Doris runs her first half

I love it when someone new gets the running bug, so I was very happy to help out when my friend Doris completed her first half-marathon at the Tobacco Road marathon and half last month. Doris was already an accomplished runner, having a handful of 5Ks, two 10Ks, and a sprint triathlon under her belt when she made the goal of completing a half-marathon in 2010. I had already heard about the new half-marathon training program at The Athlete's Foot in Cameron Village, so I forwarded that on to Doris in case she might think it was interesting.

Interesting? When I saw Doris at church after she attended the program's introductory meeting, she was as excited as I've seen her. The folks at TAF

Good running boomlet statistics

Today's local paper featured an article about the many learn-to-run programs that exist in my area. Some of them, like the Women's Beginning Running Program sponsored each year by the North Carolina Roadrunners Club, are for new runners who want to tackle that first running goal. Several local running stores and organizations have programs like these, often using some type of "walk to run" program. Another type of running program sponsored here gives experienced and intermediate runners the chance to build up their mileage under supervision and with experienced coaching, like stretching yourself from consistent 5Ks to half-marathons or marathons.

Included in the article were some interesting factoids about the current running boomlet we're experiencing, including the notion that the boomlet is indeed driven by the "walk to run" concept of including regular walking as part of a running training program:

- the number of runners in the United States has increased 57 percent over the last 10 years
- the number of runners in the United States is estimated to be about 35.9 million
- in 2008, running was reported to be the nation's fastest-growing form of exercise, according to the National Sporting Goods Association

Whether you're an advocate or critic of "walk to run" programs, you have to agree that any kind of training program that encourages more people to exercise, coaches them towards greater challenges, and provides a social support organization for their running is A Good Thing.

RIP, Biltmore races

Sad news that the Biltmore 15k and 5k races will no longer be held at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville after this year -- and it's already full this year. Biltmore is creating some new attractions that will occupy the space previously used by the race staging and finishing areas. The races were a big fundraiser each year benefiting and organized by the Kiwanis Club of Asheville.

I ran the Biltmore 15k in 2007 and always hoped I would be able to go run it again. It is definitely a challenging course, with alternating uphill and downhill miles near the beginning, but when you make that right-hand turn and make the trip down the great entranceway to the Biltmore house, it's very, very impressive. (And would be an excellent spot for race pictures.) I was also very impressed when we ran through the gardens just behind the house; it seemed like a special treat for the runners, and it was just as much a highlight as running past the Biltmore front doors.

Congrats to you if you got into the Biltmore during its too-short life! Treasure that race shirt, because there won't be any more of them! (but let's hope the race comes back in some form in the future)

Umstead Trail Marathon - March 6, 2010

OK, so in 2008 I ran the Umstead Trail Marathon for the first time. It was a lousy, rainy day, plus it was my first exposure to long single-track running, so I ran really poorly, and finished in just under 6:20, well after the six-hour cutoff time that Carolina Godiva enforces for the marathon. I didn't get any door prizes and the massage guys were packing up, but the thing that really bothered me was the "missed cutoff" next to my name in the 2008 results.

So 2010 was going to be the opportunity to redeem myself and restore the family honor. Fortunately, the weather forecast was much, much better -- clear, sunny skies with no precipitation and cool temps (39 degrees at 9:00 a.m. start time, with temps climbing into the mid-50s in the afternoon). Actually, I had not been looking forward to this run for several weeks in advance, especially after a very poor run in February and missing my last half-marathon trainer in Myrtle Beach, but after a confidence-building run the previous week I surprisingly started getting excited about it with a few days to go, and with the weather improving, my attitude improved as well.

Each year the marathon organizers from Godiva choose an animal native to Umstead to serve as the race mascot on the shirts, awards and pint glasses. When I ran in 2008, appropriately, it was the turkey vulture. But for 2010 it was a rabbit, so I figured that was a good omen. I didn't learn until this year that it's a big secret each year which animal is chosen; normally the runners don't find out until packet pickup on Friday -- although I have heard you can run through Umstead in the day or two before the race and see if the signs have already been set out. In the seven years that Umstead has been run, the animals are: black fly, squirrel, turtle, fish, vulture, frog and rabbit. The rabbit shirts for this year are great -- optic yellow, with the big, classy logo and huge rabbit. This is the kind of running shirt I will wear to death.

