March Break Away 10K Race Report

6:15 a.m.: Papppaaa Paaappaaa

I'm resting comfortably in the nice warm bed, really wanting an extra 10 minutes of sleep. But I can hear in the nursery across the hall, my daughter goading me into an earlier than anticipated start to the day. Not like I really have a choice mind you, considering the race starts in three hours and 45 minutes.

6:17 a.m.: Bleary-eyed, I walk into Elle's room, look at her with her soother in her mouth, Heffalump in her hand and standing waiting for me to lift her up. I think, well, if this isn't motivation for today, I'm not sure what could be better.

I start my pre-race morning with the obligatory breakfast of a bagel and banana. However, I'm also frantically trying to clean-up the house because I'm having my RR 10K clinic participants over to my house for a post-race bagel-and-banana fest. As I pace the hallway and kitchen area, Elle and Belle (the dog) are watching me, the cats on the other hand can't wait for me to leave. Everywhere I go, I have my pace bunny ears. (That is what we call foreshadowing.)

8:25: Get back from my Sobey's run with strawberries, cherries and croissants. I'm now heading to [i]the farm[/i] to help set up the race. The whole concept of this race was hatched about eight weeks ago when the local RR manager and I realized Fredericton had no races in March and my clinic didn't have a goal race to work towards. The day prior over a coffee in our post Sunday run group, someone mentioned to me that she volunteered with the kids at Camp Rotary and they were always looking for donations. A day later this event was conceived as a fund-raiser for our friends at Camp Rotary.

9 a.m.: Looking for Derrick, he decides to move the start line 200 metres from where I thought it was. That problem is now solved, so we have to remark the course for the third time (rain and snow washed away all our previous markings).

9:45: Finally done marking the course, get my running gear on. Argh! No bunny ears. They are still on the counter at my house, which is five minutes away, but do I risk driving back now. You can just imagine, I'm standing by my car, keys in hand, stretching as I think, "Should I or Shouldn't I." Just as I decide to go, a friend arrives and said he wanted to register, so the decision was made, I would not wear the ears and get my friend registered.

So here is my thought as I walk to the starting line: Is a pace bunny with no ears, like an emperor with no clothes?

As I walk down to the registration van, I see three people chatting together with these unmistakeable orange shirts protruding their jackets. Maniacs. I met my first Running Maniacs! That was cool.

I had originally intended to pace my friends to a 55 minute 10K, but they decided 58 minutes was more realistic. So we went with that time. With about 40 people toeing the line, the timer started at 10:01 a.m. This was the first time I haven't surged to the lead pack, instead I was clapping and chatting with my crew. The wind was picking up off the St. John River, but the sun made up for any chills. As we turned onto the Lincoln Road the gaggle of runners stretched out as far as you could see in front and behind. We were setting a pretty good pace, three of my runners were with me right until about 5K, when I noticed a few falling behind a bit. I was starting to wrestle with the whole philosophy about being a pace bunny, do I stay true to the pace or fall back and try and motivate? Well, I told several others that I was doing a 58-minute pace so I figured I should keep going, though I still yelled out the 10:1s and on the long straight stretches, they could see my hand signals.

The second biggest dilemma I had was attire. I decided to with shorts and my running jacket, well, 5K into the run, I decided the jacket was too much so I had to unpin my bib from my jacket and re-attach to my shirt, while running. I have the pin pricks to prove the success (or lack thereof).

This was the first race that I was not trying to gun it the entire way, which was refreshing. Most times around 5K, I'm pushing my muscles as hard as I can and I'm begging for death. This time I had a chance to enjoy the race. The hills were "hilarious" after all and there were a lot of hills. The wind coming off the river was annoying at times, but gave a nice push at various other points along the way. The race course wasn't the fastest I've ever run on, but I think it gave a great challenge to all those who laced up for the run.

As 7K approached, I noticed a familiar set of running tights. It was the husband of one of my clinic members. He had planned for 55 minutes, but he started a bit quick. So I brought him in at 57ish. Once I crossed the line, I got my time and went out and retrieved three of my runners and brought them back in at 61, 61 and 63 minutes, this was their first 10K. I was so proud of them. I went out two more times to make sure everyone who started, finished.

It wasn't the fanciest race. We pulled it together quickly and I believe the kids at Camp Rotary will be able to put our money to great use. The Rotary provided 10 volunteers, which helped make the event run "smoothly." I was also pleased to see all the big smiles on race morning. Those used to running bigger races could have complained about our no-frills show, but it was wonderful to see everyone having a great time. I've always been impressed with how concerned runners are in giving back to their communities. The vast majority of runs that I've participated in over the years have given back money to local organizations.

Anyway, this race was a big deal for me, not time-wise but seeing people from my first running clinic achieve their goal. That was more gratifying than any PB.

Once the race finished, we all headed back to our place, where wonderful wife had an amazing spread out for us. The table was lined with juice, bagels, fruit salad, fruit, yogurt, croissants and cheese. I wish I had that kind of post-race meal after every race. We had a great time chatting about the previous 10 weeks in the clinic and what was coming next for them running wise. Overall, it was a great start to the day.