| Chip times for some Pine Belt Pacers
Nestor Raul Anzola -- 48:11
Robbie Headrick -- 56:54
Victor Green -- 57:14
Laura Anderson -- 59:05
Brandy Windham -- 1:06:12
Kent Headrick -- 1:06:47
Jennifer Torres -- 1:07:49
Amy Edwards -- 1:11:38
Susan Davidson -- 1:21:06
Race Report by Robbie Headrick ( http://robbieandkent.blogspot.com/2009/04/ccc-10k-race.html )
Today we experienced a run quite different from any I've done. We went to New Orleans to run in the Crescent City Classic 10k Race held every Easter weekend. There were so many people there you wouldn't believe it. One of the pre-race announcements was that this year's attendance was better than it had been since the runner's boom in the 80's! They had over 20,000 people signed up to run!! That's more than the population of Laurel...can you imagine?
In order to accommodate so many runners, several streets were designated to "corral" runners according to their 10k running times. With the best runners leading off, each street was "released" to join them as space became available. I was so nervous with so many people. I wanted to do this race simply to say that I'd done it. Kent had done this once before - during the 80's when running was at its peak. I stayed in our hotel room then because I knew I would never "connect" with him after the race with so many people. But this year, I wanted to be a participant. Just starting to run seriously in the past few months has made me more interested in running in different kinds of races. So, we signed up only with the intention of having fun. No times in mind, just do it and enjoy it. Well, with my competitive spirit raging to do the best I can, I couldn't help it but wanted to literally "run" it like I would any other race. This was impossible...regardless. There were so many people that you couldn't get around them well enough to shoot for a decent time.
Kent and I started out together as planned and before I knew it I didn't see him again until after the race. Who knows how we got separated, but we did and it happened close to the start. We pre-planned a rendezvous point at the finish line and it worked great. There was a second plan in place but thankfully we didn't have to utilize it.
There were many water stations which were spaced out well. There were even some groups along the way handing out cups of beer and donuts!! No thanks, don't think so. Of course, these groups were all in costume of some sort. It was fun and took the seriousness out of the race.
For some weird reason, my watch didn't record the couple of splits I thought I had done. When I finished, I noticed that the end time was no where near being correct. Thank goodness, I looked up at the clock as I ran across the finishing mat. It read 56:41. Now, that was from the cannon shot. It took us 1:09 to even get to the starting line. So with that in mind, I came out much better than I thought.
Though we saw a few here and there, several runners dressed up. Most were in bunny costumes WITH tails and some were just dressed up. I only wished I had had my camera with me but it was quite a distance to the truck to get it and was just not worth it.
The post race party was really good, too. Only runners and those that had purchased tickets were allowed in. There was plenty of water, Gatorade, Zapp's chips (the jalapeno ones were great), bananas and oranges (they were soooo good), tons of beer (yuk!), seasoned rice with lots of sausage (delicious) and smoothies (small samples-the line was so long we decided to pass this one up). The Bag of Donuts entertained us musically and was really good. (Yep, you read that right.) This was held in a stadium and was filled with tents and runners. The NASCAR Subway car was also there to see (this is the 99 car driven by Carl Edwards). I don't know how in the world they fit into those things but it is tight to say the least.
The weather was real good! The sun came out and it was just perfect for running. We had noticed on our local running club forum that several were going but we didn't know them, except for Raul. And wouldn't you know it, we 'happened up' on him at the post race party. We purchased shoe chips for accurate record timing. Though we didn't wear them during the race, the shirts are really nice with a beautiful design. We'll see what our real time is when they post it. Hopefully, I'll have a picture or two to share with you. All in all, we had a great time. ******* Race Report by Laura Anderson I drove down to New Orleans Friday and went to a crwfish boil to start the weekend off right. Then I went to the Expo and got my tee-shirt and timing chip (an extra $5!) and a bus pass for the morning ($2 more). Somehow I didn't receive that handy pamphlet telling me where to park, which starting corral I was in, etc.
Saturday morning I parked on the neutral ground on Marconi and took the school bus to the quarter. The weather was perfect and not too hot. I was orange color bib with an anticipated finish time of 52:00 so I was pretty far back, in the corral with the 50 minutes- 80 minutes people. I heard the cannon go off but I didn't cross the Start line for almost another 4 minutes! I spent the first 1.5 miles trying to dodge people. I stepped over a dead rat and passed two dogs and a stroller and lots of walkers. I got pretty stressed out but then I accepted the fact that this was not going to be a "fast" race for me and tried to relax and enjoy the crowd and the view and the spectators. I had a side stitch for a few miles and really wanted to walk but I kept going and eventually it got better. My official finish time was 59:05. My watch time from start line to finish line was 55:31, almost 3 minutes slower than the Azalea 10K.
So, I was dissapointed in my time but met some nice people. I ran into Raul at the after-party and we had some red beans and rice together. The red beans were so much better than they were in Mobile! I also had a little smoothie from Smoothie King before the line got too bad. And, I picked up a bag from the New Orleans Track Club table that included a pamphlet with all the information I wanted to know about the CCC! It would have been even more helpful BEFORE the race. All in all, it was a fun, but not fast, race. ******* Race Report by Susan Davidson Ran in the Crescent City Classic this morning. My time ws 1:21:06. That's 1:26 faster than my time in the Azalea Trail Run two weeks ago. Yay! Avg HR 163 with a max of 170 during mile 2. Avg. pace was 12:44. First mile was 11:17. Mile 2 was 12:03, mile 3 was 12:40, and it went downhill from there. The slowest mile was the last one at 13:28. I hear there were 20,000 runners. I was in a pack the entire race.
I didn't realize I was supposed to pick up my number at the Expo on either Thursday or Friday. Consequently, I ran without a number. I walked about 2 1/2 miles before the race from the opposite end of the French Quarter, down to the Hilton Riverside, and back to the starting point of the race. I'll know better next year. The weather was perfect with the temp in the mid to high 60's. I only walked twice for a total of about 1/2 mile. I saw Jen Torres but slowed for water and lost her. ****** Race Report by Jennifer Torres I am back from my trip to NOLA and the 10K race. It was huge, over 17 thousand runners, probably too huge for my tastes. Trying to negotiate around so many slow walkers and runners is hard. I need to rethink my strategy for a race like this. Pretty early on I realized this would not be a race to set any benchmarks for my 10K time, after that it was easier to just run and have fun, listen to the big jazz bands, etc. I did not however partake in the free Jello shots, beer, or strawberry daiquiris offered up along the way! Although the course was jammed with party-goers, strollers, and big groups of walkers I could not let myself get too frustrated (even though I was at first), I was once one of those slow runners (and still am considering how many people passed me up!) There were plenty of water stops, volunteers, police, firemen hosing down folks, and lots of locals cheering on the runners. The course was closed and went through part of the French Quarter, into the downtown area, north and back over to Esplanade, then up to City Park and around the part for a bit. It was a lovely course and totally flat!  *******
General Results Chipped Runners: http://www.ccc10k.com/uploads/2009_CCC_chipped_finishers.pdf |
