Bolt for Babies 5K, March of Dimes – Race Report

I don’t often do the shorter road races. Of the more than 20 races I’ve participated in over the past several years, only 3 of them have been at the 5-K distance. I always think 5-Ks are over too quickly and running THAT fast isn’t something I am good at.

However, I was still looking forward to Saturday’s race, the Bolt for Babies 5K benefiting the March of Dimes. Several friends were also running the race and since I normally race alone, it was a nice change of pace for me. Also, I have been running strong lately and I was looking forward to seeing what I could do about lowering my PR (personal record) at the distance. Last year, I ran a 5K on the same course (different race organizer) and came in at 26 minutes. With the way I’ve been running I knew I had a good shot, despite the fact that I wasn’t training for it specifically and don’t do anything resembling speedwork.

This is the second year they’ve put on the race and they did a good job. The emails the week of the race were timely and informative. Packet pickup at the local running store was smooth and easy. The morning of the race was well organized and the organizers themselves were very passionate about the race and the cause. It was a nice way to start a local race.

Another appealing aspect of the race was its proximity to my house. The start and finish were less than 6 blocks from my front door so it was epitome of convenient. Some of the other people running the race met at the house before to drop off bags and stuff and then we headed down to meet up with everyone else. As we all gathered, it was fun to see the nerves and anticipation on the faces of the people who were running a race for the first time.

Before long, the organizers had us gather at the start line to make a few announcements and shortly thereafter the race was underway. I was hoping to run the 5K in 25 minutes (based on no empirical data other than my current PR was 26 minutes and a one minute reduction was nice and even) so I took off aiming for 8 minute miles.

The race was held on the bike paths I run every day so I was familiar with every turn and hill on the course, which is unusual for me. I general don’t pay much attention to the course descriptions for the races I run; I just don’t feel compelled to prepare that way and instead I enjoy the surprise on race day. However, there is something to be said for intimacy of the course and I felt I used it to my advantage. I wasn’t too worried when a handful of people picked up the pace and passed me after the first mile (or so) because I knew there were some hills coming up in the last mile and I would get them back then.

And this is exactly what I did.

As we raced up the first hill in Mile 3, I passed all four people that had passed me earlier. I was ready for it; mentally prepared to push past them, hit the top and keep going. It felt good. I also took comfort in knowing exactly how much further I had to run as my legs started to tire and I knew I couldn’t take much more.

As I made the final turn and raced toward the finish line, I tried to push my speed and found a nice kick still left in my legs. I crossed the line, stopped the timer on my watch and optimistically checked my time. I felt good through most of the race and I knew I was getting tired at the end so I was confident in my time; however, the questions started almost immediately – could I have run faster in the first two miles? Did I really need to save so much energy for the rolling hills of the last mile? Should I have warmed up better?

My time: 25 minutes 23 seconds. Not exactly the 25 minutes I was aiming for and not exactly blowing the roof off my previous PR; however, I finished the race feeling strong and happy and that is really the most important thing.

The new PR still feels good but I think I’ll stick to the longer races.

Pros: Location, small race, familiar with course, weather was perfect – overcast and 60s, good cause, fun to race with friends

Cons: No mile markers, bike path open to other users so there was some unnecessary bobbing and weaving, race shirt is plain