(Apologies for a very late post)
The weather was quite nice for this race. I hadn't ran it since 2010 so a few things were different for me. The course start / finish has been changed. Positive change. And the Registration area had been moved. I honestly didn't find it until the START gun went off. I parked in the same area I had parked 4 years ago, saw runners warming up so I knew I was close.
The Registration area can actually be accessed inside the Stonecrest shopping center parking lot. Lots of vendors present. A very family friendly race.
The course was an out and back and slightly longer than 4 miles (Garmin clocked 4.16).
Because the course was longer my official timing is higher than my actual timing. There will always be variance in a courses length due to the USATF rules of measuring a course but the variance should be minimal on an out and back. The elevation map looks very hilly but the climbs were actually low grade. Not a bad course this year.
Publix was a sponsor this year (they are moving into the Charlotte area gradually) and the goody bags were actually mini recycle bags. Nice touch.
I signed up for this race simply to keep me on track towards a goal of 1000 miles for 2014. I decided after last year's GPX series (very disappointing) that I would not commit to every race in a series after so many mistakes and miscommunications from RFYL. For 2014 they have once again made some alterations to each series (GPX and Distance) in order to promote more participation. The races are decent, the management of timing, points, communication and overall acknowledgements for the series lacks a great deal. Thus I may randomly run some of my more favorite races but not with the intent to keep up in either series. Sorry to see the continual conflicts with RFYL. I missed the CPCC race (Apr 26) but heard that RFYL failed to attach team names correctly to runners who specifically registered as part of a team...some were even registered under opposing teams. Seems the errors never end and the confidence for what should be Charlotte's oldest and best running vendor is dwindling.
I am, however, signed up for two Trail Series this year at Whitewater (River Jam) and in Iredell County (Sweet 13). Looking forward to breaking in some trail shoes and spending a few weeknights with my running friends!
CHIP TIME: 1:00:22
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