Some seriously sadistic soul re-routed this course...
LOTS OF HILLS... basically 2.5 miles of hills...
and I don't mean inclines... I mean... LONG... STEEP... HILLS...
WARNING: This course is a workout not a campus stroll!
*evil laughter erupts from somewhere on campus*
On the flip side...
Cheers for LOTS of enthusiastic volunteers who were worth their weight in gold today! They cheered their hearts out on a cold, rainy, overcast day and it was greatly appreciated by one and all! And needless to say, college kids know how to have a good time! Lots of energy at this event!
Race directors have taken the feedback from previous events and truly made an effort to make this 5K more successful.The changes have all been positive ones which makes it well worth attending. On that note, several volunteers took post race surveys at the event to gather feedback specifically for this purpose. Kudos to UNCC for making the extra effort and working towards a top notch running event!
The course redesign translates to quite a few hill challenges covering 2-2.5 miles of the course. The redesign may be temporary though, as it was done to accommodate the construction of the new football stadium which has been a long time coming. Many students, alumni and local fans are anticipating the stadium's completion and are quite excited about the future!
If I were to offer any suggestions at all, it would once again be directed at incoming campus traffic. I don't believe it is the race director's fault that drivers cannot comprehend pedestrians right of way, but several vehicles tailed runners/walkers by less than a foot this morning. The course either needs cones to keep runners in a fixed path separate from cars or single lane traffic to avoid frustrating both runner and driver.
One young runner who was only inches from a moving car actually bent down into the window and waved a HUGE HELLO to the driver (smiles included) to get the point across... (the point being - if you're gonna get that close, let's get to know each other). Point well made!
I am not a rainy weather runner but made the exception this morning. So glad I did. I have been a non-fan of UNCC races for several years due to the needed improvements of prior events. My status has changed to full support after this morning's race.
...Any race that can leave me feeling glad I went.. IN THE RAIN.. has done an outstanding job!
Looking forward to next year!
CHIPTIME: 47:27
(Stats provided by Active.com)