The 49th running of the Thomas Wolfe 8k. (Read 67 times)

tldr version:  ran an 8K today – pleased with my 1^st place age win in 36:37. (60 - 64)

This race has been around so long that had I lived in Asheville during my first running life I could have run it then.  Despite living in the area for over 16 years now, this is the first time I’ve run this race.  The idea of all the Asheville hills generally kept me away.  And now I have the proof.

Nothing too overwhelming, just 80 feet here, 100 feet there, and 60 feet over there.  Not sure there was much flat, always seemed to be either going up or down.

Temperature at the 10:10 AM race start (something to do with the bus schedules downtown) was about 40; a bit on the brisk side.  Glad I had my tights, smartwool shirt, and gloves.

The race started on the sidewalk beside the birthplace of Thomas Wolfe (American author; Look Homeward, Angel and You Can’t Go Home Again, among others).  And when I say sidewalk, I mean an 8 foot or so wide city sidewalk.  Picture 300 runners charging the first 100 or so meters on a slight decline with a sharp 90 degree left hand turn at the bottom.

The first “hill” came at the quarter mile – only 30 feet, but a harbinger of things to come.  This was followed by a sustained downhill through the next mile of about 140 feet.  The result was a 6:57 first mile; that would be great for a 5K, but this was 8.  This was followed by a 100 foot gain over the next quarter mile.

From then to the end it was a series of ups and down.  And did I mention turns?  This course had a total of 36 turns of 90 degrees or more.  Something like that no only slows your pace; it also plays havoc with your garmin.  According to my map track I ran some tangents that would make a crow proud.  I checked my time at the 2 mile mark (14:20) and that was the last time I bothered to look.

Coming into this race I wasn’t sure of what I would be able to do.  My recent races were all non-traditional; 3 legs of the Blue Ride Relay, and a 1 mile road race, and no speed work to speak of.  So my goal was anything starting with a 36 sounded good; a low 37 would have been OK.  As we were lining up for the start I noticed a gentleman in the crowd that I hadn’t seen since last January.  I don’t often lose in my age group to local runners, but this guy beat me twice in 2012 (I’ve got a long memory when it comes to loses).  Didn’t have any head to head for several years until this past January when I took first in the same race of my first loss.  So when I saw him in the crowd, my goal became whatever time was needed to finish one second ahead.  Turns out that was no problem – he did finish second to my first, but almost 2:30 back.  Boom.

The finish was back up that same 100 meters on the sidewalk; had no idea of time until the finish clock came into view.  Glad to see it still started with a 36.  Finish time of 36:37 got me a beer glass, and a container of Mango Sriracha Humus.

 

congrats.

 

how does something like that taste?

It's the best.  Slightly sweet with a bit of a bite.  Made by a local company in Asheville.

http://www.rootsfood.com/products/hummus/

That's a nice summary.  I was there too.  Of all the WNC races I've ever run, that was the weirdest start.  The narrow uneven brick sidewalk made for slow going for a little while.  Overall the race was a very good event, but I would have preferred to start on a street-- any street.