Sweet 13 5K

This race is part of a Spring Series in Iredell County.  Thirteen races take place in Statesville, Union Grove, Troutman, Mooresville, and Love Valley.  Each race is only $10 and manually timed.  Shirts are available for $15 and this year's color is light gray with the Ready. Run. Race. logo on the front and the Sweet 13 listings on the back.

I ran with a friend and this was my sixth race, her fifth, with the McLelland Racing Team (MRT). It was also the final race #13 of the event lineup.  I must say, MRT is enthusiastic, well organized and quite friendly. I am hoping to return for their Summer / Fall Half Marathon series which is a progressive race series incorporating longer distances with each race.  It is listed on Racesonline.com as Iredell County 5K - Half Racing Series and it begins Aug 10 - Sept 28.

The first five races are $10 each. The sixth race is the Half Marathon and it is only $50 thru Sept 1st.  The final race is the Staton Warriors Run, Warrior shirt included and it is $25 pre-race.  All of these events are well worth attending.  McLelland Racing Team does a top notch job in managing each race and runners (or walkers) of all paces are welcome.  

Tonight was my best timing of the six I've participated in and it is also the best time for my running buddy.  This course is listed as flat but it does have one short incline at the turnaround point.  For those that ran Race #1, this was the same / similar course but in reverse due to events being held at the Statesville Recreation Center (location of tonight's race). Largest crowd I've seen thus far and all were excited to run a flat course for the Finale.

My fingers are crossed that this Tuesday night series comes back later this fall or even possibly over the winter months.  It's a great workout mid-week and very much helps with overall training for those wishing to improve timing or endurance.  All races are challenging and the variety of locations really adds to the overall feel of a full competition.

Looking forward to future runs with MRT and a huge shout out to Scott McLelland for being so very supportive of his community and the runners that live there!

Official Time:  43:42

I AM Too Sexy 5K

Today's race was the culmination of what should have been an 8 week training plan.  Two weeks were completed via the plan, the remaining six weeks were altered to incorporate distance and sprints.  Training continued and the original plan will resume soon. The altered training still paid off though, I set a new PR this morning and really had to work for it!  Totally enjoying the benefits of my new workouts.  I've upped my run / walks to 6 days a week with a minimum of 2 miles, goal of 6 miles no walking.

This was an inaugural race in Durham NC.  We (my running buddy and I) chose it because of the date, nothing more.  The title made a good fit after an 8 week training plan.  

Sixty runners showed up to cross the finish line. Pre-registration was $20 thru July 1st and included chip timing (stop only, no start) with the option to buy a t-shirt for $10. There were no awards - overall or otherwise - at this event. There was a drawing given by one of the sponsors, the winner was announced after the event.  No results (other than reading the digital timer) were available at the race.  Results were, however, posted by 4pm same day.  All runners received a medal, regardless of finish time and the shirts were actually tank tops, wife beater style.

The race description for online registration stated:

USATF Certified Course that is flat with the exceptions of two inclines.

Someone needs to explain to the organizers that flat races do NOT have inclines.  No exceptions. This was NOT a flat race and every runner out there knew it.  Great race to earn a PR, not a given PR, but an earned one.

I am sure the organizers will collect more sponsors between now and next year's event and hopefully that will translate into all the standard amenities for any given race.  The price was the norm for 5Ks but the event needed category awards to be complete.  Post race did include bagels, bananas, watermelon and bottled water, as well as wash cloths soaked in ice water.  No complaints whatsoever.  Truly hope to see this event expand in the future!

Official Time:  41:34

Results on Active.com

Sweet 13 5K

This race is part of a Spring Series in Iredell County.  Thirteen races take place in Statesville, Union Grove, Troutman, Mooresville, and Love Valley.  Each race is only $10 and manually timed.  Shirts are available for $15 and this year's color is light gray with the Ready. Run. Race. logo on the front and the Sweet 13 listings on the back.

This was my 5th race with MRT and I beat my previous best score for the series, which is surprising given the hills we encountered, the mud we faced and the terrain of a trail race.

My splits showed the effects of each hill.  My timing on Mile one was my best effort to date.. less than 13 min and it would have been better than that except there were lots of children and walkers for this particular race and I got behind them at the start - if you've run a trail race, you understand there is not a lot of "passing" until the crowd thins down.  Not at all complaining about kids and walkers... my own fault for not lining up correctly to begin with.  I didn't expect to do as well but the constant workouts I've been doing since the beginning of June are paying off.

A local church group showed up for this run so MRT had its largest turnout tonight.  Lots of enthusiasm on the field so I stayed throughout the entire award ceremony to support all those that had done a 5K for the very first time.  One lovely grandmother had been a spectator for the entire series, watching her grandchildren run, so she decided to run one with them.  She was the final finisher but her family could not have been more proud!  Lots of love at these events!

This course was located at Allison Woods Living History and Reenactment Home in Statesville NC. The entire course was on dirt single lane roads that interlaced through the wooded areas of this site.  The final half mile was next to an air strip with a slight incline, turnaround, and the final stretch being a decline to the Finish Line.

Quite a workout for a Tuesday night.  

The Final Race of the series will be held this coming Tuesday at the Statesville Recreation Dept (same as first race) and we are promised that it is completely flat and on asphalt.  My fingers are (once again) crossed for a PR on that course.

Looking forward to Race #13 and very grateful for McLelland's Racing Team and their support of the running community.

Official Time:  45:46

July 4th 4 Miler

 

Happy Independence Day to ALL!

I only had one goal for this race and honestly it was the only reason I signed up.  I wanted to do 4 miles in under an hour (less than 15 min pace). 

Mission accomplished.

I have ran this 4 times since 2008 and have always enjoyed it.  I only missed 2009 due to a late arrival, the start time was earlier than I had planned so I showed up and had to forego the run.  The course has been relocated since then and now starts at Memorial Stadium in uptown Charlotte.

My Garmin shows two major inclines with a total climb of 238 feet.  Not a bad course at all.  Runs thru the Elizabeth neighborhoods with lots of police protection present.  

Water stop at Mile 2 manned by wonderful volunteers.  For those of us that reached it after the 28 min mark, all cups were gone.  I actually finished the whole course without water until post race.  Glad I hydrated the night before.  Lots more friendly volunteers were prepared for this at the finish line - water bottles were also gone (no Powerade or Gatorade for this race) - so several volunteers filled and refilled larger cups for those that crossed the finish line after the water stop had emptied out.  Kudos to RFYL for the follow up. I suspect the turnout was greater than anticipated.  Missing chips, missing results, water shortage, etc. - all fixable - proof that this race is a popular holiday event.  It is also part of the RFYL Signature Series, brand new for 2013.

T-shirts were the Gildan Performance unisex style.  They feel like a very soft cotton but are actually 100% polyester.  Very comfortable for everyday wear.

I finished my run, hydrated, chatted with a fellow runner and headed out to other plans for the remainder of my day.  I did notice a few vendors and a full band present for the festivities.  Trusting all who stayed enjoyed themselves.

CHIPTIME:  Missing results - registration notified

UPDATE:  Gun time is the only option which is disappointing as this would have been a new PR for me.  RFYL Store owner, Tim Rhodes, worked diligently to add in all missing results - much appreciated - I'll have to earn the new PR another time, nonetheless, I did accomplish the goal of finishing in less than an hour!

GUNTIME:  59:09

Official Results: Active