Masters Running

1

Dartmouth Relays Racewalk RR (Read 303 times)

coastwalker


    I had never been to this race before, never raced 1 mile before, and had only been in a couple of seriously judged (as opposed to 'loosely judged') racewalk races, so why not? All my previous racewalking races had been 5K or longer, so the sprints were completely new to me. I knew I couldn't compete against the serious sprinters, but was looking forward to see how I'd do. I also knew that 9 minutes was out of my reach, but was curious to see how close I could get to it.

     

    We live in the southeastern corner of NH, and the race was in Hanover, in the far northwest part of the state, of course. Luckily, it isn't all that big a state. I had decided to drive up on race day, rather than going up the day before and getting a room near the venue. We had dinner on Saturday night at the neighbor's house, and I had a couple of glasses of wine, and got home about an hour later than I would have liked. Still, I was up by 4 on Sunday morning, and on the road by 5:30. I got to Hanover by about 7:15, and saw two of my fellow racewalkers as I rolled into the parking lot. It is a good thing this was an indoor race, as the thermometer in my car was telling me it was -4 in Hanover. It was a nice treat, especially in mid-January and especially with the chilly weather outside, to be racing in just shorts and a short-sleeve shirt!

     

    The field house was big, and would be packed by the time I left later in the morning. The Dartmouth Relays is a two-day meet with high school, college, masters, and open division track and field events. Racewalking was handled as open events, with competitors of all ages going off together. They do this for practical reasons: There aren't a lot of us! The track at the field house is flat and is 8 laps/mile, so the straights are very short. There would be 5 judges around the course, all looking to make sure we were obeying the racewalking rules (1 foot in contact with the ground at all times, and the forward leg straight from point of impact till it passes verticle) throughout the race. Get too many warnings, and you get DQ'd. The women went first, at 8:30, and the field was dominated young women from the Maine Race Walkers.

     

    The men went off at about 8:45. I knew most of the guys in the small field, and knew I'd beat at least one of them. At the start, we all jumped off the line, and I quickly found myself close to the back of the pack. After a lap and a half, I picked off the guy I knew I could beat. The next walker in front of me was a young kid from the Maine Race Walkers. Their coach is Tom Eastler, who had been a nationally-ranked racewalker, and now has one of the more active and successful racewalking programs in the northeast. I pulled up on the kid's shoulder, but he found another gear and pulled about 10 yards ahead. I worked my way back up to him, and he found that other gear again. Dang! I did it one more time with the same result. All this surging was beginning to wear on me, and I started to get sloppy. One of the judges flashed a warning paddle at me in lap 5 for a bent knee. So I paid a bit more attention to my form, and backed off just a notch in the process. The kid stayed about 5-10 yards ahead for the rest of the race. I should have pressed again in the last lap, but I had lost some focus by that point - this was all happening incredibly quickly! My finishing time was 9:46. Not as close to 9 minutes as I had hoped to be. But, for a first time at that distance, it was acceptable. (The winning time was 7:21.45 by a 17 year-old from the Maine Race Walkers).

     

    Curiously, no masters age ground records have ever been established for the 1 mile racewalk. I think it has something to do with the number of nationally-certified judges at the race where the times were recorded, and apparently this was the first one that met the requirements. So, because I was the first (and only) finisher in my age group, I now hold (pending certification) the male US age group (60-64) record for the 1 mile racewalk. DW is having a good time telling everyone that I am a record holder. I feel that I have to follow her around and add a "yeah, but..." Hopefully, someone will break my record soon, and we can get this nonsense over with!

     

    Jay

    Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.

    stumpy77


    Trails are hard!

      Hey Jay--take your record and enjoy it!!  We always say that you race against those that show up, so records should work the same way, right?  Hold onto it as long as you can

      Need a fast half for late fall.  Then I need to actually train for it.

       

        Exciting report, coast.  You said you were not experience at the shorter races.  I can only assume that your form might be effected by the pace.  Did you find this to be true?
        Quit being so damn serious! When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. "Ya just gotta let it go." OM
        Tramps


          Excellent, Jay!  Congratulations on the record!  (Maybe your pace would have been even faster if the race had been outside!    Brrrr. ) 

           

          Very interesting to read about this event.  The 7:21 race-walking mile is pretty amazing. 

          Be safe. Be kind.

          Mariposai


            What an interesting report. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

            Great record! Great racing.

             

            I smiled the whole time I was reading this RR.

            "Champions are everywhereall you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard

              Congratulations on a fine race, Jay.  Bask in the glory of being a national record holder.

               

              TomS

              coastwalker


                I can only assume that your form might be effected by the pace.  Did you find this to be true?

                 Good point. Trying to go faster involves taking more risks with form/technique. My form is pretty good when I'm going slow! So all I have to do is maintain that good form and walk faster - why didn't I think of that? 

                 

                Tramps - I'll bet we all would have walked faster if the race had been outside! But I suppose we would have had to dress a bit differently...

                 

                Next race up is an outdoor (of course) half marathon next month, and then an indoor 3K in late March. How does one train for going back and forth between short and long races? Build endurance first, and then work on speed?

                 

                Jay

                Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.

                  coastwalker, thanks for the report.  I enjoyed reading something about race walking, because I think I would like to do that sometime.   Congratulations, also!
                  coastwalker


                    I enjoyed reading something about race walking, because I think I would like to do that sometime.

                    Hi Woods Lady,

                     

                    I have racewalking clinics/training sessions on the first and third Sunday of each month in Portsmouth, NH. C'mon down!

                     

                    Jay

                    Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.