Congrats on the win! You can only compete with whomever shows up. Did you know the pacer? Were you challenged at any point? Is 20:58 your all-time or masters 5k PB? The unicorn brought you good luck. I've only experienced it once and it is a wonderful feeling, especially @ 55.

Moth - my "pacer" showed up at about the half mile mark.  I was out by myself (there really weren't more that 25 or so participants) and I hear these heavy footfalls behind me.  A youngster pulls up beside me and asks if it's OK for him to run with me.  He said he was a student at the College and was mainly a road biker (on the college team) and was just out running to support the efforts of one of the groups on the college.  So we ran the rest of the race together.  I thought he might fade, and I did pick the pace up in the last "mile" but he had no problem staying with me.  Neither of us put any major effort on in the last quarter mile, and as we approached the finish line he slowed down and allowed me to finish first.

There was one other gentleman at the race that under normal circumstance would have finished and have had his second cup of coffee by the time I got there.  But he had already run 14 that morning and was walking this one with his DW.  BTW - he had a matching shirt..

No, my all time 5K was back in the early 80s and is 16:53.  My old man 5K PR (since this one was only 2.9 miles) was set last May at 21:02 - about 4 weeks after the Boston that earned me the unicorn.

1st place is still 1st place.  Plus, free pie!  WTG.

Did you consider running the extra .03 afterwards to get to 3 miles even?  I did that once. 

Mmm pie... I'm going to have to start scoping out pie-distributing races for next year. And, you know, also get a lot faster. Nice job, I hope the pie was delicious!

Mmm pie... I'm going to have to start scoping out pie-distributing races for next year. And, you know, also get a lot faster. Nice job, I hope the pie was delicious!

It was, especially with DW's homemade whipped cream added.

Funny, since this was a race that was to support the local food pantry (the race fee was $10 or 10 cans of food) I briefly considered donating the pie back to the organizers.  Then thought "naaahhh".

That's an interesting backstory. Nice gesture for the kid to give you the moment. You would have smoked me back in the 80's. Still fast after 3+ decades.

I think our sport is one of the few that allows us all to be competitive within certain parameters as we age.  (Either with ourselves, or with others in our age/sex category).  And the inclusion of age graded timing lets me "race" against my younger self.

You seem to have gotten faster since you got your tat.  Now you need one on your back to taunt the slower runners, and then one on your arm, your neck, your wrist, your.......

How about starting by keeping it simple?