Hermes Cleveland 10 Miler 2009

This past Saturday was my first running race of the season, the Hermes 10 Miler. I'm doing the Cleveland Marathon in a few weeks so I thought this would be a good warm up and prep. The course was pretty nice; it started at Edgewater Park, followed Lake Avenue, went through the West Side then looped to Battery Park and back to Edgewater.

The weather was beautiful on Saturday, but actually a bit hot for a running race, which was quite surprising for the end of April. This was emphasized by the fact that I haven't done any hot weather training since last August... in fact I had just grown accustomed to running in the freezing cold and snow (not that I want the bitter temperatures and freezing winds back... can't we just have high 60's/ low 70's all year?).

Any way, I started toward the end of the pack as I was on a terminal mission to find a bathroom before beginning my run. (For some reason I always have to use the bathroom 6-8 times the morning of a race, very unfortunate. ). I did have an enjoyable bike ride to to race site, but I started to get a little stressed before the start of the race; I think it was the mixture of the surprising heat and worrying about finding a bathroom. Fortunately though, I got it together and started the run.

The first few miles were awkward, I had a hard time finding my groove. The humidity was making me pretty thirsty, but I was encouraged by the fact that I was passing people like crazy. It turned out that starting in the back of the pack was a good thing. It's much better mentally to be cruising by other racers than being passed yourself. I also had some entertainment along the way...

So a lot of runners were wearing the Hermes T-shirts they received for the race which said "Run Like a God" on the back. First of all: Not cool to wear the shirt you were given for the race during the race. Second: If I am passing you, you are NOT running like a god... in fact, every one I saw wearing these shirts was overweight and moving very slowly. It annoyed me at first, then I just found it comical. Thirdly: Aren't you extremely over-heated wearing a heavy T-shirt that comes down to your elbows in 80+ degree temperature while running 10 miles?

I started to feel pretty good around mile six. I had the chance to run through a sprinkler and get a few cups of whatever sugar "energy drink" du jour was being served. I finally felt like I had something to give to this race. Also, there were some spectators along the course and I remembered how much some inspiration helps during a race. Hearing some encouraging cheers really gave me an extra boost. Around Mile 7 I began to wish I had reviewed the course map more closely. It turned out the last 3 miles were down-hill and I had a lot left at the end of the race. I would guess my last mile was by far my fastest.

As I rounded the bend of the last quarter mile, I saw ambulance lights ahead and EMS techs rushing out onto the course. Apparently some one was about to keel over from the race. Some guy was being strapped on to a stretcher and a mask was put over his face. Come on, dude, get out of my way, I'm almost to the finish!

I was okay with my time as this was my first run of the year. My chip time was 132:04.14. I finished 39th of 130 in my age group... check out the race results. I felt good after the race and ready for the Cleveland Marathon.

Alright, so I give this race a 6. I liked several parts of the course, and I liked that I got a medal for finishing. But... the race in general seemed poorly organized and the post-race celebration was not fun at all. No good food/drink/music... nothing really. Everything relied on the nice environment of Edgewater Park.