My Melon Run 2012 Report

About five hours ago I ran my first public running race in six months, going "light" with a short three-miler, the Florida Track Club's annual July 4 Melon Run, held here in Gainesville among the sloping roads/sidewalks in and around Westside Park.  I set out not to set any personal speed records, and that was fortuitous.  For there were a record 500 entrants in this race (a sell-out) and it was much, much more congested than the Melon Run I participated in two years earlier.  The course was essentially the same except for the eastern leg, which was a road a little further down from the Loblolly Woods pathway used in 2010 (who knows what they did in 2011).  Still, I kept a good pace in spite of the crowding (with a higher concentration of slower runners this year) and hills (my normal neighborhood training course is as flat as a board).  My official finishing time was 25:45.  When I finished I didn't hang around for the awards ceremony, instead speeding back home.

I thought the race went better this year than in 2010.  For one, the organizers and volunteers seemed much more enthusiastic and friendly.  Also the timing was changed to a chip system, eliminating the screw-ups of the past.  But the packet pickup lines before the race for those who had already registered went slowly and were confusing.  And the actual print-out list of the pre-registered wasn't in alphabetical order, slowing down the process considerably.  Still, the race finally began and we had a good time...

I was very impressed by the post-race refreshments, with bananas, watermelon (of course), bagels, cookies, Gatorade, water, and, I'm sure, other stuff being offered.  It's these little perks (or their lack) that can make (or break) an event for me.  Well done, Florida Track Club!

Oh, the weather cooperated today, as much as I suppose it would this hot time of year: after all, it didn't rain.  The temperature was in the upper seventies and so was the humidity, more or less.  Not exactly pleasant, but I managed to get through it...