Here is a discount code for anyone interested in running the 2017 Tarheel 10 Miler or 4 Miler. Race date is 4/22/17, and will be the 10th Anniversary of this race! Since it’s a 10 Miler and the 10th Anniversary, I can only imagine what the medal will look like this time around. It should be epic!
You can visit the website at https://www.tarheel10miler.com
Enter discount code “TH10PAUL” for either race, and enjoy a $5 discount off current registration rates.
See you you in Chapel Hill!
This past Sunday I ran Bull City Race Fest again! Third time in the four years the race has been running. The only time I didn’t run it was a few years ago when I ran the Greensboro Marathon the day before. Yes, I hated to miss it that year but I just couldn’t get myself out of bed at 4am after a marathon the day before. My legs and energy were shot. This year was another story.
Everything about this race is just awesome. Tons of runners, nearly 6,000 every year running the Half, Five miler and 1 miler combined. I was asked to be on the pace team again this year, one of my absolute favorite things to do. Since I’ve been struggling a bit with my feet I decided to pace the 9:00 mile group.
I paced with with a great runner, Drew, who I hadn’t met at previous pace experiences at this race. He was an awesome pace partner. In 2013 I paced the 1:45:00 finish group, in 2015 I paced the 8:30 per mile group with my son, and now 2016 the 9:00 mile group.
Race morning was near perfection weather wise. 52 degrees, and just beautiful. This race has always been ultra lucky with fantastic weather. We lined up with our pace sign about 20 minutes prior to the gun. As you can imagine, this group was loaded with folks wanting to beat the 2:00:00 Half finish. I love a huge group of runners, especially on a hilly course. Runners ebb and flow, and you get a chance to meet and talk with so many new faces along the way!
Our race was filled with ups and downs, as you would expect on the hills of Durham. Such a great course though, giving runners a chance to see many parts of the city. We kept a great consistent pace. Constantly checking our progress, Drew and I maintained a pace of about 8:57 through the first half of the course. As with most races, our timing devices were a little off from each other, and also the mile markers on course, but doing the extrapolations each mile, we were confident our pace was on target especially knowing how difficult and hilly the final miles are.
We ended up bringing tons of folks across the line with new PR’s, and many more just so happy to finish that tough race. Pacing is always tough work. My goals are different depending on each races expectations of how close to the target each pacer should be, and much to my surprise I came across the line with a perfect 1:58:00, 9:00 minute mile pace. So difficult to nailed it perfectly, in fact I’ve never done it. Most races expect a finish within a minute under goal time, but not over. This one may go down in the books as the only perfect finish I’ll ever have.
It was a great day! Finish festival with food trucks is always a bonus, especially when you can spread out and bask in the sun and also the glow of an awesome finish! Thanks Bull City, and big thanks to Drew for pacing with me! I shall return!
It might not be the best idea, but sometimes you do what you have to do. The number of posts I read about folks doing training runs this past week astounded me. So many of us have marathons this Fall, but come on…. I think intentionally putting yourself in harms way getting that training run in during hurricane force winds and torrential rain is a bit over the top!
Yes folks, we endured the worst hurricane in a decade or more this past week. Hurricane Matthew has left behind over 800 dead in Haiti alone. Many mane more in the United States, as the storm moved its way up the east coast. I didn’t lose power, didn’t have any flood damage, and was relatively unaffected here at home. Seven inches of rain left behind will keep the grass green through Fall though. There was a lot of flooding here in North Carolina though, including this area, but not in my immediate surroundings. I was lucky. So many were not as fortunate. My heart goes out to all affected. It will take months if not years for some areas to recover.
I, for one, did not feel the need to get training runs in during the horrible storm. I figured my training for Marine Corps has been so horrible anyway, why add insult to possible injury? My lead up to MCM in less than a month has been lackluster, at best. I’ve been on the verge of injury for months now, so I’ve just been doing my best to stay in running shape. Just to make it to the starting line.
Next up for me is a race that’s sort of been my “go-to” Halves each Fall. The Bull City Race Fest Half Marathon is this Sunday. Again I was invited onto the pace team, which will be my third time in the roll at this race. I will be a pacer for the 9:00 minute mile group. Putting us at the finish at 1:57:00. A nice run through the streets of Durham. Each successive year I have paced a slower time, and it’s really perfect for me this year, because honestly, I am just looking for a sub 4 finish at Marine Corps since my training has been so nonexistent.
The weather is looking perfect for Sunday morning. Mid 40’s at the start, and only up to the 60’s by noon. The 9:00 group will be a perfect pace for me, not a big push at all, and hopefully not an injury inducing race. With Marine Corps on October 30th, the time is nearing quickly.
One piece of bad news this morning, just as a side note….. I got the “We’re sorry to inform you but, you didn’t make it in through the lottery” email from the Virgin Money London Marathon this morning. Sad news. Absolutely no one I know got in. I have not seen a single post on social media of someone getting in through the lottery. This leads me to ask the question “why have a lottery at all for London”? If time qualifying and charity running is almost the only way possible to get in, just say so. Don’t even hold a lottery. It would have been my first trip abroad. Oh well, move past it. As an ambassador for the Abbott World Marathon Majors, it would have been really nice to add my third of the Big 6 to my list of marathon completions, but this is not to be for 2017. Best of luck to all running next year!
Running Wild 