Gulf Coast Classic 10K Race Report

What a great day for a race! Merry, my official event photographer and behavior monitor, and I made an early trip to this race on the Naval Construction Base in Gulfport. I have been slow to adapt to the warmer weather this year; my race times have been slowly increasing since the Azalea Trail Run. I was hesitant to make the trip this year, but this is the last 10K in the area before it becomes too hot for this distance. Thus, we made this trip for the fifth straight year. Last year there was a gale blowing in off the Gulf; but this year the weather was perfect - low humidity with temperatures in the sixties at the start. Leonard Vergunst sounded the horn, then drove the lead car to escort those far ahead of me. The course circles the perimeter of the naval base. The first two miles wind through a housing area and around the golf course. Then you get four miles of desolate roads passing scattered warehouses. This part of the course sure could use some visual stimulants! However, the course is flat and it remained overcast for the first four miles. I stayed focused on trying to catch and pass whoever was in front of me, and this helped me keep form and pace. (I actually did pass some people!!) In the last mile I started to gain on the two men in front of me, but in the last half mile they started to race each other and I just could not keep up with those young legs. I finished in 13th place overall and was first in the old guys bracket. Big John Oliveri was the only other participant from Hattiesburg, and he finished 5th overall and first in his very competitive age bracket. Max Lemons, president of the Gulf Coast Running Club, won the race in 35:52. Jennifer Plante took off like a shot and was the first female finisher in 42:26. There were a total of 101 people in the 10K and 39 in the 2 mile event. While I didn't best my ATR time, I did beat last year's wind challenged time by one minute. Also, it's always a pleasure to visit with some of the runners including PBP members from the coast. I guess it's now time to start running 5K and shorter races... maybe someone will come up with a 1K event. Run for Your Life, Steve Ulery 1- Plotting race strategy with Bob Clark 2- John Oliveri on the front line 3- I am ready to go! 4- We're off!! 5- Finally done 6- Discussing the results with Nick and Jennifer Plante from Keesler AFB. 7- John Oliveri first with Nick Plante 2nd and David Eisenach 3rd 8- Bob Clark (2nd) must have pinched me! Ray Cashwell 3rd

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