For a number of years I have talked about running this event, but always had something else on my calendar.  The allure is that this is billed as one of the toughest 10K races in the South, and I wanted to earn bragging rights that I could survive.  The course is tough because of the continuous hills.  Several years ago, Merry and I visited the National Military Park, and found that our car panted as it crawled up and down these hills.  This is not flatlander friendly territory.  The loquacious Bob Clark defines success in this race as not walking part of the course and not throwing up your breakfast.

 

Measured by attendance, this is Mississippi Track Club's largest road race of the year.  The course cuts two loops through the National Military Park which is a serene, well maintained garden adorned with marble and granite monuments recognizing the units that served in the 47 day Civil War battle.  However, as you are gasping for air and cursing your legs to take just one more step, you fail to appreciate beauty and don't read too many of the inscriptions.  Thus, if you go next year, plan some time for a drive through with stops at a leisurely pace.  Or bring your bikes and ride through the park like Bob Clark and Dwight Hollingsworth did after this year's race.  But enough prelims, the trip went like this.

 

Nestor Raul Anzola picked me up at USM at 5:15 am on Saturday, March 3 for the two plus hour drive.  Despite Nestor's reputation for showing up at races just as the gun goes off; we arrived in plenty of time to register, restroom, jog and visit with friends from the coast.  After presentation of the colors and the National Anthem, the gun went off at 8:30 am.  With 343 runners in the 10K, the opening half mile was congested.  This was probably a good thing as it kept us from running too hard through the only flat part of the course.  An invigorating aspect to the start is that you run past a cheering crowd of 5K walkers who start five minutes later in the opposite direction.  For the second week in a row, Nestor paced me throughout the first half of the race.  On a couple up hills I might pass him, but he can fly on the downhills.  We passed the first mile mark in just over seven minutes, then to my surprise we covered the next two miles in under seven minutes each.  Surprise because I was struggling up that third long hill at about 2.7 miles into the race.  After the first loop, the second half was even harder.  The hills seemed longer and steeper, the air thinner, and your legs like rubber.  Finally, we climbed a short hill near the visitors center and ran out of the park.  The final half mile is a net downhill.  Thus, you can recover somewhat before pushing to the finish clock.  

 

This final stretch brings together the runners and walkers.  At first it seemed a little congested, but the walkers hugged the left side and I saw no incidents of interference between the two groups.  There were two separate finish clocks with staggered finish chutes.  This well behaved finish is just another example that the MTC knows how to organize and direct a race.  There were plenty of course monitors, three water stations and elapsed timekeepers at every mile.  The park and final road section were closed to traffic.  All in all, a well managed race.  Refreshments were in abundance with hot dogs, popcorn, beer, soft drinks, energy drinks, bananas, apples, and orange slices.  The hour we spent waiting on the awards ceremony was enjoyable as it was filled with live music from the band Chill.  They entertained with great renditions of oldies from my younger days.  The only glitch to the day was a couple of errors in awards presented to the boys and girls which caused a delay.  This probably resulted in outages of several flavors at the beer truck! 

 

I don't know many members of the MTC; therefore, check out the complete results on the MTC web site to check on your friends.  I do know our own Jeff Hathorn was second overall in a blistering 37:28.  (By the way, he holds the masters men course record in 34:25.)  By Bob Clark's definition of success, I had a great race.  I did not walk and due to carefully selected, early menu, kept my breakfast.  I also finished in 38th overall (at 44:21) and placed first in the dinosaur division.  Nestor was right behind me at 44th overall in 45:21.  As we headed home, we were both pleased with our effort and results.  I encourage more PBP's to try this one next year.

 

Run for Your Life, © Steve Ulery.          Ancient History - Results from the 1st Annual 1980 RTH