2009 Alabama A&M 10k
Huntsville, AL
June 13, 2009
Official Results
Well this race is advertised as hot, hilly, humid and hard. The dreaded four h's that do not equate to fast times. Having run this race in 2008 I can attest to the fact that you are running for place and not for time at the Alabama A&M 10k.
Today lived up to it's billing, as the humidity was 90% when I woke up and despite the sun buried behind the clouds during warm ups, it managed to rear its ugly head just before the 7:30am start. The field was full of good runners which is about par for this race. For the most part, only serious runners show up for this road race and the rest of the rookies in the field just don't know how difficult the second half of this race can be.
My plan was to take the pace out hard for the first 1.7 miles from central campus out along Chase Road to the turn around. This section is in general downhill, with a net 42' of descent. Plus we had a slight tail wind which would aid our progress. By going out hard it would create some separation between the leaders and the rest of the pack and then I would do my best to hold on in the second half, as we would climb the dreaded hill twice in the last two miles.
From the start, Josh Whitehead went out very hard, which is his style. With no Varrick Clay on this day, it would take a catastrophic debacle for him not to cruise to the win. Zach Koch and I ran out together, with me leading after the first half mile. I knew that Zach was younger and a better runner, but I had my plan which was to run hard early, so I lead him by just a few seconds as we ran toward the turn. I was feeling really well through the first mile, clocking 5:20.
I slowed slightly as we ran toward Moores Mill Road and just before the cone, Zach held his pace and passed by me into 2nd place. We each made the turn and for the first time we saw the rest of the field. Though I was out to run my race, I did notice that Donald Bowman was very close, followed by Shane O'Neil, Emily Hardin and a few others. It would take my best effort to hold off Donald for 3rd place and to stay ahead of Shane for the much needed HTC Gran Prix Points in the open male division. With Josh in the lead, he would earn the top spot of 100 points, but earning 85 would drop one of my 65 point efforts and bump me from 805 to 825. David Riddle was not running, so for the time being, I held the lead, which I have had since Rocket City Marathon.
Making the turn and heading back toward the east, we faced a slight headwind, but nothing too fierce. I took water at the aid station, mostly to dampen my throat and to throw the rest over my head. I had decided not to wear a singlet in this race, given the warm weather. I lapped the second mile in 5:41, putting me at just over 11 minutes for two miles.
The third mile begins the long slow climb across the railroad tracks and into campus. The mile marker is at the top of Chase hill and near the next aid station, where Lisa Greene (wife of Mike Greene, race director) was working. She was very encouraging, though I was feeling anything but great. My 3rd mile was 5:59 and had me at 17 minutes with the hard part of the course yet to run. Coming off of the aid station is a great downhill section, in which I really opened up my stride again and may have created some distance between myself and whoever was closest to me at this point in the race; I was not turning around to look and had planned on saving this until the turn back into campus where it would be easier to see back. With this downhill section and dropping a net 120 feet, I was able to get the pace back down near my goal pace average of 5:47.
The last two miles of this course mean hitting the 100' hill (over 1/3 mile) twice. This hill is straight up to start and then has a 90 degree turn where it continues to climb, albeit at a less degree of incline. This hill, in my honest opinion, is harder than the Cotton Row hill. I maintained a running form, though I was moving very slowly. I glanced at my watch as I came to the top of the hill and I was averaging 7:30 pace for the mile. Coming back through the start area, I knew that today was not going to be my day. The heat had gotten to me and I was starting to develop fatigue in my legs. It would be an exercise of holding on in the truest form. It was encouraging to see others that were on their first loop and run strong by them but it did not provide enough of a lift to keep me going.
Donald had closed the gap now and as he mentioned to me later, he was feeling strong late in the race and he knew that he would be able to close and pass me. I tried to stride it out down the hill but still ran a very disappointing 6:19 5th mile. Just before the turn into campus Donald passed me and I tried to give him some encouragement, telling him to run down Zach. Dropping to 4th was a big blow to my mental state and I was heading into round number two with the hill.
I was able to take a quick look back running into campus, but it was hard to tell the difference between the first and second lappers with a glance. I would just have to finish as strong as possible and see how it would work out. I had thoughts of taking a few walking steps up the hill, but about half way up I saw Madison Magergee and he shared some very encouraging words with me, which really helped. Had I not seen him, I probably would have walked for at least a few steps.
Cresting the top of the first hill and climbing toward the apex, I started to build some momentum. With a strong finish, I would be able to come in under 37 minutes, which ironically, was my goal for the race! After the six mile mark, it is all downhill into the finish which makes for a fast last 0.214 miles. It involves a left and then another left, running back toward the school at the finish. I picked up the pace and pushed hard right through the tape, running at 5:14 pace after the top of the hill.
So in the end, despite feeling horrible on the second half of the course (which is to be expected and having run the race before, I should have known this), I managed to run 36:44 and beat my goal target of 37 minutes. On this day, only 4 people would break 37 minutes, with me being the last. The under 40 minute awards were handed out (I love this concept by the way Mike! Drawing the line in the sand at 40 is very reasonable and signifies a good finishing time, plus I love awards) to 9 total people.
The top 6 finishers are listed below, including the overall winner Josh, the masters winner Donald and the first female, Emily.
PLACE NAME AGE TIME
1 Josh Whitehead, 30 - 34:43
2 Zachary Koch, 23 - 35:49
3 Donald Bowman, 41 - 36:30
4 Eric Charette, 33 - 36:44
5 Shane O'Neill, 37 - 37:26
6 Emily Hardin, 25 - 37:27
Thanks to Mike for another successful year of race directing and to Carl Smith for timing. Also, to the volunteers on the course and those at the finish that make it all happen, I send you my thanks. Also, to Dean Bentley for a financial stipen to top runners:) I look forward to next year and despising this course once again!