The 29th edition of the Run Thru History took place in Vicksburg, MS yesterday morning and was run under nice weather conditions (temperatures in the 50-60s).  349 people ran the 10K while 342 walkers competed in the 5K event.  They were joined by 70 kids who ran the 1m blue-gray fun race.  David Mealy from Ohio was the overall winner in the 10K with a time of 35:35.  Heidi Melia was the top woman in 43:36.  David Smalley won the 5K walk in 29:04. 

The Pine Belt Pacers were represented by Jeff Hathorn and Nestor Raul Anzola.  Jeff is part of the history of this race.  He won the overall race in several occasions. Then in his 40s he got several Masters titles, and now in his fifties, he goes for the Grand-Masters trophies.  Well, this year was not different!  Jeff finished fifth overall in 37:40 and took home the Grand Masters title.    

What about Mr. Colombian Coach Potato?  He had planned to run fast and try to get close to his 2007 performance in the hilly course when he finished in 45:21.  Sorry!, not this time!!!  He ran his slowest 10K in 2 years and finished in 48:34.  Let's see what happened this time... There is no excuse!  It was just not my day.  I ran the first mile in 6:58, then the second in 7:40.  By that time, I realized I would not make it.  I was feeling tired, and my legs hurt.  After feeling a lot of fatigue in the first climb of the day, I started looking for some silly excuses in my mind (too many races too often?, too 'much of nothing' run during the week?, too much food and yellow energy drink too late the night before? a sore throat? too little sleep?).  Well... they were just excuses, excuses!  the fact was I was not running as I was expecting, and there was nothing I could do about it.  I ran mile 3 in 7:43.  Then the second loop, the hardest one in the roller coaster, started.  I managed to run mile 3 and 4 in 8:20 each.  I went a little faster in the last 1.2m and kept a pace around 7:48-7:50 to finish 69th overall.  I am glad I am not going to run any more long distances in the near future. 

As usual, the race was very well organized and directed by the Mississippi Track Club.  Everyone enjoyed great food, music, and energy drinks after the race.  If you want to check what a challenging hilly course is about, come with me next year! 

Complete results can be on the MTC web site. © Pijume Diwesi