As usual, there was no problem getting to the race site, and there were lots of folks to visit with while waiting for the marathon to start. The race is capped at 200 entrants because of the size of the trails, and the race is sold out each year. Because it was really chilly in the morning, most of the runners were huddled around the fire in the main cabin at Camp Lapihio. Fellow NCRCers Rhonda Hampton and Bill and Sally Squier (who have done all seven Umsteads) were also on hand, as well as Mickey Fong from Carolina Godiva and Laura MacLean. Mike Walsh from NCRC would be patrolling on his bike -- I think he's doing the Ellerbe Marathon next weekend -- so I knew it would be nice having a familiar face out on the route. And the field was pretty top-notch, with Wayne Crews from Cary in the race and North Carolina trail ultramarathon legend Anne Riddle Lundblad coming down from the mountains. Finally we got the call to come on out to the starting area, where the race directors made the last few announcements and then sent us out!

The first few miles were much better than the 2008 race, when we got a downpour right at starting time. The sun was out, and the sky was a beautiful solid blue. The first leg by the airport overlook is out-and-back, so everyone gets a good look at the whole field and can sort of tell where everyone is starting out. I can tell by my Garmin data that I got a little excited as usual at the start of the race and went out a little too fast -- sub-10 in mile two??? -- but it really was a nice morning to be out, and I was very upbeat.

After about three miles on the main bridle trails, we made a turn onto the first single-track section, the Company Mill trail. The first half-mile or so of the trail is blissfully downhill, but then you cross Lani's bridge (Lani slipped and fell there once) and start going uphill. That was the first place I really started huffing and puffing, and with each rise in elevation I got a little bit slower. In the trail section I only passed one person, but I was passed by at least ten or twelve other runners -- at least there was someone to talk to! Two years ago the Devil's Spine and the Tree o' Death were especially tough because of how slick the rain had made them, but this year they were no trouble. Company Mill took us back to the main bridle trail for an aid station and a creek crossing, and then we were back on single-track on the Sycamore Trail. The two trail sections parallel each other on opposite sides of the creek, so you could see the runners ahead and behind you for a little while. Then Sycamore starts going back and forth up the bluff, which made for another tough uphill. (I joked that they had used some stimulus money to add some new hills to the course.) Eventually, though, after about 3.5 miles of single-track (it always seems like more), we were back on the bridle trails for the rest of the race.

The middle part of the race is a big 8.5-mile loop that we run in both directions, with a few changes on the return. It doesn't seem like there are any level places; we get a nice break going down Powerline Hill, but then we have to go right back uphill to the aid station, and then we get a nice downhill on the Corkscrew, but it's immediately followed by an uphill at Bond Lake up to the aid station at Trinity Road. That's where I started taking some walk breaks, always trying to calculate my pace to make sure I wouldn't fall too far behind. After the aid station -- BTW, the volunteers all around the course were great and very encouraging, even to the back-of-the-pack runners -- I got to run South Turkey Creek, which is a nice level-to-downhill two-mile stretch that provided a nice break before we got into the big hills. I still felt really good and was able to enjoy those miles a lot. But after the Crabtree Creek crossing on the old roadbed, the hills of North Turkey Creek start coming into play, and they are serious hills. I walked up most of them and tried to make up the time on the few level spots and the downhills. I was a little relieved when I got to the halfway point in 2:40, which was much, much better than the 3-hour time I was pushing in 2008. Maybe there is something to not being a rookie on the course.

A great part of the loop-and-back section of the route is that you again get to see the whole field. The leaders were of course making it look easy, but I really appreciated that some of them spoke to us back-of-the-packers and encouraged us along; that goes a long way, and it's nice to have the talented runners encouraging the slower ones. I got to greet and encourage everyone as well, and it was good to see all my friends running strong on their return loop. Pretty soon, after I made my turn at the aid station, I figured out that there were only about four or five runners behind me.

The return loop probably wasn't as bad as I made it out to be, but I did worry when I took an extended walk break at mile 15 that I was going to drop below cutoff pace. And although I had all the leading runners to keep me company on the first loop, the return loop was very solitary and quiet running by myself; other than the aid station volunteers, most folks on the trail had packed up to go see the finish. By the time I hit the hill at mile 18, I was pretty much toast and walking more than running, although I did try to make up time wherever I could. At four hours, I calculated that I had just about 7.4 miles to cover in the two remaining hours, which would have sounded easy at the start of the race but was now beginning to worry me. I was lucky that there was an extended downhill back to Bond Lake, and I was able to rip off a 12:00 mile for mile 21 of the race, which I probably gave back by walking back up the Corkscrew.

