PA & DE

Saturday October 12 2019

Another double header race weekend! Slightly easier this time though. Last time was a 10 mile trail then a 10K road. This weekend was 4 mile trail then 15K road.

I flew AA to Philadelphia Friday after work, rented an Infiniti SUV, and drove to the PHL Airport Red Roof Inn Plus… I hit the hay, and woke up early Saturday, to drive to Wocester PA. There I raced the 4 mile Variety Trail Run. It was a really happy and inspiring place, designed to support those with special needs, and facilitate their fun, enjoyment and learning. It was this visit to Variety that inspired my choice of charity for the Chicago Marathon 2020.

The race was good – I placed 2nd overall – and was presented with a hand made medal, Starbucks & WaWa vouchers etc. It was 2 x 2 mile laps, mainly on thickish grass, with lots of free food and drink at end. The guy who won it went out fast and I just couldn’t catch him, fair play to him.

After the race, I went directly to watch UPenn play Dartmouth FH, and saw some of this en route –

Then I headed back to the hotel. Once showered, I grabbed a nice tea in the diner next door, walked back to the room with my chocolate cake, prepped for my early start the next morning, secured a late checkout from the barred front desk, and went to sleep.

Sunday, I got up early and headed off with my Cotopaxi race bag to Delaware…

Sunday October 13 2019

Delaware Distance Classic 15K – USATF Championship and Grand Prix. Overall Place: 34 out of 224 – Age Group Place: 1 M 35-39 – Chip Time: 1:03:14.5 – Pace: 6:48/M/mile.

I was really happy with this, ran a hard & smart race, paced well off various other runners, and won my age group trophy! It was a flat course, as you’d expect for a Grand Prix event, run mainly on asphalt and boardwalk, and I really felt the benefit of running with headphones the whole way. I think it drowns out my own heavy breathing which can make you think you need to slow down, and drowns out the many people around you – racing hard and making a commotion.