WHERE: Regent Square, Pittsburgh
DATE: Aug. 22nd
SWAG:
I am going to break this recap down into 3 parts; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
let's start with the Good:
This race is one of the biggest "local" races in Pittsburgh and sells out every year. The course may only be 3.1 miles but has entertainment along the course, and a beer and champagne stop along the course. The post race party has free beer and free hot dogs since the main sponsor is D's Six Pack.
The Bad:
For me the bad would be the course, I love it because you get to start on the roads and then go onto the trails for bit before exiting back onto the road and then reentering the trails for the final stretch. However the first mile is on a brick road that is very uneven, if you do not watch your footing you can really hurt yourself. Last year I witnessed a friend roll his ankle and this year I felt my feet slide as I rounded a corner that was filled with leaves. Once on the trail you then stand a chance of getting stuck behind slower runners and passing can be very difficult.
The Ugly:
Post race I was talking to a few female friends who informed me that they were anxious to see where they placed in the heavyweight division for females. I asked what the weight was to make a female considered a heavyweight since I didn't think either of them would qualify for that. They informed me that it was 140 lbs. for females. It is 200 lbs. for males. Here is my problem with this, I don't consider 140 to be heavyweight in fact I am against the whole idea of a heavyweight division. One thing I have learned about running is people who are bigger can still run, and some can run a decent speed. I feel like telling a girl who is 142 lbs. that she is considered a heavyweight is not only wrong but it sends the wrong message to younger girls.
MY RACE:
I got to the starting line pretty early so I could stretch and do a warm up run, unfortunately I kept running into people and would start talking so there was little warm up done. I lined up about 10 rows back with my friend Donnie and Pat. The gun sounded and we were off, Pat took off as I expected since he usually finishes in the top few people. I thought I saw Donnie shoot out but he later told me that he stayed behind me, so I have no clue who I was trying to catch the first mile. We went through the first mile just under 7 minutes. The second mile we slowed down due to some hills. As we hit the first water stop I pulled off to take a drink. I always have problems with running and drinking so I just step off to the side and take a swig then go on my way again. Once on the street I caught up to Donnie who passed me at the water stop. We were just about to head back onto the trail when I had to stop and tie my shoe. As I started to run I felt my calf get a little tight. I knew all I had to do was get up a hill and then it would be all down hill for the last mile. Every step I took my leg seemed to get looser and I was able to finish strong. I did get bottlenecked at times and it made it very hard to pass. One thing I always say is don't do this race for time. Do it for the atmosphere and the awesome people. If you have never ran this race, you need to make sure that it is on your list for next year.
Great recap! For me, the course would be in the "good" part..I love how challenging the hills are and how it finishes on a long downhill. It's also a really gorgeous course (at least in the trails). I luckily didn't have any problems with the road at the beginning and I'm glad you didn't get hurt either!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about the heavy weight division...according to that I'm almost a heavyweight. Doesn't seem fair to the people who regularly compete in that division..I would say more than half of the women I saw today could sign up to run that which doesn't seem fair!
Exactly, I am all about equality and I say the weight should be the same for the guys and the girls. 200 is a legit number in my mind. Like you said some of those people who regularly run in that class had more competition because the weight was so low. I agree the course has great scenery and I love the downhill part but that road is just a giant pothole
DeleteThe 1 time I ran this race, I ran on the sidewalks instead of the brick streets because I was afraid of getting hurt. It's scary that people get hurt so much on the brick street! The other thing I don't like about the course is that big bottleneck when you go back onto the trail for the second time. I don't like to race when I'm training, and this always falls in the middle of my training, but I really should do the race next year. Oh, and I agree completely about the "heavy"weight division for females. :-(
ReplyDeleteI saw a lot of people running on the sidewalk this year. Like you said this race falls during a lot of people's fall marathon training so you really have to be careful on the first mile. I will he honest I run it for the beer and to see people I havent seen in a while
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