As Marj and I often do, we made this race a mini-vacation. Although New Haven is less than a 3 hour drive for us, they were offering a deep discount at the hotel one block from the start and in the midst of the Yale campus. So, we couldn't refuse the offer. We headed down Sunday morning at a leisurely pace and arrived just as the store where we picked up our race packet opened. After a fast lunch we spent an hour at the Yale Art Gallery and explored some of the campus. We then checked into the hotel and explored more of the campus which was bustling with newly arrived students. By this time we were ready for a glass of wine/beer. We found a nearby pub and sat out in the sun enjoying our libations. Not knowing the New Haven area we asked our waitress for a dinner suggestion. she sent us one half mile down the road to Little Italy where we dined al fresco (again) and had one of the best Italian meals we've ever had (including Italy). Oh yes, the race. We were up early the next morning and looked out our 16th floor window to see the runners beginning to assemble. Down we went about 45 minutes before the start. Although we never sighted CNY runner we did encounter a woman race walker from R.I. who is a former president of my 65+ Running Club. CNY described the prerace and post race, so I won't repeat it. Marj and I lined up in our usual back of the pack spots and, as usual, Marj took off once we crossed the starting line and I didn't see her until the finish. I ran a pretty even pace for the first half and hydrated well. My 10K time was an unimpressive 1:12, but that seems what I'm running these days as I age. My second 10K was 1 minute faster, so I did get a negative split. I felt good all the way, and passed a number of walking younger runners at the end. I finished in 2:23:45-good enough for a 3rd age division finish. Marj finished 8 minutes before me (2:15:0) in 8th place in her age group. It was a beautiful day, a well organized race and a fun mini weekend for us. If we lived closer we'd be tempted to do it again.

Hi Henry, You and Marj certainly know how to do racing right! Art galleries and explorations; libations; meeting friends wherever you go; and delicious dinners alfresco the eve before a race. What could be better! And then Marj runs a fast race in a fast AG, and you do negative splits on your way to an AG award. Congratulations on a great weekend with a race in the middle of it! Jay

Congratulations for making running part of a well-rounded lifestyle. Dark Horse

nice work, you two.