Saturday night Shane and I ran the Race to Moon in Apollo, PA. Get it Apollo? Moon race? Hahahaha. Yeah, I must be too young. Shane had to explain it to me.

The race didn't have an exact start time, just listed it as 'dark'. So we drove out after dinner since sunset was scheduled for 8:30-ish. We arrived a little after 7PM and parked and then went to check in. Only we weren't on the list. Turns out Shane registered us so early (and by paper form instead of online) that the race director forgot about us. Thankfully he found our forms tucked away somewhere in his car and we were able to get our bibs and goody bags.

I think the shirts were okay and the glow-in-the-dark mug is pretty darn awesome. We were also given glow necklaces to wear during the race for visibility. Shane and I both wore Black Diamond Spot headlamps as well since there was barely any moon. 

Since we had arrived so early we hung out by the Kiski River and then did a little warm up jog along the course. In the fading light there were already hundreds of lumineries lighting the rail trail path for the entire race. I had been hoping for a 3 mile warm up but I was afraid we'd miss the start so we settled for one. Turns out we had plenty of time and it was pretty much a wasted warm up mile.

Shane gives me this look often.

We got to meet up with some of the Latrobe Area Pacer Society (LAPS) members that we 'know' online but hadn't actually met yet. A couple people also recognized our shirts and introduced themselves so it was a really nice evening regardless of the wait to start.

LAPS group. Excuse my paler than the moon stomach

Finally we lined up around 9PM. The race director said he wanted to wait for it to get just a little bit darker but everyone was ready to go so we just stood at the line and chatted. There was a 5k and a 5 mile race both running together so I had no idea who my competition was. I figured I would run comfortably to the 5k turn around and then see who was still ahead of me. Of course, easy never happens for me on race day.

The gun went off and people were flying by me left and right. I looked at my Garmin and saw 6:59 pace so I pulled back despite the sprint happening all around me. By a half mile people were settling in and I was able to start passing back most of the runners who had taken off so furiously at the start. I was hoping for an 8:30 pace but my body didn't want to settle in there. I was either close to 8:00 or close to 9:00 and I couldn't get in the middle. First mile: 8:17

In the second mile I finally began to feel the pace and zone out. As I approached the 5k turn around I was right behind another woman but she made the turn. I shouted good luck and then looked ahead to see who I could catch. About 100 feet ahead were a man and woman so I focused on reeling them in. Mile 2: 8:33

As I approached the 5 mile turn around I counted people while looking for Shane. I counted 7 men and then Shane. I only saw the same woman ahead of me that I had been trying to catch so far. I couldn't believe I was in second! I told Shane he was in 8th and we missed our high five. Then I set my sights on the man between me and the first woman. I caught him right as mile 3 beeped in at 8:33.

I asked if I could hang on him for a bit and he said he didn't mind but he was fading. I could see the glow of the light stick on the woman ahead of me and estimated her to be 45 - 60 seconds ahead of me. I began to put the hammer down but I knew I wouldn't catch her unless she faded. Mile 4: 8:19

Somewhere in the final mile I lost the man I had been running with. I began to pass the 5k walkers and back-of-the-packers. One guy was running hard and then walking and then repeating. As I passed I yelled "Let's go, only a half mile!" He hung with me for a bit but dropped off again quickly. I continued to push. My legs had no more to give and I knew my pace was slipping despite the effort. My ragged breathing and aching chest were really starting to hurt but I couldn't let the women behind me catch up. Finally the finish line was in sight and my Garmin beeped in 5 miles. I hit stop and handed over my bib tag. Mile 5: 8:26

I found Shane and he told me he had finished 8th in 39:56. My official time was 42:13. Turns out we must have missed someone because the results listed Shane as 9th overall and 1st in his age group. And I am listed as 12th overall and 3rd woman. I really don't believe I missed a woman so I am curious as to whether or not she was a 5k runner who got mixed up with the 5 mile results. She didn't stay to get her award which makes me even more suspicious. It's also weird that a woman ran 6:27 pace for 5 miles and I can't find a single other race result for her.

Getting my award.

In the end, it really doesn't matter to anyone but me whether I was second or third. What does matter is that I'm really happy with my performance and my results. Even though I was suffering I maintained a pretty even pace. I didn't let the early sprint get the better of me and ruin my race. And I gave every last bit of energy I had to chase down the woman ahead of me. She ended up beating me by 1:01 which means I really didn't let her gain anymore ground after I set my sights on her. I'm also pretty sure this is a 5 mile PR for me and now I feel really confident about my night running capabilities at Burning River in less than 2 weeks!

Shane and his medal

trophy

Great job!  Congrats.

Great race!  Congrats to both of you.

Now let's get some bronzer or something on that stomach, shall we?  You're scaring the children.  

Sounds like a very interesting - and fun? - race to do!  Congrats on your PR and the AG award, way to go!  Congrats to Shane too!

Running in the dark...near  a river....I believe the officials would ultimately have to pull me out of the water, lol.  Heck, I'm a klutz in daylight!

Nice photos, you look great!

That sounds like a fun race but the lack of starting time specifics would have drove me batty. lol   Congrats on the bling!

Congratulations!  Sounds like you raced it really well!  It's a shame about the mixed results.  Sounds like there was some general disorganization going on as far as the registration goes.  Maybe the 5-mile "second place woman" had registered for the 5-miler, but dropped to the 5K at the turn?  Especially if she's new to racing?

Congratulations!  Sounds like you raced it really well!  It's a shame about the mixed results.  Sounds like there was some general disorganization going on as far as the registration goes.  Maybe the 5-mile "second place woman" had registered for the 5-miler, but dropped to the 5K at the turn?  Especially if she's new to racing?

^^^ Likely

I've been beat by a phantom runner before...turns out they started 10 minutes late but got chip timed anyways (just throwing that out there as a possible possiblity).

Congrats on hitting a strong race.  Good luck for BR.  Thanks for the race report.

Great race!  Congrats to both of you.

 

Now let's get some bronzer or something on that stomach, shall we?  You're scaring the children.  

I scare myself! The bigger problem is that turning off my headlamp doesn't hide me in the dark!