I've done this race before, and it is a nice, family-oriented, small-town race in Exeter, NH. I entered again this year because my friend, Katey, who started running late last year, decided to enter this as her first 5K. Saturday was a good day for racing: mostly cloudy with some sun peaking through; temps in the upper 50s, and just a slight breeze. I got to Exeter early to meet up with Katey and her neighbor, and to watch Katey's daughter in the 1-mile fun run. After the fun run, I went to warm up, and get ready for the 5K. I looked for Katey at the start but didn't find her. So we were each on our own. FR: navy shorts, white shirt, blue & white cap, (boring) and Asics Hyperspeeds. I lined up about 1/3 of the way back in the pack: Not so far forward as to get trampled by the race horses, but not far enough back to have to spend too much time waiting behind and weaving around slower runners and kids. The gun went off, and I got up to speed pretty quickly. For the first mile, I focused on quick turnover, and it paid off with a 10:01 first mile split. In mile two, I worked on lengthening my stride a bit while trying to keep my turnover rate the same. I had read recently that a slightly longer stride can help shave at least 10 seconds off a racewalker's pace. I could use that :10, so I thought I'd give it a try! Well, I didn't do so well, and my 2nd mile split was 10:35. Dag nabit! Mile 3 had the only hills on the course, with a short downhill, followed by a short but steep uphill, and a couple of rollers to the finish. I did what I could, but knew I lost some time on the uphill, and did that mile in 10:22. I finished in 32:01 (10:19 pace overall). Katey finished some minutes behind me (I got to watch her finish, and to cheer for her as she crossed the finish line), but had a good race and a good time. We'll try to hook up again at some other races over the summer. This was my fastest race of the year (next best was a 4-miler in March at a 10:28 pace), but I sure would love to get under 32, and to see how close I can get to a 10:00 race pace. I have another 5K next weekend, and will see what I can do there. Perhaps I should save the longer strides for longer races, and just stick with shorter strides and faster turnover for the short races. The question then becomes one of whether or not I can hold that pace for a full race. Stay tuned... Jay

Great job Jay! Nice of you to be able to share this with your friends and neighbours. It's been a while since I have seen you post. I remember you with fond memories of being one of the first to great me over five years ago on CoolRunning. Congrats and have a great day Tall

super pacing and thanks for the striding details. I'll be interested in any short/long stride comparison as, if it's like running, longer strides might sometimes cause more heel-striking that could be impeding forward motion. do you go by feel and overall time for your comparisons or, maybe as i like to do sometimes, use pedometer's total steps and event distance to compute stride length?

I'll be interested in any short/long stride comparison as, if it's like running, longer strides might sometimes cause more heel-striking that could be impeding forward motion. do you go by feel and overall time for your comparisons or, maybe as i like to do sometimes, use pedometer's total steps and event distance to compute stride length?

Hi Tet, In racewalking, when you add stride length, you are adding to the back of your stride (just before your push off), not to the front. So you don't have to worry about those motion-impeding heel-strikes. Here is a link to a page with an analysis of what a longer stride can do for your speed, and on how to achieve that longer stride in racewalking: http://www.curtsheller.com/racewalking/spm.shtml I tend to go more by feel and overall time than by taking a more precise approach. I can usually tell when my turnover rate is higher or my stride longer. What I can't tell till is how either is affecting my speed until I check my watch after the fact. And I've not gotten to the point where I can lengthen my stride a bit without sacrificing turnover rate - but I'm still working on it. Jay

Once again, a great race Jay. Good luck next week. You'll reach that sub 32 yet.

Congratulations on the fastest race of the year for you! I am interested in the short/long discussion. At the suggestion from Ribs, I am experimenting with that during the walking part of my run/walks. I am at a much slower speed, but he suggests that I could gain some speed on the walking parts by not trying to lengthen my stride, but take shorter faster steps. I am going to do some experimenting, and timing. Again, congratulations to you. Woods Lady