A Great Day at the Spring Run 10K

Today, I joined a large group of local runners (not sure how many, but it was the largest group ever for this run) for the 22nd running of the Spring Run 5K and 10K. I won this race last year in 42:27 after a 41:40 Daffodil Run (Chris Badolato was running the 5K last year) and with Chris running the 10K this year and Larry Defeyter in the 5K, it was going be a fight for second or third place. The course was a lot hillier than the Daffodil Run, which was in my favor, because I have been running lots of hills recently.

Sean and Hayes Before the Start

On the other hand, I did not taper for this race (again) in an effort to keep running 10 miles a day for the entire month of April. (I did miss one day this last week though). There was going to be quite a bit of competition up front, with familiar faces like Greg Ngo, Austin Violette, V. Neelakantan, Troy Vahidi, and some other fast-looking contenders.

The Steep, Uphill Finish

The weather was fantastic and Chris, Larry, and I enjoyed an easy two-mile warmup run. Chris was aiming to go under 36 minutes on the course and Larry was ready to go hard for another 5K overall win. The race started with the ringing of the church bells. After a real steep downhill start (we had to climb back up that hill on the way back!), I settled into a steady pace, which took me to the first mile mark in 5:45 -- ten seconds faster than last year. Too fast? It felt comfortable, but I knew this course can really do you in on the way back if you go out too hard. Chris was already disappearing into the distance and I ran for a few miles with Greg and Austin. Both of them were looking fresh and strong. I knew V was not far behind us, so it looked like it might be a repeat of the Daffodil Run.

Sean, With One Mile To Go in the 10K

After the turnaround, which was slightly farther than last year's turnaround (but ultimately correct per my Garmin 205), Greg started pulling away. After another half mile, I pulled past Austin. By mile five I basically had third place locked up and I started speeding up to see if I could still catch Greg, but he was already out of sight. At the bottom of the last hill, I looked at my watch and noticed that I could match my time from Daffodil on this much hillier course, so I "sprinted" up the hill and arrived in third overall and third in my age group in (per my own watch -- the official times have not yet been posted) 41:42 -- almost a minute faster than last year and one second slower than Daffodil.

Zach Stoll Takes Second in His Age Group

Larry won the 5K easily and Chris had won the 10K within his goal time. I went for a cool-down run with Austin and Chris and we cheered on the other runners as they were heading for the finish. Hayes came in second in his age group and Sean took third. We hung around for the awards, had some coffee at the Broad Street Cafe (formerly Wisdom Cafe), and headed home. Many thanks to Mr. Boyer for organizing the race and to all the wonderful volunteers. We had a great time.

Chris Wins the 10K Overall

V. Bags Another Age Group Win

Chris With Joan Bumpus (Daffodil Run RD)

V and Steve Bond After the Race

Sean Takes Third in his Age Group (Hayes 2nd)

MotionBased Race Details:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=5501413


Next Up: The Salmon Run 11K -- Time for some serious mountain running!