There's a 2-mile spur out and back on the Cedar Ridge Trail once you get to the top of the Corkscrew, and that aid station was a very welcome sight. I tried picking up my jogging again wherever there was a break in the terrain, and that helped my spirits a good deal, as well as seeing some other runners coming back so I didn't feel as alone out there. There are some tough hills on the return trip, though, and it became apparent that I and one female runner were the last folks remaining on the course, as we didn't see anyone behind us.

Cemetery Hill was the last obstacle. I was walking as fast as I could at this point, knowing that I had 34 minutes to cover the last two miles. I jogged as best I could on a brief downhill, figuring that every quicker step would give me more breathing room on the cutoff. I had noted at the start of the race that the first half-mile was trending uphill, so I figured if I could get back to that point I could jog my way in and use the downhill to save a few seconds at the end. Finally I was back on the Camp Lapihio entrance road, jockeying for position with the cars of other runners headed back out after completing their race. I finally reached the top of the last rise and began jogging the final downhill back into camp, knowing I was going to make it within the cutoff time. Most of the folks in the cars shouted some final encouragement, and the guy on the PA announced my finish to the crowd at the camp. My final finish time on my Garmin was 5 hours, 57 minutes and 42 seconds for 26.38 miles -- the "missed cutoff" from 2008 is banished! I was very, very happy to be 161st out of 163 finishers.

(I had been anxious to see what the elevation profile of Umstead was when I downloaded my Garmin data, but I don't think it really reflects how uphill-and-downhill it feels. I'm told this is a better elevation profile, based more on actual elevations than off Garmin data. (click for larger version) Either way, it's not a flat race!)
The post-race party organized by Godiva was very nice. There were burritos from Moe's, lots of chips, gummi bears, water/Gatorade/hot chocolate/coffee, and massages from one of the sponsors. And I did get some soap as my door prize from one of the race sponsors. Each finisher got a nice pint glass with the race rabbit on it, and for the award winners there were rabbit-shaped plaques. The goodie bag was also well-stuffed, with lip balm from a sponsor, discount coupons, and some nice running socks. Everything about this event is just so well done. It is a tough, tough marathon, but you can tell it's a labor of love for those putting it on. I hope I'll be able to do it again someday, but for now I'm going to rest my sore legs and enjoy being an official finisher! Thanks, all!

You can tell that the Umstead Marathon is loved by many. There are lots of race reports from this year out there already.

Skirtchaser 5k is coming back to Raleigh

All the votes I sent in worked, and the Skirtchaser 5k will be coming back to Raleigh on Saturday, May 22. Keep an eye on the Skirtchaser 5k race date page for information as it becomes available.

2010 Krispy Kreme Challenge -- Eat, Run, Repeat

Last Saturday was the 2010 Krispy Kreme Challenge, the NC State benefit for the North Carolina Children's Hospital where you run 2.4 miles from the NC State belltower to the Peace Street Krispy Kreme, eat a dozen donuts, and then run back to the belltower. If you do all that in under an hour, then you have completed the Challenge. This year the race was capped at 6,000 entrants, and that cap was reached with about two weeks to go before the race.

The weather this year was much more cold and gray than the superb weather we had in 2009; the temps this year never left the low-to-mid 30s, and there were a few snowflakes flurrying around just before the race start. That may have kept the crowd down a little bit, but according to the official results, there were still 4,228 official finishers on race day. 309 women and 1,679 men finished in the Challenger division, and 1,305 women and 935 men (including me) completed in the Casual (run, no donuts) division. (I want to burn off calories, not put 2,400 of them in at one shot!) So the donut part of the Challenge is definitely male-dominated.

However, the weather didn't seem to discourage the spirit of the crowd or the number and creativity of the costumes. There was one guy, the "official mascot" of the race, who wore some kind of huge engineered donut on top of his head the whole way. There were seven or eight guys running together dressed in those head-to-toe spandex bodysuits. There were lots of Indianapolis Colts jerseys and even some Packers and Vikings, but no New Orleans Saints to be seen. There were Supermen, guys in Speedos with Fuel Belts (more), masked superheroes, two guys from Pennsylvania who were dressed as tacos, Death (probably from a heart attack), guys with strange hats and hair, Justin Timberlake, pirates, Elmo and Cookie Monster, guys with huge afro wigs, Forrest Gump, guys in long johns and full-body pajamas, ninjas (ninjae?) -- one running barefoot, a gorilla chasing a huge banana, just plain weird outfits, clergymen and choir members, students that spelled out "KKC 2010" on their chests, and -- of course -- Elvis. I guess the costumes were male-dominated, too.

