Runners On Parade 5K Race Report

The Runners on Parade 5K is, locally, one of the largest 5K races each year. I have run the race for the past three years, as long as I have lived in this city. The race simultaneously represents triumph and tragedy for me.

Triumph in that the 2009 and 2010 races resulted in PRs at the 5K distance (techincally, 2010 was not a PR for running 5 kilometers, but it was a PR for a race that ended after 5 kilometers). Triumph in that the 2009 race packet included a sleek fitting (read: too tight) racing singlet, pictured above.

Tragedy in that the race organizers cannot, even in this year of 2010, figure out how to effectively operate the chip timing system so that runners obtain a true chip time. Tragedy in that the 2009 race saw the Badrunner standing in a porta-john line five minutes before the race start, only to have the starting cannon fire and the race begin, again, FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THE RACE START with no notice or announcement from the organizers. This would not be a huge deal in a race with proper chip timing, as any particular person's race "net" time would not begin until he or she crossed the starting line. However, on this particular day, the race organizers could not figure out how to begin the race timing correctly, so everyone registered only "gun" times. For Badrunner, standing in the aforementioned porta-john line at the start of the race, this resulted in approximately 35 extra seconds added to his final race time. Not awesome.

2010 found the Badrunner ready for the bumbling idiots that are the race organizers - standing as close as possible to the starting line (no timing mat present, mind you) at 7:50am, a full ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time. This year's race started only about 2 minutes early, but with as little warning as 2009 - no announcements, no "Welcome Runners," just a gun shot and a surge down the road.

But, that is what we line up for, isn't it? The race itself, logistical and organizational nightmares aside, is run on a pretty fast course in downtown Fort Wayne. The course doubles back on itself several times, giving the runners a chance to cheer each other on at multple points on the course. The original plan for me was to try to break the 20:00 mark. Of course, I signed up for this race three days prior, and had been focusing on the early stages of fall marathon training, which for me is more mileage than speed. Still, sometimes it pays to go ugly early, and I think I may have even held a sufficient pace for much of the first mile. However, after passing the first timing clock and clicking the Lap button on my Garmin, I realized that I likely would not break twenty minutes that day.

First mile 6:38

About halfway through the second mile, the course made a quick right onto a quarter mile stretch that was, at least in my memory, completely uphill and directly into the sun. Not a good section of the race for me.

Second mile 6:56

I tried to pull it together for the final mile to possibly pull out a PR, which sort of happened - it was a PR for a 5K race, but not the fastest that I had ever run 5K during a race.

Third mile 6:30 (and last 0.1 at 0:54), with a finish time of 20:58

Overall a pretty good race, but in the end it was just a good beginning to a great day at the Three Rivers Festival with my daughters.

And, my first ever (but hopefully only the first of many)experience with the "Donut Burger."

I don't know how you can't love that...