Santa Scramble 5k, Concord, NC

I decided several weeks ago to run the Santa Scramble 5k in Concord, NC. I have missed running this race as it is one of my favorites. 

There are lots of people along the course. For me, the Christmas season has kicked off with race, and oh, yeah, the course is one of the fastest around.

The race has changed somewhat. The parking has moved the high school. The finish has moved to the local park, but I am not going to argue with this change. The course is faster now, than when I last ran it. 

I will say that I didn't expect it to be as warm as it was. The temperature was hovering around 80 degrees. Sadly, my body has adjusted to the 40s and 50s, so 80 did make the race more challenging. 

Around 2pm, 800+ runners spilled out on the street. We filled it from curb to curb. So many were dressed in their holiday best. 

And, with the sound of the horn, we were off. The first 3/4 of mile has the everest of a slight climb. From there the course winds slightly downhill to the finish. This is the luxury of a point-to-point course. 

Runners were all around me. I felt like I was in a high school cross country race. 

I passed through the 1st mile. My breathing was settling into a steady rhythm. I could hear the cheers from the people watching race. At one point, this little girl has a Super Mario "power up" mushroom sign to slap, and yes, I slapped it. Sadly, I didn't feel any power up. 

We finally turned off the parade route and headed for the greenway. The course actually gets more downhill here. 

I was battling with a couple of other runners. I did my best, but they had legs which were about 40 years newer than mine. I didn't stand a real change in the finishing stretch. 

I was super happy to be back at this race. I ran 19:57 and won my age group. They gave some super nice awards. 

I hope to have this one back on my calendar for next year. 

The Cool Down Runner