The Big Race

This weekend was the Norwegian Festival in Central Park. The festivities included a half marathon, a 1.7 mile race and the "Troll Stroll" kids races. The main event was the half marathon, which was named "Grete's Great Gallup" after Grete Waitz, the Norwegian nine time winner of the New York Marathon.

I had registered for the half marathon, but it conflicted with a family outing, so I wasn't planning to run. Then I noticed that the "Norway Run", the 1.7 miler, was going to be at 8:15AM -- before the half marathon. Obviously, it wouldn't take as long either, so I decided to squeeze it in before my trip. It turned out that my race number would work for either race (but not both), so I was all set.

Tacking on a 2 mile jog to and from the start, I would end up with 5.7 miles for the morning. Definitely better than nothing.

I knew that 2 races in the same day would dilute the field, but I was surprised how much affect it had. When I went to line up for the start, the front of the starting area was no where near as packed as usual. I lined up a respectful distance from the starting line, but the usual crowd surge forward brought me closer to the starting line than I ever had been. I was standing right in front of the announcer, and for the first time could really see the folks that were talking.

NYRR president Mary Wittenberg took the mircophone and, with tongue in cheek, announced that this was the "big race" of the day. Mary looked very fit in her Team For Kids race singlet, and I wondered if she was going to jump in and run with us. She introduced Grete Waitz, also looking fit, but not dressed like she was going to run with us. It was cool to see her -- nine time winner of the NYC Marathon -- can you imagine? Grete had a few nice words to say, and we were ready to go.

The crowd moved forward again, and I found myself standing on the first timing pad. I had never been anywhere near this close to the start. After the gun, there were a few hundred yards of craziness as the runners sorted themselves out while trying to get off to a quick start. In a race this short, there wasn't much room for easing into the pace.

Very soon, however, it was clear running, and it was fun. I like these short races in which you can push hard, knowing that it will be over soon. I saw Flyer SR ahead of me - too far ahead to catch, but close enough to chase. The finish line was the same as the NYC marathon finish, and in the final stretch I felt great and gave it everything I had. Good times.

I was congratulating SR on his run when Flyer CB came up and told us that she was chasing me. Flyer SQ appeared moments later. Sounded like we had a Flyer train going on.

I went with my friends the H family (2 of them ran this race) over to the festival area, where we collected our free bagels with lox. Now that's a great after race treat. Jogging home, I definitely had a spring in my step. Running - good.

The results? I finished in 10:38 (6:15/mile) -- good enough for 4th in my age group. OK, there were only 60 men in my age group, but it's my first top ten finish, and I'll take it. Overall, I finished 65th in a field of over 1600 runners. Sure, many of the fast runners were racing the half marathon instead, but who cares -- not me!

Flyer CB won her age group, as she often does. Finishing second behind her was NYRR president Mary Wittenburg. That's good leadership in my book.