I was on time! I WAS!! Arrrgghhh!!!
This was one of those races where everything that could go wrong did go wrong, at least for me. I arrived ten minutes early for what is considered a small race (250 runners total) on secondary streets in a rural small town area but the entrance roads were both blocked off. I had to park 7/10 of a mile away from registration and had to ask volunteers which secondary roads to take to walk to the start line which kept me from starting on time. Several others ran into the same situation, I did see vehicles simply leave because of the blocks and the realization that time wouldn't allow for a solid start.
Understand, I realize had I been there 30 minutes early this would have been a non-issue, I also realize had I been familiar with the downtown Pineville area, again it would have been a non-issue. I realized belatedly that I could have driven around Town Hall (where I parked) and drove through the secondary roads to park right at the start line. But then, that would require actual SIGNS for parking or the EVENT itself of which there were NONE.
Okay, so I need the exercise, I venture forward and forgo the possibility of not being the last finisher. I am here to complete not to compete (for now). As I pass the start line on the way to pick up my chip at registration, the timer is already being moved... runners are only 45 secs into the race. No favors for late arrivals. Chip attached, back to the start line which forces you to cross the finish line before arriving at the start line, thus the ladies said yes, my chip had now registered, I would be timed. Off I go.
Cones were set up for both the 5K and the 1 mile race. The 1 mile started only a few minutes after the 5K and the first split was manned by several volunteers. They were too busy chatting to realize they weren't giving directions... I took a wrong turn (2/10 mile) and had to back track thanks the the positive encouragement of the 2nd set of volunteers on the course.
I'm ten minutes late, took a wrong turn have already logged a mile at this point and it is HOT! Yes, I'm whining today but believe it or not, I was glad I went, solely for the exercise though. Twice during this run volunteers had no idea where to tell me to go (race course, of course) so as I STOOD on the route waiting for them to configure, I got further behind. The course I will mention just now, is a hodge podge of turns in neighborhoods and includes a few out and backs in cul-de-sacs. I skipped one of them (3/10 mile) in order to catch up with the tail end of the runners and register a time under one hour (as they shut off the timers at one hour).
This put me in a group of about 10 final finishers, five of which I passed as we went along. All to no avail. Yes, you heard me right, to no avail. The timers were shut off at 55 min regardless of the final dozen or so that were still headed in. And the timers KNEW there were still runners on the field as they had a most wonderful trailing biker who kept watch on those at the end (Kudos to RFYL for great volunteers!!). Picking up my chip then was useless, I could have simply stepped in with the runners at the start line as I was only 20 ft from them when the gun went off.
All in all, I did a total of 4.05 miles at this race. My Garmin timed me at 52:35 for 3.35 miles which included three stops to get directions from volunteers. I do not have an official time nor does my name show in the results due to the timer cutoff. The race went fairly smoothly for most other participants. The use of the community center was a big help. There was plenty of water after the race. No post race bananas, oranges or bagels. One of the sponsors brought pretzels, cheese crackers and animal cookies. I'm glad for the indoor plumbing and the AC as we were all drenched from the humidity but for some reason they chose to give the award presentation outdoors in the parking lot. Most runners had left, about half of the winners were present and some winners simply had friends pick the awards up for them.
At the beginning of the awards presentation the remaining crowd (100+/-) were told there would be great door prizes given out after the awards. The award ceremony was stop and go, so people kept leaving. When the final age category was announced there were maybe 30-40 people still standing. The registrars were answering questions for about 10 minutes or so, such that about a dozen people remained milling around wondering if there actually would be door prizes.
Amazingly enough, I won one. A very nice massage gift certificate I will add. I "won" it though because I was one of the few left standing when they were given out. All of us that waited it out were extremely grateful. I do not blame RFYL for the lag or early departures. That was due to the heat and the overall lack of enthusiasm at this race. RFYL did an outstanding job for this event, even with what appeared to be very little support from the actual race organizers. Although they did shut off the timers 5 minutes early, I have no doubt it had to do with the heat and folks wanting to leave as soon as possible, and nothing whatsoever to do with failing to give credit to the final runners as they left the digital apparatus in place and running so the times could be seen as they crossed the finish line.
I've said all that to say this. This is not a race I would run again.
I love the shirt and it's design, I'm grateful for the door prize and the superb job by volunteers and RFYL. My overall opinion though is that the race is poorly organized and lacks critical elements for the larger running community. I've run smaller races that were much more well organized and I've run larger ones that were in far worse shape but this race left you with the feeling that the community could care less, and by community I mean either those who originally created and planned the event and the town that profits from the participation. Nine residents from Pineville participated today (that's 3.6%), all other runners were from other areas in North and South Carolina. That alone expresses my view perfectly.
My personal late arrival would not have altered my review, as I said, I was glad I went even if for no other reason than the quality exercise in good company but I do not, at this time, anticipate repeating this one unless improvements motivate it to be more of an event and less of an endurance.
UNOFFICIAL TIME: 48:16
OFFICIAL TIME: 48:17 (added at my request by Registrar)
