Red Cross 5-K Run in Gainesville

Yesterday, I ran a local road race held to raise money for the North Central Florida Chapter of the American Red Cross here in Gainesville. Originally scheduled for August 23 but postponed until October 4 due to Tropical Storm Fay passing (directly) over us, the run went off without a hitch. The start and finish took place in the parking lot of the University of Florida Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, which lies on the south side of Hull Road near SW 34th Street. The running course was a loop which ran by places such as Lake Alice, the southwest-area UF dormitories, and the agricultural college research buildings. It was a very familiar area to me from years gone by, and running through it was almost like getting to see an old friend again!

This was my sixth race that I have ever run in (besides school physical education classes). Race #5 occurred in the summer of 1976 in Hollywood, Florida, so you can see there’s been a slight gap here (32 years). In each of the first five races, something went wrong for me. In race #1, a two-miler around the track, I peaked way too soon and finished dead last at 11:56. In race #2, another two-miler, I ran a much better race, but the people at the finish line never got around to getting my final time, which really ticked me off (I estimated it at 11:35). In race #3, Broward Community College held a pre-Thanksgiving 2.5 mile run called the Turkey Trot (they gave away frozen turkeys to the top finishers, whoopee). I was going to be one of those top finishers, but accidentally ran off the course near the end and finished out of the running for a prize. The next race occurred at the next year’s Turkey Trot. By that time I was out of training and the turkeys mostly went to the college wrestling team, which ran so much in practice that they were probably better runners than wrestlers! Finally, race #5 occurred as a Hollywood running club event. It was about five or six miles long, the weather was hot and humid, and I was terribly out of shape. I still finished the race, but for all my troubles and expense the "turkeys" in charge of that race didn’t even give me my final time and placing. That sour experience swore me off organized running until yesterday.

What a contrast! It looks as if those organizing these events really have everything together nowadays. Even though this particular race was the first annual Red Cross event for Gainesville, those in charge of it thought of everything. I got my tee-shirt (which I am now wearing at this writing) up front before the race. There were almost 200 runners. The course was clearly explained and was simple. Along the route, policemen made sure that we were protected from any stray vehicles that may have come our way. At the one and two-mile marks, they had water stations for the runners to rehydrate, if they wished. At the finish line, there was a big sign showing the race time ticking off. People with clipboards were carefully writing down each finisher’s time as (s)he crossed the line. Runners had access to water, Gatorade, and fruit after the race. There was an awards ceremony for the winners. And during the race, as we approached the finish, some of the earlier, faster finishers came out along the course, congratulating and encouraging us. I had seen nothing like that kind of sportsmanship in any of my other races!

As for my actual run, my main goals were just to participate, finish, and get my final time and tee-shirt. Mission accomplished! I ran the five-kilometer course in 25:10, a slower time than I had expected. I noticed that, after the first half-mile or so, only one runner passed me (and I later passed him toward the end). And I passed many, seeming to become relatively stronger as the race bore on. So I think that I was a little too cautious with my speed early on and would have had a much better finishing time had I pushed myself harder from the beginning. But all in all, this was by far my most fulfilling public running experience. Unfortunately, the finishers were only divided by sex and not by age. I know that in races run by the Florida Track Club, I will be competing against others in my own age group (fifty-somethings). There is one of these races coming up on November 1 (on an even more familiar course for me). Guess who plans to be there!