Race Report by Giny Dufrene --> 

Sat - 11.5 miles total today. Considering my recent 5ks, I wasn't expecting great things at this years ATR. I thought I would run around 49-50 minutes, worst case, ended up running 52:46 Garmin time, (not sure what the official time was.) I arrived to downtown around 9:00 and started warming up around 9:10. When I opened the door to the car, the warm humid air was a shock, even though I knew the forecast for the day. I started warming up, and realized my 10k time was getting slower, before the race started. I started the race and immediately was struggling to run 8:00 minute pace. I wanted to run around 7:50 pace, but it was not going to happen on Sat. I ran the following: 8:03, 8:02, 8:17 (by the 5k I knew I was done for the day), 8:29, 8:45, 8:57, 2:10. I ended up averaging 8:28 pace which is 20-26 seconds slower than my recent tempo runs. Kelly and I ran 4 miles after the race to run off some race frustrations. Ha Ha Sat evening - walked 41 minutes with the family in Baldwin County.
 
Race Report by Becky Ryder -->

Yesterday I ran the 10K in 57:14 which was faster than last year and is a PR for my age of 64. In my late 30s/early 40s I ran sub 42. You know the old saying, "The older I get, the faster I was."

I am pleased with my training for the past 4-6 weeks and I seem to be in a good phase of dealing with my ongoing running related hamstring/piriformis pain. I think the only way I could have run faster in the 10K would be if I had been able to do a couple more 8-10 mile training runs. Overdistance is essential to successfull racing at any distance and I was only able to do a couple of 8 mile runs over the course of the past month.

 

Race Report by Susan Davidson --> New PR

 

On Saturday, Jennifer and I met up with Laura, Raul, & Kelly at USM Gateway at 5:15 a.m. to caravan to the Azalea Trail Run. I was thinking, "This is ridiculous! I got up this early to drive through pouring rain to Mobile, and I'm sure they're gonna cancel the race. Oh, well." I was the lead car and I drove a conservative 60 mph through the many downpours. Becky called at 6:28 a.m. just as we were out of Lucedale and nearing the Alabama line. She told me the race had been postponed for 1 1/2 hours. I hung up from her, the road switched to 2-lane and we crossed the bridge into Alabama. Just as we got across the bridge, two deer came up from the side of the road directly into the path of my car. There was no getting around them, although I think I tried to swerve at the last minute. Unfortunately, I killed both deer. Jennifer was asleep and awakened to the carnage. She loves animals as much or more than most humans, so I was especially sad she was involved. My car was pretty smashed up on the front-end. It was non-drivable. Apparently, Laura and her crew saw parts flying through the air over my car & didn't know what had happened. God was good, though. He postponed the race for us, provided us a ride, the deer hit high enough on my windshield that it didn't come through it which could have severely injured or killed Jennifer and I, He provided a nice place for us to park, a ride home, and on and on and on. I am thankful. Also, I was able to get to know Kelly, Raul and Laura better and that was a blessing, too.

This was my 1st 10K, so I was a little nervous about the distance. I wanted to do well, but knew I wouldn't be able to run the entire thing. I finished with a time of 1:22. I was satisfied with that. I'm looking forward to increasing my speed and distance. The race was fun with all the people cheering and ringing their cowbells. I plan to do it again next year and I look forward to my next 10K in two weeks.

 

Race Report by Nestor Raul Anzola -->
 

Definitely, running only in the weekend is not a good idea! It does not work!   - You have to run too during the week

Yesterday I went to the Azalea Trail Run, and I could not even match my prediction. I said at the end of the previous post: "If I break 49 minutes, I will be happy!" - Well... in the half point of the course I was thinking: "If I finish this race, I WILL BE HAPPY!" .  I crossed the 5k marker in 24:45 and was feeling really overheated.  After a hard second part of slow running, I completed the 6.2m in 52:47 (not even close to my ATR times from last years).

What silly excuses I can male up this time? mmmmm... 1. the race was delayed one and half hours, and by the time of the start it was hot and humid; it felt like a sauna; 2. I did not eat anything early in the morning, and I was hungry for something "sweet" during the race.  I was also looking for some Gatorade, and there was only water available, and of course... final excuse... I am FAT! (188 lb in the morning; at this pace I will break my weight record "200 lb" in a couple of weeks!).
 

Race Report by Robbie Headrick --> New PR for the distance!
 
http://robbieandkent.blogspot.com/2009/03/azalea-trail-10-k-run.html