I haven't run many evening races and was hoping it wouldn't be too warm when the race began at 6pm. Unfortunately, there's no respite from the August heat, regardless of the time of day. Storm clouds gave us shelter from the sun, but there was no escaping the high temperature and humidity.
The course was three 5K laps through Druid Hill Park (yes, the Druid Hill that these guys named themselves after). The first half each lap was a bit hilly and loopy, but the second half was a gorgeous run around Druid Lake.
The start line - not too crowded
One of my friends, Matt, ran the first loop with me. One thing to know about Matt is that he's incredibly fast. Even though he was making a significant effort to slow down and pace with me, he kept pulling ahead. I'm not sure how fast we ran the first lap, but it was far too quick to be sustainable for me. Once we finished the first 5k, I waved him on to go ahead without me.
The second loop was difficult for me. I hadn't drank much water that day and was extremely dehydrated. I had to slow down and walk some of the uphills as I was beginning to get light-headed. Luckily, my car was parked on the course and I had a bottle of Gatorade in the trunk. As I passed my car I grabbed the Gatorade and downed it. About a mile later, I was good to go. I have my doubts I would have been able to finish the race without that Gatorade.
As I was moving a bit slower during lap 2 I was able to take some photos of the course.
Approaching Druid Lake
Rounding the far end of the lake
Storm clouds rolling in over Druid Lake
The third lap was a lot easier for me - as I said, the Gatorade helped a lot - and the increasingly ominous-looking clouds were motivation to keep moving. Matt met me at the 9 mile sign and ran in with me. He raced me to the finish and got me to sprint the last third of a mile, which I wouldn't have done on my own.
The race didn't have chip timing, but I finished in about 1:33. I wasn't running the race for time, so I didn't mind. My main objectives in running the race were to have a good time and support BoMF, both of which were met. I had the added bonus of exposing Matt to the organization and meeting a few BoMF volunteers.
I wish I'd taken photos at the finish line as there was ice cream, popsicles, and sno-cones. The line for ice cream was really long and it was starting to storm, so I grabbed a sno-cone and headed back to the car. The race was well worth the trip up to Baltimore and back, and I got this super-bright singlet as a race shirt:
Apparently it's made out of Scotchlight, so I'll have to try it out one evening and see how reflective it is.
This race was incredibly well-run for a first-year race, the volunteers were super-friendly and positive, and the ice cream, etc at the finish was a great treat. The only down side to the race was the weather, which I would have experienced on a solo training run. I'll definitely be back next year.
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