In Junior High (circa 1980) I did the Lagoon Valley Lope 15k in Vacaville, CA. I can't remember my time, but I do remember that at about 7 miles my thighs started chaffing. Being a young, dumb, neophyte, I threw water on it--big mistake. I still finished, though. :-)
Yeah, that is weird. That was my last time racing St. Clare's. I ran the Troy Turkey Trot every year from the one after that until 2000, at which point I moved away, then ran it last year when I was visiting my mother in Albany. I ran my still standing, slow-ass PR of 34:57 at the Troy Turkey Trot in 1999, a few days after my first marathon (Ocean State Marathon, RI).
d2xccoach wrote:
What's the odds of 2 people having this obscure upstate NY race as their first road race and having them post back to back on this board?
Someone is actually trying to STEAL this name?
My first race was in an AAU cross country race when I was twelve years old. I finished second. Because I was almost six feet tall, weighing maybe 120 lbs, and running with normal, short kids, there were parents(!) and other competitors yelling at me and calling me a liar and a cheat. (Hmmmm......Kinda funny I'm telling this swear-to-God-absolutely-true story using this name.)
I didn't run again until high school. Then I was 6'1", and maybe 135 lbs.
My first road race was the local 12k when I was under 10 years old. I ran 1:33:xx that year. I ran the same race in 46:xx when I was a freshman in high school, and this year I've managed to get down to 38:40.
Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ, a sunny Sunday morning in April 1972: a 10K with a field of about 15, mostly college guys home on break. I was a hs senior. Went out with the leaders and struggled back in 38:30. First race longer than 2 miles. Spent the afternoon on my bedroom floor curled in the fetal position.
Normally just lurk here but just could not pass up this post.
The Toronto Marathon in 1978. As a small hick town skinny eighteen year old white guy, just moved to Toronto for school. Did'nt know a soul in the big city so took up running just to to pass time and stay in shape. Figured a few weeks of running was sufficient to enter a race.
The Toronto marathon was happening in late September that year and according to the Toronto Star, it was like the Boston marathon, net downhill, except it did not have a hill towards the end and thus was considered a fast course.
So two weeks before the race, went down to The Athletes Foot and registered. Back then Athletes Foot was a very good quality running store on Yonge Street across from the Eaton Center. Also picked up a pair of Nike flats. Not sure of the name, but they were white with black trim and a bright red swoosh, a yellow racing singlet and some yellow shorts. Could'nt believe how far the split came up at the sides of those shorts, but all the fast guys were wearing them so they had to be good!
Shocker came when eavesdropping on some of the runners in the store mentioning training and mileage. Heard in the 70's to 100's and figured they were elite runners.
Never did measure my mileage but figured about a total of 15 miles a week 4 mornings of running at no faster than 10 minute pace. Don't think the longest run was greater than 40 minutes. But with all the hype and hoopala surrounding the race, and it was down hill right; how hard can that be?
The Big Day came. Got way up to the front of the pack before the gun went off (after all at 125lbs, 5 9" dressed in new shorts, singlet and shoes, this guy looked like he belonged up there).
Managed to run about 100 yards with the big boys before thinking it might be good idea to 'slow down a bit'. After about 5 miles; thought it might be a good idea to 'slow down some more'. After 15 miles hurting bad. Stumbled into Varsity Stadium five hours and thirty six minutes after starting. Did'nt get a medal, a certificate or even a 'good job' comment from anyone; the finish line was being torn down.
To add insult to injury, gear bag that they transported from the start on the bus was not there. Now living up near York University is about as far away as you can possibly get in Toronto from Varsity Stadium downtown. Dazed, confused wearing this ridiculous outfit with not a dime and feeling too foolish to ask for a lift or help, started the twenty plus mile trek on foot back up Yonge street towards home.
Stopped and sat on a curb about a mile from home, physically and mentally exhaused and it was starting to get dark. A kind clerk at a little Italian cafe on Keele near Steeles sensed something was wrong and brought out some pistachio gellato without saying a word.
