Snowman Scamper 5k/2013 Year in Review

My final 2013 race was an evening run in Findlay.  The Snowman Scamper ran through a small neighborhood on the south side of town and was organized pretty well, except for a course snafu midway through.  Overall, I really enjoyed this race.

We started out at the Findlay Evangelical Free Church, which was nice because we could wait inside the church for the start.  It was probably in the mid-high 20s at race start.  The leaders started out at a fast pace...much faster than the previous week's 5k.  I started out pretty fast, too, but had trouble keeping it in such cold conditions.  The first mile clicked off at 6:52.  Way too fast.  I tucked in behind another couple runners and simply tried to hold their pace until the end.  But then we ran into a slight problem.  We came to a crossing and I saw a few runners coming towards us.  But I knew they weren't the leaders and I hadn't seen anyone else go by.  Then we saw a few runners turn right and a few turn left.  There was no one stationed at this intersection to tell runners where to go.  We stopped for a brief moment until someone ran by and told us where the course was going.   I lost a few seconds here but nothing catastrophic.  A bunch of runners did an extra little loop through the neighborhood and the race director fixed the timing issues as best as possible for those runners.  I kept checking my GPS to make sure we were getting the right distance which we did.  I passed a couple runners at the finish and was thrilled to pull a solid 21:04.  This was good enough for first in my age group and 6/134 overall.  Not a bad way to finish 2013.

2013 Review

Here are some of my highlights from 2013:

• Finally broke 20:00 in the 5k.  New PR of 19:42 set at the Run for the Camps in Findlay.
• Set a new PR of 45:35 in the 10k at the Run the Res in Fostoria.
• I ran my longest trail race to date at the Horseshoe Hill 20k in Zanesfield.
• Added a new race distance by running two 10 milers in Westerville and Columbus.
• Placed in my age group in a half marathon for the first time.  This was at the Park2Park Half in Sheffield.
• Added my tenth state (Pennsylvania) at the Presque Isle Half Marathon.
• Ran my third full marathon at the Akron Marathon.
• 17 races total: eight half marathons, four 5ks, two 10 milers, one 10k, one 20k, and a full marathon
• Total race mileage for 2013: 182

Favorite races of the year:

Capital City Half Marathon- I loved it last year and the improvements made for an even better race this year.  Running Columbus is a blast!  I even improved upon last year's time with a 1:45.

Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon- This race is just as gorgeous as advertised.  It's truly a tough race but well worth the challenge.  The post race atmosphere is tremendous.

Akron Marathon- My performance wasn't quite what I wanted, but there's no denying the greatness of this race.  It has the feel of a bigger marathon, but is so well organized that it doesn't include any of the headaches of a big city race.

Buckeye Half Marathon- Well organized race.  Great Columbia jacket for entering.  The Akron area knows how to put on well organized races!

Run Like the Dickens- This will always have a soft spot in my hear since it was my first ever first place finish.

Run Like the Dickens 5k

I've only entered two 5ks all year, so I decided it would be nice to do two as my final races for 2013.  The Run Like the Dickens 5k was held in Tiffin last Saturday.  The course was the same as last year, with a loop around the Sandusky River.  We had some snow and ice the day before and temps were COLD!  I actually did not feel like running at all when I woke up that morning.  Thankfully, I did.

We headed out with a quick loop through town before making our way up Water St.  The leaders took off at a conservative pace due to some ice still on the road.  I headed out with the top five and planned to try to keep up throughout the race.  But something happened during this one and I wound up in the top four within the first mile, during which I clocked in a 6:57.  That's a very good time for me in such cold conditions.  We continued winding our way through town to the turnaround at a bridge heading back to River Rd. on the other side of the Sandusky.  I passed the female winner and tucked in behind the two top runners.  It finally hit me that I had a legitimate shot at winning this thing!  The second mile came in at 7:04 and I was still right behind the two top runners.  The road was in terrific condition here and I decided to make a move with a half mile left.  On the last hill, I managed to surge ahead and then flew down the opposite side, creating some distance.  The final quarter mile is a complete blur as I just kept going as fast as possible.  Finally, after twelve years of running road races, I was the first one to cross the finish line!  I can't even begin to describe the feeling.  I've been close on numerous occasions (2011 Run for the Rams 5k, 2010 and 2011 DeGraff 5k) and it felt great to finally do it.  My final time for the race was 21:49, which is a pretty solid time for me in the cold conditions.

My final 2013 race was actually last night.  I'll post my thoughts on it as well as my final thoughts on 2013 soon.