17 during this climb.

Peter had warned me prior to the run that you will know when you are at the top of the hill when you can see the church. And, I thought that I would never see the church. With each turn the hill seemed to only continue upward.

Once I finally reached the top, it took another couple miles before my legs returned to normal. That is as normal can be.

After the run they had plenty of water, soda, beer, and pizza. They also gave each new runner a Magnum Track Club shirt. This was the best part of the run.

I will wear my shirt proudly because after this run I feel that I truely earned my way into this club. And, I will do my best represent them well.

I just got an email from a friend.

You can click this link to see a video shot by a MTC member. On this day, Cool Down Runner was the first to the finish. Also notice how everyone is shuffling along. This tells you the toughness of the course.