Racing across the Years
Humm, I wonder. Was I racing across the years? Or, was I
racing across the decades? The more that I think about it the more I think both
are true.
About a month ago, I got an email from the WWC race guys
that they were putting on a trail race that would run across the years. They
had me with the title. Having never raced across the years, I definitely wanted
to do it.
Fast forward to Tuesday night, I drove out to the WWC around
10 PM. Grabbed my bib, and chatted with a couple of people for a few minutes.
Then, I headed off to warm up over the race course that we would be running.
Ugh, I had barely entered the North Main trail when I went
slip sliding. This was going to be fun and possibly a little dangerous.
The race course was 90% of the North Main trail with the WWC
Christmas lights trail added at the end to make it a legit 5k course. The
start/finish would be from their Pavilion. The 5k runners would do 1 lap while
the 10k runners would do two laps. We would be repeating the 5k course twice.
I made sure my head lamps were set and set at max brightness
before the start. I thought I was ready but looking around I wasn’t so sure.
Most of the runners surrounding were not old enough to shave yet.
With 5 seconds to 11:45, Jenn gave us a starting count down.
Everyone one of those guys blasted off from the starting line. Could I be
wrong? Hopefully, no of them thought that this was a 100 yard sprint.
The line of runners stretched out in front of me as we made
our way around the channel and started in to the North Main Trail.
The distance between us began to shrink as those road shoes
were not the best suited for these trail conditions. Now, catching them was one
thing. Passing them was entirely another manner. There was a line of runners in
front of me, and I was doing my best to leap frog through them but it was
taking time. The North Main trail is fairly narrow so it became a “pardon me”
or “excuse me” to get by. Then, I have to run hard until caught the next guy
and then try to time it for a spot that I knew that I could pass.
We were running along the river section of the trail when I
heard the sound of many fireworks in the distance. I could only assume that the
New Year had arrived.
We followed the North Main trail to the boat dock and then
proceed up the service road. Oh, is it steep. Then, right on the trail which
leads back to the Pavilion. Where we then turned right on to the Christmas
lights trail to run it in reverse.
This section had a lot of zigging and zagging. I had a real
hard time maintaining any type of pace. Any attempt to accelerate was met with
a hard right or left turn and at one point, a bridge crossing. I didn’t even
know that there was a bridge in this section of woods.
Finally, I popped out of the woods to finish my first lap.
They had a volunteer directing the 10k runners out for the 2nd lap
and the 5k runners toward the finish.
I had lost sight of Troy. He had pulled away from me while
we were running through the lights section.
Enter North Main for the 2nd time, I treaded
gently. Having serval hundred runners gone through, I expected the trail to be
pretty cut up, and it was.
However, I didn’t expect to almost immediately upon entering
the trail to start coming up upon other runners. In some respects, I was
running in a long conga line of runners. Given the conditions, I guess they
increase the lag time between the waves. Now, I doing my best to work through
this line and stay up right on a muddy trail.
There were plenty of opportunities to the fall, but I never
went down. I was pretty well covered in mud.
I climbed the service road and headed in to the Christmas
Lights section. This time through I took the opportunity to the take in the
sight of a few more of the lights.
I crossed the finish line in 52 minutes and 26 seconds. I
think that I finished 5th overall but I am not sure. The results for
the 10k had me 26 overall which I didn’t understand. That is until I looked at
some of the other times for the 10k race. Apparently, someone set a new world
10k record with a 23 minute time.
I don’t know how many 10k runners turned left instead of going
on to finish a 2nd lap. Seems to have been quite a few. Still, the
10k race awards came out fairly quickly. I mean it was around 1:30 in the
morning. I can only assume that the WWC guys based the 10k awards on the times
for those that crossed the 2nd timing mat twice. They must have
eliminated the others.
Based on the huge turnout, I suspect that the WWC guys will
be working next New Year’s Eve. I fully expect this race to become a tradition
here in Charlotte.
Lastly, over the last couple of days, I was been pondering
how to record this race. Should I record it as a ’19 race since I started the
race ’19 or should I record it as a ’20 race since I officially finished the
race in ’20. Both sound right to me. I
finally settled for recording it as ’19 race. Logically, I paid for the race
and started the race in ’19. Does when I finished have any real bearing on it.
I guess not.
Happy New Year!!!!
Kickin’ up trail dust
The Cool Down Runner
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