The bread at the post race party is great but the beer is even better!

OK, I'm registered for the 5K! I took a ride up to New Haven today, registered at Trailblazer and picked up my shirt, then went for a run around the course to get a feel for where things are. For those who haven't run it, the 5K course starts out on Elm Street, heading south-east toward State St. The 20 K also starts on Elm, two blocks up from the 5K start, and heads in the opposite direction. Both courses are extremely well marked (already), on telephone poles and trees on both sides of the course. Continuation signs are the now-famous Doonesbury character, in red outline, on 8 1/2 X 11 white paper. When the courses turns, there are bright red arrows posted on the telephone poles and trees at the corner, directing you which way to go. There are also several NHPD police sawhorses on the sidwalks, so these will probably be out there as well. No reason to get lost on this course, unless you never look ahead!! - no markings on the road pavement itself. The 5K turns left onto State, then left again onto Edwards (this is where the first small hill is - it's nothing to be concerned about) before the course turns right onto Livingston, then left on Willow to Whitney. Willow is the other small hill, but again, it's not anything to worry about. A left on Whitney and you are headed back toward the green and the finish. (See notes below about the Whitney / Temple fork - I missed this split the first time I ran this course many years ago, even though it was well marked). The two small hills combined are a total climb of about 120-130 feet - this is a FLAT course. Plus, Whitney is a very gradual decline, giving up most of the climb you made in about a mile. For both the 20K and the 5K, two notes about the finish: 1 - Whitney comes to a fork in the last half mile before the finish - make sure you stay to the right of the fork (follow the signs). 2 - After the fork, at the last 1/4 mile, there is a bridge under repair, and the road is blocked with concrete barriers (one lane of the bridge has been removed). I don't know how race organizers plan to handle this, as the course is marked with signs to go right through here on the left sidewalk. The left side of the bridge is still there, and could be used if they move the jersey barriers out of the way, but if they don't it's going to be a tight squeeze here for the middle of the pack runners. My advice is to make sure you take the right (and correct) fork (Temple Street) when Whitney splits into Whitney and Temple there, and then begin making your way toward the left sidewalk. If you have to jump up onto the grass here you'll be in a better position than everyone trying to move over from the right at the last minute. I did not check the 20K course. I was planning on driving it, but due to several construction projects going on and the Yale students moving in I could not get down all the streets I needed to. Links to RunningAhead maps of the courses (verified against official course map): 5K: http://www.runningahead.com/maps/bb66012a50c74b44860162a48f7bf453 20K: http://www.runningahead.com/maps/63f8f33f65144d92b763f9c041b71da0 Parking - there is a small parking lot next to the Trailblazer store (296 Elm, corner of Park Street) that, according to the attendant there today, will be unlocked and unattended all day Monday - free parking! I don't expect many New Haveners to park there, as the price sign and booth will still be there. It's only a 3-4 block walk down Elm from there to the Green. Last note - if you are coming down to New Haven tomorrow, once you get into the New Haven Green area, expect a LOT of traffic. This is freshman parents' weekend at Yale, plus it appears to be move-in weekend for the students (I don't know if ths is the official one, or if parents are just taking advantage of the long weeend to bring more stuff up, but there were a ton of pickups, SUVs, and minivans from out-of-state loaded with all kinds of stuff parked everywhere they shouldn't be.) I'm sure by Monday morning they'll be back onthe road, but tomorrow could be similar to today. See you all at the race on Monday! I'll be the guy with the (flying) monkey on his back.

roc congrats on finishing I don't think I could of done with with a cracked rib!

Probably not. I already registered for it.. but the last month of not running because of the rib really threw off my training, and I don't think I'll be there by the 11th. At least I'll have my shirt as inspiration for next year.