Official Time: 24:20
Placement: 7th in the 50 - 59, 113th overall
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Mid 50's, sunny, breeze from the south
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2017]
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8:15 | Jammed start. Mostly up hill on this mile. Felt slower |
| 2 | 7:40 | Finally opened up and had some downhill. Was hauling here |
| 3 | 7:53 | Ran out of gas at about mile 2.5. Turned it back on though |
| 3.05 | 0:18 | Track finish. |
| Total Miles: 3:05 - 24:06 | ||
Introduction
It's hard to resist a $15 5K. With prices climbing on just about everything, it is nice to still find a bargain for a race.
I'll be upfront. I am not a huge BYU fan by any means (the football team). When in Utah you basically pick one of two teams: BYU or the Utah Utes. In a rivalry game, I'll always take the Utes but that doesn't mean I hate the BYU Cougars. They are both from Utah so if either team wins I am happy.
The race is held on the track at Brigham Young University and this year's edition meanders off onto the campus for 3.1 miles.
This year's edition had a completely different course than the one I ran in 2017, so something new to experience.
The Race
I had to park quite far from the track -- maybe a quarter mile or so. With an upcoming football game and the race (drawing over 500 runners). They had a great organizational system though. Find your bib number on a sheet and grab your number from one of the many volunteers. They had it well staged so I had my bib and shirt within a minute of arriving.
With about 25 minutes to spare, I did a quick warmup. I did some drills, strides, and some easy jogging to loosen up.
The race had a funny start time: 9;45 to be exact. With about 5 minutes to spare, we lined up on the track and started off.
My first surprise was that the race was NOT chip timed. We had a timing chip on the back of our bib but the start had no crossing mat. I had started about 100 - 150 people behind the front runners and it had already cost me about 15 seconds.
Almost immediately the race became a standstill. So many runners were trying to get out of a narrow start, onto the track and then run about 100 meters before going up a grass embankment and then to a narrow sidewalk. There were a few times were I came to a complete halt.
The first quarter mile or so was extremely agonizing. No chip time and I was already jammed. As I made my way up a hilly street I wondered if I should just dial it back and call it a fun run.
But I continued on. Despite what I figured would be a disappointing first mile, I decided to see what I could do with the race. The field was completive and most people were dealing with the same issues I had.
I am glad I didn't give up -- the first mile came in at 8:15 -- not too bad considering the early jam ups and up hill mile. Perhaps with the downhill second I could salvage a decent race.
I was enjoying the course. I was never alone during the entire race and the race involved a lot of twists and turns. There really wasn't a dull moment as I flew by campus buildings, meandering students, and fall colors amongst the tall trees. At times I surged and passed by several people in a burst and I finally felt like I was running well.
Mile 2 -- I smashed in 7;40. This could wind up being a great race on account that I still felt like I had quite a bit of downhill left to use.
The fun continued into mile 3. I was really enjoying the race.
Around mile 2.5 is when I started to slow up. There was a bit of a section with a hill and mentally it was too much for me and I wound up slowing down.
Fortunately once I crested the hill, I was greeted with a downhill and I could sense where the finish line was ahead. I looked at my watch and I figured I had less than half a mile to go. I told myself to push hard.
I cruised down the final hill and hit the grass embankment on the top of the collegiate track. I made a quick jump down and ran the final 300 meters, which seemed to last for an eternity and into the finish.
Conclusion
So I managed to salvage the race. I ran a 24:06 on my watch, 24:20 for my official time due to it being a gun timed race.
So I loved the race course. I actually don't remember very much of it and if you asked me to rerun any part of it, I think I'd get pretty lost pretty quickly. The course did have marshals and had been marked with race arrows but there were so many twists and turns and I was so focused on racing that I don't remember many of the details. It just felt like a wild, fast amusement park ride.
I paid $15 for the race so I didn't expect many frills. I got a cotton t-shirt that actually had a nice design on it. I feel like I sort of got gipped in my age group: my age group got into the 10 year increment while those younger than me had 5 year. There were still plenty of 50+ year old runners. I would've loved to have seen if I would've gotten a top 3 in my age group for the 50 - 54.
Post race refreshments were water and pancakes. They had chocolate milk as well. The line was pretty long for pancakes and I suppose I had my chance as soon as I had finished, but I wanted to go back to the car to get my phone for some photos.
I really enjoyed the event and felt like I had performed well. The course was well marshalled and despite the complexities, I never felt like I was going to get lost -- but then again, I was always running with people. I did not like the gun time start and the overcrowded start line. It was great running on the track but there just wasn't enough room for everyone. I suspect the hold ups set me back 10 - 20 seconds.
I suspect the race was a legit 5K. There were so many turns and so many ways to probably run a tangent that hadn't been measured correctly. I wasn't surprised when I came in at 3.05 miles (according to Strava most other people did as well).
For $15 this race was hard to beat for the price. Despite my complaints, I was happy with my experience and it was great to see so many people I knew there. It was a welcoming event even if you weren't LDS or an alumni as well. I'd definitely run this one again if it fit in my calendar.
Upcoming Races
10/22: 2022 Haunted Emigration Canyon 5K - Salt Lake City (Confirmed)
10/29: 2022 Haunted Half Provo 5K - Provo, UT (Confirmed)
11/19: 2022 Snow Canyon Half Marathon - St George, UT (Confirmed)
11/24: 2022 South Davis Recreation Center Thanksgiving Day 5K - Bountiful, UT (Confirmed)
01/14: 2023 St George Half Marathon - St George, UT (Confirmed)
02/26: 2023 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
03/04: 2023 March Madness 10K - West Bountiful, UT (Confirmed)
04/22: 2023 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
08/19: 2023 Rock 'N Roll Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
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