Road Racing Recap

I have officially shifted back in the road racing circuit from track season after two weekend's worth of racing. Let's recap.

Run to the Sun 8K

After a disappointing finish to my high school track season, where I placed 9th at Districts in the 2 mile in a time that was 10 seconds off my best (ran 11:19), I decided to capitalize on my fitness by running the Run to the Sun 8K. My goal was to run in the range of 30 minutes, conquering the deceivingly hilly course on River Road. Place-wise, I was aiming for top 10. So it was no surprise to me that when the race started, I was bumping shoulders with the likes of Justin Jacobs and John Metzgar, local elites who frequently win. But the pack quickly thinned out and I ran the majority of the race alone. I placed 10th overall in a field of 463, finishing in 30:37 and winning 2nd in my age group.

Beaches Chapel 5K

Racing weekend #2 brought along a local 5K in Jax Beach, where I was shooting to take advantage of some cooler weather before the summer humidity set in. Turns out, I was a week late on that prediction since race day brought temps approaching 80, which was much hotter than the temps in the upper 60s that I enjoyed at Run to the Sun. Still, my goal aside from running a fast time was to be competitive and hopefully take home the overall male title. Competitive I was, as I took the lead from the gun and took a pack of about six runners through a slow first mile in 5:54. It went downhill after that, as the pack engulfed me and surged ahead. I ended up picking off everyone again (except one woman, who won the race in ~17:50), only to be outkicked by a fellow high schooler and a man in his 20s. This low key race ended up giving out awards to only the top runner in each age group, so I was award-less since I finished in second place in my age group (and 4th overall in field of 174) with a certified course PR of 18:35. Still, it capped off a successful two weekends of racing. Next on my plate is the Memorial Day 5K so until then, keep on training!