Race Report: Gaithersburg XC 5k

Great race. A bunch of high school kids took it out hard. I hung back and let them have their fun, latching onto Mark Hoon and Alex Eversmeyer and letting them dictate my pace. It felt fast but I was under control. By the time we'd hit 400 meters all but two of the kids had fallen off pace and we continued as a pack of five. The pace began to slow a bit but I hung in the pack content to wait until someone made a move. Right when we hit the beginning of the paved path in the woods Alex took off and I followed. He was moving and I didn't want to blow it open this early (1200 meters in) so I tried to stay close but he got some distance on me.

This section of the course is run along a paved path for about 1200 meters, and normally runners are expected to stick to the grass when possible, especially during one section about 2k into the race. The markings today, however, suggested that we stick to the pavement and since thats what Alex did ahead of me I followed suit. It was at this point that Mark Hoon, from about 30 yards behind, decided to yell at me to "be a man" and run on the grass. I have no problem running on grass, but I like to follow the marked course so thats what I did--with no shame or regret.

As we moved through the second mile of the course, I was running well but was not as close to Alex as I would have liked. I knew I could probably win the race if it came down to a kick but I wasn't close enough. I made several surged to try and make up ground but he wasn't backing down--if I made up distance he would somehow always pull ahead again. I never got close enough to contend.

That being said I really pushed it this week. I feel as if I ran a much better race than last week, staying strong throughout and never really "settling" into a pace despite being alone for about 75% of the race. I finished in 2nd at 17:17--a 5 second PR for the course and a great time for the sunny, hot weather. I'd have ideally liked to dip under 17 but I think I've still got a bit of work to do be where I wanted to be at this point.

First picture: the pack during the first mile just before it broke apart
Second picture: @ 2 miles
Third picture: running solo with about 800 to go
Fourth picture: kicking it in on the track

Results: http://www.mcrrc.org/racing/2010/20100611Gaihersburg-XC-5K.htm