500 Festival Minimarathon Race Report

Ok, warning up front I tend to get long winded in my race reports so read on with caution and note pictures will be added as the week progresses.

The evening before the race we joined a group of 30-40 NF Endurance Team members for a pasta dinner and sharing stories. There were some familiar faces and some new faces. Several people in attendance had no direct connection to NF, they were runners who decided to run for a great cause. Our eternal thanks goes out to them. Steve Kendra, NF Endurance Team Director, and his staff put together a nice welcoming event for runners and their supporters. I always leave these dinners with even more drive and resolve to help wint the war against NF.

For any of the race car fans who might read this, check out http://www.racing4research.org/ to learn about the Children's Tumor Foundation link to the Porsche team that participates in 24 hours at Daytona. Attendee Jill Markland brought this to our attention. Read a poem about Jill's son Jesse, a three year old with NF, by clicking on the word poem.

On to race day...

I woke up at 4:45 this morning after a rough night of sleeping. I slept solid from about 10PM to 2AM and then woke up about every half hour. I had the same dream twice about my cell phone, which I use as my alarm clock, running out of battery power and causing me to oversleep. I actually ended up getting up a few minutes before my alarm went off. A quick shower, bagel and to tall glasses of water and I was out the door.

I arrived downtown at 6:15 and scored some free on street parking. I made my way over to Military Park to meet with a group of runners who have shared our training experiences through the Runner's World website. We chatted for a bit and then took a group photo. By 7AM I headed over to the Westin to meet the NF team for a morning picture. As I got to the street where 35,000 runners would be starting the race at 7:30 I noticed the distance between my start corral of E and the hotel. I didn't think that I would be able to get over there and back in time so unfortunately I had to miss the NF team picture.

I lined up with about 1000 or so runners in corral E in an A-Z system. We were probably about 5000-6000 people back from the starting line. I said a prayer and waited anxiously for the start of the race. Within minutes the race was underway.

My plan going into the race was to get through three stages. The first part would be through mile 5 or 6 where the band Sign on the Door would be playing. The second stage was to get passed the track to a bar called the "Hi Neighborhood" near mile ten where bikers have traditionally handed out dixie cups of beer. The final being the last 5K or 3.1 miles of the race.

At about 1/2 mile in I saw Steve and he ran with me for a stretch while taking some pictures. He pulled off to meet up with other NF team runners and I rolled on. The first mile was packed wiht people which led to a 9:00 minute pace. I felt good and strong and ready for a great day.

Mile two is flat and starts at a right turn passing the zoo. I stepped up my pace and finished mile 2 in 8:10. That pace was only possible because I was fortunate to find a couple of gaps to move through the crowd.

Mile 3 was the fastest of the day and the only sub 8 minute mile. I ran 7:50 ish. My legs were really starting to feel loose.

Mile 4 can only be described as grid lock! I was back arounnd the 9:00 minute range. At this point I passed two ladies, one whose shirt said Shake and the other whose shirt said bake. In true Ricky Bobby fashion I gave them a "Shake 'n Bake ladies" to which they responded "Shake n' Bake."

Mile 5 I was on the look out for sign. No such luck I reached the mile 5 sign in 42+ minutes. I was hanging on to a 8:30 avg. pace.

I rounded the next corner and was headed to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a lap around the historical oval. Today started out as an overcast day which was fine by me but the sun was threatening to peak through the clouds as I neared the track. My best hope was that it would stay neatly tucked in the clounds until after I was off the track. The track is particularly unforgiving on a sunny day.

Before I reached the gate to the Speedway I looked to my right and saw Sign on the Door. That provided a nice boost. I surged across the street to give them a holler "Sign on the Door rules!!!" and a high five. In turn I got a shout out over their loud speaker "Ladies and Gentlemen, Don Hahn." Thanks Mark and Greg!

The track was of much significance today. I dedicated the two miles that I would be rounding the oval to a young man named Drew who has NF. I read about Drew and saw an Atlanta tv news piece about him through a link on the NF Endurance Team website. Drew and the Tumornators are doing a lot to raise money and awareness for NF and Schwannomatosis research. As you can see from the video linked above, Drew has endured many surgeries. I didn't feel like there was anything of substance that I could say to him and his family other than our prayers are with them but I felt like I needed to contact them and make this gesture that those miles would be for him!

I have run the Minimarathon for 3 years now. Today the sun stayed behind the clouds for the first time for me and I covered those 2 miles faster than ever. Drew keep up the fight! You are an inspiration.

The course bottlenecks as runners leave the Speedway. Back out to the main road and around the corner to the 15K marker. Still feeling strong!

I hit the 10 mile mark in 1:26, I had started to fade a bit. I reached the "Hi Neighbor" for completion of stage 2. No bikers handing out dixie cups of beer this year. The humanity. I drudged on for the final 5K.

At mile 11 Steve met up with me to run a little bit more. Again a boost a tough time in the race. So close but still 2 miles to go. Steve chatted with me and helped me hold my pace until the 12 mile marker and the final turn for home.

I had nothing left for a kick for that last mile. Nothing in the tank. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I reached a water station with 3/4 mile to go and walked through as I drank my water before going back to the less than aggressive pace I had been mustering the previous 1/4 mile or so. Liz and the crew were along the final stretch to give me the final pick me up that I needed to dig in and get to the finish. Which I did in 1:53:47 according to my watch. A new course record for me by about 10 minutes and several minutes faster than the PR that I set at Sam Costa in March.

Turned out to be a great day for racing!