Twenty six years later still love pistachio ice cream, learned to train, rarely miss a day of running, knocked 3 hours and 45 minutes off of that first road race marathon time, always stick around to cheer for the penguins, never value the trophies, medals, certificates, awards or accolades but know that regardless of how well or poorly training, racing or life gets for this writer; it will never get as bad as that day of the 1978 Toronto Marathon or as good as those ten minutes outside of that little Italian cafe on Keele near Steeles.
Outstanding post!
14 years old, 1979, Chick's Sporting Goods 10K in Covina, CA. Mid-39s.
13 y.o. 1981 Mt. Leabanon 10km in suburban Pgh. PA:55 min.
Raced a 10 km each of the next 4 weeks and the progression went: 48:40, 44:20, 42:10, 39:50. Boy did I get a false sese of what this competitive distance runnin' thing was all about.
Did you mean sauerkraut 20k, correct? Me, jean mitcheal 10k 36:?? & sauerkraut 20k 79:?? summer of 1978.
Summer going of '98. Going into my senior year of high school, running to get in shape for baseball season. Ran Narbona Classic in New Mexico and finished 11th in the 5k, in high 21 minutes, but wa 7th in my age group. Felt so bad (dry heaved for a few minutes, yup good times) but still decided to give running a whirl, found out I was better at that then I was at baseball. After running in college I'm now a low 15 minute 5ker and a high 31 10ker, hard work does pay off I guess.
I am no math major, but if you ran 5:36 and knocked off 3:45, your marathon pr is a very impressive 1:51.
Fall of 1986, Prefontaine Memorial run. I was a sophomore in HS and managed to run 36 minutes and maybe 40 seconds. I may have been in the top 30 for HS. It is a hilly course, but there is a good downhill towards the finish and you finish on the track. I kept thinking about what our coach had said about Pre sprinting and resting every telephone pole. He practiced on this loop and you knew with the grade on those streets you were lucky just to finish without walking. Anyway, it was great and the atmosphere was too.
Oops, that should have read 2:45 faster, not 3:45.
Hatfield 10K. Summer in between 5th and 6th grade. Ran 52:02. Never trained a step prior to the race. I ran this race every year from that year on until the summer before my Sr. year in college when I finally won it. I promptly retired at the top and haven't been back since.
Six years old - fall of 1984, our dad took me and my 3 year older brother to a kid race somewhere on Long Island, NY. Think it was a mile, maybe shorter. At least it felt really long... (Some locals know if this race still exist?? Can't remember the name of it).
Anyway, my brother won the whole darn thing and got this great training suit (at least I thought so), I placed 32nd out of 64. (My dad told me I was exactly in the middle).
In lack of reaching huge athletic goals that day it's still the post-race hot chocolate and pretzels I remember best...
Barely.
It was a very small evening race at Palisade State Park (or another nearby park) near Cedar Rapids, IA in July or August of 1977. I ran 3 miles in about 17:30-40, with no recollection of how I placed; maybe a dozen or so guys in the race. It was a hilly course. The only other memory is that just after we started one of the guys farted terribly, and the smell kind of lingered with the pack for several seconds. Everyone was cracking up, it was so bad.
A few months later I did the Iowa City, IA MS 5 mile race in 27:23 for 4th.
The Richmond Marathon had a smaller 5 mile race associated with it in 1984 which I entered. On an unusually hot day for late October, I stumbled home in 36:03. I was better prepared the next year and ran 30:45.
The Rite of Spring 5k my freshman year of high school, I just finished my JV basketball season and thought I was in good shape. Ended up running 22:30 but I won a 50$ gift certificate to some sports store, still the only random prize i have ever won at at a road race.
1983 or 1984 A one mile race in Ledyard, CT (I think it was the only year they did it. I was in about 7th grade. They had 2 different starts: one for those who could run under 7:00 and then another one about 10 minutes later for those over 7:00. Of course being in 7th grade I figured I was fast and ran in the early start. I remember that there was the slightest uphill at about 1200m and it almost killed me. I finished in 6:58 and was very proud because I beat my neighbor. No idea about place. It would be 2 more years before I ever ran a step for any sort of training.