Half Marathon runners lining up |
Official Time: 51:08
Placement: 5th overall, 1st in the 50-54 age group
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Upper 60's, no wind
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2019] [2018] [2017] [2015] [2014] [2013] [2012]
Mile | Time | Comments |
---|---|---|
1 | 8:19 | Off to a decent start. Felt good. |
2 | 8:08 | Even better 2nd mile. |
3 | 8:19 | Feeling the miles build up. I was kind of gassed at this point. |
4 | 8:37 | Always hard re-starting again after the turn around |
5 | 8:45 | No one in front, no one in back. Was hurting here |
6 | 8:31 | Pushing hard to the finish here. Felt really good |
6..06 | 0:27 | |
Total Miles: 6:06 - 51:09 |
Start of a typical race now in 2020 |
Introduction
Some time before the start of 2020 I signed up for the Legacy Midnight Races. It is an annual tradition of mine to do in the dead of summer. It is held late at night (10PM is when the half starts) and it usually is a late night where I get home after 1 AM.
When Covid came around, the race was ultimately changed from a night race to a morning race and now sported a full marathon (along with the traditional half, 10K and 5K).
I am pretty much done running halves in the dead of summer. I've learned my lesson too many times that long distance races and the heat don't agree with me, so I plunked my money down for the 10K. I respectable distance that includes speed as well as endurance.
At the start of the year I full expected a night race, instead I got a morning one.
Sun coming up over the mountains to the east |
The Race
I rolled into the Legacy Events Center in Farmington UT around 5:45 for a 6:30 race. Packet pickup was a snap. The full marathoners had already started and the half marathoners were lining up. With about 40 10KM runners, it wasn't a big deal to grab my bib and get myself ready for the race.
Around 6:25 (for the 6:30 start) we lined up. Most people were wearing masks while we kept about 6 feet away from one another. The race director began sending us at about 30 second intervals and I was off and running along the Legacy Bike Trail.
Rio Grande Bike Trail but a typical stretch of trail |
The bike trail is a multi-use, paved trail that mostly serves runners and cyclists. I've done about a zillion races on it. It isn't the most exciting place to run, but it is flat and with a light amount of runners in attendance, it was easy to maintain safety protocol as far as avoiding others mid-run.
I started off at a decent clip. I hadn't done much of a warm-up: mostly some striders and random leg swings. I figured with the warmth of the day and it being a low key race, I'd just use the first mile to sort of warm-up and go from there.
Once again, I had started in the back and with each runner spaced at about 30 seconds apart, it nice to have some targets to work for in the early mile. Unfortunately, I was also a target as two speedy young runners flew by me.
I wound up passing a little more than half a dozen people by the time I reached the turn around.
At first I felt like I had gone out too fast but I quickly settled into a nice pace that I felt comfortable holding. My goal was to run in the low 50's and do about an 8:25 or so pace. I am a fast starter so it wasn't too surprising to see the first 3 miles go below that pace.
The turn around came just after 3.03 miles. Some races I am glad to have it short but other races, not so much. With me trying to hit a rock-solid 10K I was a little disheartened.
It seemed like there was a bit of a head wind on the way back, so if there was any wind at all, it was blowing from the north. There were a few runners ahead of me, in the distance, but there weren't any closers coming from behind.
I did what I could to maintain the pace, but mile 4 and subsequently 5 I really had to dig deep. I hadn't seen anyone in my age group but it was hard to tell with the staggered start times.
Around mile 5 I knew I was gonna have a good race and I pushed a little harder. At this point there were some 5K runners to work with and get some cheers from, so my motivation was a little higher. Again, there was no one behind me or in front of me to try and take on.
I flew under the finish line just a hair over 6 miles and a time of 51:09.
Post race selfie |
Conclusion
After finishing, I was handed a bag which contained some snacks, an orange, and a bottle of water. Again with Covid, you were urged to disperse from the finish line as soon as possible.
I wound up socializing a bit but the number of runners who had finished were pretty limited. Sort of anti-climatic after a decent race.
The medal and t-shirt are forthcoming on this race -- as well as any age group awards. In a way it was nice to go home and not bum around waiting for awards but the whole "race" atmosphere kind was lost without all the post race buzz.
Yes, the course appears to have been short. My 51:08 gets translated to about a 52:32, which is a lot faster than many of my recent 10Ks. Once again, another nice performance for myself and hopefully more good things are around the corner.
Hopefully this race will return next year in a night format. But overall, for the price paid on this race, I was happy with my experience.