Great Race!

Bib number and my T-Shirt.

Great Race! The 26th Annual Highline Canal Run!

It was pretty exciting. I ran today with my friend, Tom. Another good friend went with us. I'd like to thank Jeff for taking some great pictures.

We got to the event in plenty of time to watch the start of the 10K race. That start was fun to observe. There were a lot of people behind that start line. They started the race and the runners ran away from us. Some started quickly, others ran slowly, but it was interesting to see the running order filter itself out. Soon everyone was around the corner then out of sight.

After the 10K start, we went to the registration table. As we had pre-registered, our packets were around the corner from the table. We found our names on the goodie bags. Tom and I went to a nearby table and looked through them. We had our bib numbers, our long sleeve T-shirts, a shaver, a water bottle, safety pins, and lots of coupons. Pretty cool.

A lady came by and asked for our free drawing tickets. She showed us that they were on the bib number. She tore off the drawing tickets. I tore off the ticket with the registration information. Tom asked me what I was doing. Heck, It was my first race ever! I didn’t know. As Tom had a lot of extra safety pins in his goodie bag, I pinned it on my shirt, just under my bib number, so I wouldn’t lose it during the race.

We watched as the 10K runners started to cross the finish. That stirred the blood. We cheered as people came in. Then it was 10 minutes to the 5K start. Tom and I moved toward the start line.


We found ourselves toward the middle of a large group of 400 people. It was fun to see so many people with a similar focus to mine. But it didn’t stop there. People were running with their dogs. A Mother was running with her baby in a running stroller. There were kids, young adults and seniors. Some were there to support a cause, some for the exercise, some for some excitement of a morning in the park. It was a great group of people to be with.

The starter approached the Start line. After a few brief announcements (water stations, race marshals, etc.) he called the ready, set, go signal and we were off. I punched my start button on the GPS. Starting a race with that many people was a new thing for me. The runners were able to find a comfortable place and pace to run at.

Tom and I had discussed a 9:40 pace. It was not going to happen. As we established a good pace, I found out it was a 9:20 pace. We were able to follow that pace fairly easily.

I tried to find others that were running at our pace. Funny thing, though; some of the people we were similarly paced at would pass us and others would fall behind. We kept the pace at or near the 9:20 mark. At the 2-mile mark, the front of the pack were starting to pass us coming from the other way.. We encouraged them on as they ran past. Just past there, we reached the turn-around point. Our pace slowed there, but we caught it back up quickly.


I was talking as we ran; either to Tom, or to the others as they ran. As we got closer to the finish Tom suggested that we, “Kick it up” in the last ¼ mile. We passed a much younger guy walking at the side. I told him we had just 3/10 of a mile to go. He matched our pace as we headed on in. I kicked it in as we headed downhill to the finish line. He passed me then. It was fun.

Results? I was 54th out 400 or so. My time was 28:16.37. Tom came in right behind me at 28:17.41. He was pleased with his performance..

Our first mile time was 9:16, the second mile at 9:20, and the 3rd mile was run at 9:03.

After we turned in our number registration strips at the end of the chute, Tom headed for shade and I headed for water. Soon after the free food started looking really good, so I was eating a banana and a muffin while drinking a Monster Energy III. The Monster guys even took our picture.


Tom and I talked for a while about the race. He said that the way I was talking told him that I could have given it much more. He said that it is a race and I should give it my very best. I don’t know. I wanted to experience a race first and compete later. His critique included an observation that I would speed up as I was passed. He said that I need to set my pace better. A couple of things to work on.

We enjoyed the giveaways and watched as the awards were handed out. It was a really fun time. I had a blast!