There were some real athletes out there, too. The first-place Challenger finished the race, including the donuts, in less than a half-hour.

It was kind of tight at the beginning when all 6,000 runners had to feed through a small gate to be read by the timing equipment, but most of the runners were in too big a hurry or having too much fun to be slowed down by that. And it will be nice when all the construction on Hillsborough Street is completed and we don't have to dodge half-completed roundabouts on the race course. Most importantly, though, more than $40,000 was raised for the North Carolina Children's Hospital, and that's what the event is really all about. Kudos to the KKC organizers, staff and volunteers for putting on another great event! Hopefully the warm weather will return next year!

WTVD has a report with some video.

More local race updates

Wow, things are really picking up for the "spring" racing season. A couple of quick updates:

The Krispy Kreme Challenge on February 6 has already registered over 3,900 runners towards their expected cap of 6,000. About 60% of the registrants have signed up for the full Challenge. If you want to be a part of the KKC, you need to register now. Don't dawdle or you may find the race already full.

The St. Paddy's Run Green 8k, which had a great inaugural run in 2009, is offering a special pint glass with one complimentary free beer after the race to the first 1,500 race registrants. This race, which will be on Sunday, March 7, also adjusted the race course and will hopefully take some of the hills out of it. Last year I categorized it as "tough course, great party."

The Race of Grace 5k (expected to be on Sunday, April 25) also changed its course a little bit to get out of the back-and-forth-on-Hillsborough-Street rut. Instead, some of the route will include the nicer neighborhoods behind Hillsborough Street. The uphill to the finish line will remain, however.

New Charlotte Trail Races

The National Whitewater Center outside Charlotte, where you can raft the rapids down several man-made channels of water, is making use of the surrounding trails with a new set of trail races under the Charlotte Running Company Trail Race title. Three races will be run on Saturday, January 23 at distances of 3.8, 8.2 and 13 miles. The routes are promised to be mostly single-track. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (Team in Training) will benefit from the races.

Krispy Kreme Challenge Halfway Full!

I went by to register today for the Krispy Kreme Challenge in the NC State Brickyard and was told that they are already halfway to the 6,000-runner expected limit. So if you're considering the Challenge, don't dawdle -- get registered now!

Undy 5,000 coming to Raleigh?

Word on the street is that the Undy 5,000 race, a charity 5k to raise money for the Colon Cancer Alliance that is held each year in various cities around the county, may be coming to Raleigh this year. The Undy 5,000 is promoted as "a brief run to fight colon cancer." Stay tuned for updates.

You Can Vote to Bring Skirtchaser 5k Back to Raleigh

The last two years, the Skirtchaser 5k has put on two of the best parties in downtown Raleigh. The folks who came up with the running skirt put on these series of 5Ks around the country where the women start first --preferably after buying one of the running skirt packages -- and are followed by the men 3 minutes later. The first person to cross the finish line wins a sweet $500. In 2008 one of the men caught up to and passed the women to win, in 2009 one of the women held on to win.

They haven't officially announced all the cities in the 2010 series yet (Tempe will host the 2010 kickoff on February 13), and they've put up a vote page where you can vote to have them come back to Raleigh. Of course, they just want your e-mail address to take your vote, but heck, you can make up a temporary e-mail address, right? :-)

Yes, I did vote, and I'm hoping they come back in 2010.

Great New Year of Running

Whether it's a continued re-expansion of the running community or just a burst of healthy New Year's resolutions taking effect, New Year's Day in Raleigh had great turnout for its running events. The RITNY Run 5k, which started at midnight on New Year's Day, had just over 100 participants -- 100 had been the goal -- and the North Carolina Roadrunners Club's own Resolution Run 5k at NC State's Centennial Campus had 323 official finishers, not counting bandits and entries in the kids' races. (News 14's coverage) (The 2008 RR5k, in much colder weather, had 260 finishers.) Hopefully all the folks who started their 2010 with a healthy start (including me) will keep it up throughout the whole year!

Over in Durham, the Carolina Godiva club's 8k New Year's Day Run through Duke Forest also included nearly 100 participants. (pictures)

And one of my favorite race names, the Hair of the Dog 5k on New Year's Day in Virginia Beach, included a formal-wear division for those just getting in from their NYE parties.

Have a great running year!