The annual Scotland Run was last Sunday morning, and the traffic jam seemed like the largest ever. 5700+ runners had to spend the first third of a mile jammed into half a lane of Central Park Drive. After ten minutes of slow, unplanned jogging, even the slower runners started dashing under the orange tape barriers, beginning a free-for-all that finally subsided after another 10 minutes. Those of us who wanted to end the race in a moderately respectful finish time found ourselves frantically making up for the extremely slow start. We have to share the park drive with bicyclists and non-racers, that’s for sure, it’s just the race routes the organizers choose make that harder than ever.
So now we’re sore, and just getting over the unexpected speed workout during the last 4 miles. Glad the NYRR used chip time, not clock time in the final tally, but it just makes us want to move up near the front (which is unfair to faster runners) or just skip these races (which leaves us wanting). We know the NYRR is aware of all this, but like the NYC Marathon, races here are getting too big to control.
And heard behind us in the lineup before the race, a runner asked another runner ‘How many miles is a 10K?’ Really, we know running is a democratic sport, and we’re glad to see participation, but honestly... if you’re going to sign up for a race, get a number, etc., respect the sport enough to figure out what distance you’re running. 6.21 miles, Einstein.
Grumble. Well, at least the weather was seasonal. Unlike this morning, when it snowed for a few minutes in the park!
2 comments:
Okay, I know this comment belongs on the NerdiRunner's blog, but dude, I looked up your time and you're a machine!! Were you always that fast or what? Great race and stop being so damn neurotic. I'll tell you the same thing I always tell my patients at the hospital; "Stop focusing on what you don't have and start focusing on what you do have" and you may find you're less cranky. Try it and let us know how it goes.
Well, yeah, I guess I was kind of fast, once I really got going. Thank you for noticing! I generally finish 10Ks in 42-45 minutes, and this one was a litle over 44 including that first 9-minute mile, so it was indeed fast once the dust settled.
Thank you for the running therapy! You're right about it all. As you know, I've been lacking that outlet for discussing 'crazy shit', so we're going to have to plan a race together once this frickin' winter is finally over with.
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