FifthThird River Bank 25k (Read 592 times)

5/10/08 – 8am I should start by saying that the downside to the race was missing meeting the other RA runners, as well as some friends, and missing their finishes. I wish the day had gone better for some of the others. I met Joe (marathonmanleto) before the race. We had a nice chat about upcoming races and some races we had both run in the past. Most of my coworkers found our meet spot. There were 8 of us who met up (of the 11 racers) before the race. My run really couldn’t have gone any better. I really, really wanted to break 2 hours. It’s been a goal for quite sometime now. If I nit pick and try to find a negative, I feel like I may have left a couple of minutes on the course. I felt very fresh at the end of the race. The course is very flat, almost down hill the first 7 miles. It’s a scenic run along the river south bound. We cross a bridge then come back on the other side of the river. There are some rolling hills miles 8-12. They add a little variety to the course, nothing that will derail a good run. The fans are great. There are lots of cheering sections. The aid stations are awesome. My run measured 15.66 on the Garmin, .13 long. I ran 58:30 the first half, 57:34 the second half. The only note worthy portion of the race was the last mile. I was passing people and having a great time when I ran across a guy who really didn’t want to be passed. He would surge ahead of me a bit, then I’d catch him and surge ahead of him. We did this for the entire last mile. The last ~500 meters we looked like 2 kids racing through the mall. We. Were. Flying! I’m sure runners and spectators alike were looking at us wondering why those two fools had left so much on the course the first 15 miles. None the less, he approached me and we exchanged a friendly handshake after the finish. 1:56:06 - It really was a fun run. A few of us met at a local sports bar for a celebratory drink after the race. It was a great end to a great day.

Nice job, Cory--huge congrats on that sub-2! NEXT year we will all meet before and/or after the race. We'll have to have more specific gathering locations.

Nice job!! Congrats on the sub-2 hour time. Sounds like you had a good run.

I live on Lake Michigan Drive in the last mile or so of the course and took lots of pics! I didn't post them all but there are about 100 or so. If you want to see them, check out: http://shutter-monkey.smugmug.com/gallery/4911911_GHyiK#293375591_K5EHo

I just LOVE a finish like that, I've had a couple recently. A little added adrenaline at that point in the race is a godsend. Great job with the negative split, I've tried but I don't believe I've ever managed that in a race so it's definitely on my to-do list. Well done!

Wow, a sub-2 is a great result! Sounds like you had a good time and a good race. I like the part about your racing with another guy at the finish. Of course, with chip timing, you can never be sure if the guy just ahead of you is really ahead of you in the results.

Interestingly, my Garmin read 15.38 which averaged out to a 6:49pace vs. the chip pace of 6:56?? I like the Garmin time better!

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Fixed. Great race, Cory. Congrats on breaking 2h!

Yup, I tried my best to straighten out as many of the corners as I could.

Interestingly, my Garmin read 15.38 which averaged out to a 6:49pace vs. the chip pace of 6:56?? I like the Garmin time better!

Huh? How did it measure short and then give you a better pace? 25k=15.53 miles I need to fix my Garmin to do that.