Race Report: South Nyack 10 Miler

If anyone ever needs advice in how not to run a good race, then this race report is for you. Julie has run this race a few times already and she gave me this piece of advice before the race "conserve your energy because there are some killer hills in the later miles." Needless to say, I didn't heed her advice, instead I shot out like a banshee. All I remember going through the first mile and hearing a volunteer say 7:05. I regrouped and slowed my pace to something more manageable. I guess I didn't slow down enough because I remember seeing the clock at mile 5 and it 38:xx. That's still a pretty fast pace.

The last 5 miles is where the hills made their presence known things started to fall apart. First a slow climb between miles 6 and 7. Then a series of more hills between 7 and 8. The doozy came right before mile 9. We made this left turn and there it was another hill. All I could say was "oh shit!"After what seemed like an eternity, I crested the hill just passed mile 9 and then made the right turn onto the trail portion of the race. Most of the last mile was on a flat gravel trail. I was able to muster the energy for a fast finish (or at least it felt fast) and I crossed the line in 1:19:48. Guess what? That's a new 10 mile PR by about 10 seconds!

Thank you to the Rockland Road Runners for a well organized race. The course was tough but there were some great views of the Hudson River. After crossing the finish line, each runner was rewarded with free beer and a free ice cream courtesy of the local Mr. Softee truck. Lastly, congrats to Julie who took 1st in her age group and Justin who took second in his.