The fourth Beach Run of the year on June 24th had the best weather and sand conditions we've ran in so far this year.  A cold front came through the night before, dropping the air temperature and the humidity.  The tide was also falling and wouldn't be low until around 7:10pm, meaning the sand was flat, even, and hard packed.  We also had overcast skies meaning the sun wouldn't be beating down on us.  The only negative was the wind.  Runners had to fight a pretty strong headwind going towards the finish.

Jamie, Justus, and I arrived at the circle and met up with my Mom and Dad.  My Dad usually goes to all of my races but hadn't made a Beach Run this year because of his work schedule.  This was his last week of work at Cherry Point because he was retiring after 41 years of working as an aircraft mechanic.  I won the previous three 10K beach races of the year and needed one more win to clinch this years overall championship.

I made my way down to the sand with Jamie after doing a dynamic stretching routine and a mile warm-up on Atlantic Blvd.  I talked to several friends including Eric Rowe, the legend Sonny Hyman and his daughter Kelly, and Nora Elizabeth Cole before lining up on the staring line.  Nick Pugh came over and lined up beside me.  I beat him by almost a minute in the previous beach run.

The gun went off and Nick and I were out fast.  He started out faster than me again but I caught him around the half mile mark, which was in the appropriate spot and wasn't too long like the previous beach run.  Nick and I ran side by side, even talking some about running and his goals for his senior season in high school cross-country.  I was feeling pretty good as we ran the first mile in 5:54.  It was slower than the 5:49 first mile at the previous Beach Run but I was running side by side with Nick for the lead.  The sand was great, the best we've had from start to finish for a beach run this year.  There was plenty of room to run.

Nick and I kept running side by side and went through the second mile in 6:10.  We passed under the Sheraton Pier and kept heading towards the 10K turnaround.  This is where I started to pull away from Nick at the last beach race.  He was staying with me this time.  I knew I had to make a move sometime or he could out-kick if we stayed side by side until the finish.  I ran mile three in 6:12 just before rounding the turn around.

Nick pulled ahead a little bit after we rounded the 10K turnaround.  The wind was now in our face and it was tough.  I managed to pick it up and pull even with Nick again.  We ran side by side for a little bit before I picked it up even more and pulled ahead.  I wasn't sure how much I was ahead of him but I was leading and didn't see his shadow.  I ran the fourth mile in 5:56.  It felt hard into the wind and I was surprised that mile was under six minutes.

I knew I had to keep running hard so I could get as far away from Nick as possible so he couldn't run me down and out-kick me for the win.  The wind was really tough but the sand was still good even after the 5K runners and 10K runners had run through it.  It was a little chewed up in spots but wasn't bad yet.  I kept pushing, trying to hold a low six minute pace.  I ran mile five in 6:15.

I couldn't hear Nick behind me or see his shadow but I had a feeling I wasn't far ahead of him.  The wind was still tough and it was affecting me more now.  I was still on pace for my fastest beach run of the year and possibly my fastest one ever in my life.

Mile six was really tough.  The wind was brutal and the sand got worse due to the all the runners in the mile, 5K, and 10K already running through the area, twice for the mile and 5K runners.  I ran mile six in 6:24 and was worried Nick would catch and pass me.  I picked it up some and ran the last 0.2 miles in 1:22 to finish in 1st Place Overall in 38:10.  Nick finished just fifteen seconds behind me.

Jamie finished third in her age group in the 1 mile.  She is currently leading the points for her age group.

My 38:10 is a lifetime personal record for a 10K Beach Run.  A lot of the credit goes to Nick for pushing me.  The weather conditions were also great, even though the headwind slowed us down the last 3.1 miles.  The win gave me my fourth consecutive Beach Run Series Overall 10K championship and seventh in the last eight years.  I'm still going to run the remaining Beach Runs or most of them but I am not sure what I will run.  A lot of it will depend on the weather.

The race had 245 total runners in the 1 mile, 5K, and 10K.  The series has topped 200 runners in every race so far this year.  It is great to see the series growing. 

The third beach run of the year took place on June 7th.  I won the previous two beach runs and was looking to win my third and be one win away from clinching my seventh overall 10K championship in the last eight years.  I was worried the sand conditions would be as bad or worse than they were for the second race of the year but thankfully they were not.  The tide was starting to rise slowly so at least we wouldn't be starting in soft sand with no room like last time.  The temperature was in the low 70s and the humidity was down too.  The wind was blowing pretty good though and it was going to be tough to run the final 3.1 miles of the 10K into that wind.

Jamie and I arrived at "the circle" at Atlantic Beach around 5:30pm.  We registered and both got numbers with a three in it, my lucky number.  I did my dynamic stretching routine before heading out for an easy warm-up mile down Atlantic Blvd.  I made my way down to the beach and met up with Nick Pugh.  He's a rising senior at Croatan High School in Carteret County.  I had not raced him before.  He won the Love a Sea Turtle 10K trail run back in March in 35:31.  He also ran a 2:02 800m, a 4:23 1600m, and a sub 10:00 3200m during track season this spring.  I knew he was going to be my competition for this race.

We lined up and the race started at 6:36 PM.  Nick was out fast, way ahead of the field.  I started off the fastest I have in a beach run this year so I wouldn't lose too much ground to him and have a chance to catch him if he slowed.  The sand was good and the tailwind was helping with the faster start.  A half mile into the race I knew something was wrong with the turn around signs.  My Garmin is spot on during beach runs because there is nothing to block the signal and the course is just an out and back from "the circle" to and past the Sheraton Pier and back.  We hit a half mile on the beach and there was no mile turn around sign.  Everyone was wondering what was going on.  We finally hit the mile turn around sign at 0.7 miles, 0.2 miles too long.  I began to worry that all the turn around signs would be wrong and we would end up running too far.

I kept running hard as Nick led the first mile.  He was a good twenty seconds ahead of me, if not more.  I ran the first mile in 5:49.  It is my fastest mile in the sand since 2010.  It felt good and I kept pushing the pace trying to keep Nick within striking distance.  I looked at my Garmin to check the distance as we approached the 5K turnaround sign.  The 5K turnaround sign was in the right spot so only the mile turn-around was off.  I told the volunteers at the 5K turn-around that the mile turn-around sign was too long but there was nothing they could do about it since the mile starts within five minutes after the 5K and 10K.  Jamie didn't know it yet but she was going to be running 1.4 miles instead of 1.

I continued on towards the Sheraton Pier as Nick began to slow.  I figured he went out too fast.  I ran mile 2 in 6:00 and was right on Nick's back.  He turned his head and said his muscles felt tight.  I debated whether to pass him or wait and do it later.  I decided to go ahead and pass him and get as far away from him as possible since I knew he had a much faster kick than me.  I didn't want him anywhere near me with a mile to go.  Shortly after I passed him I heard him scream out.  He was running barefoot and stepped on a shell and cut his foot.  I wear old road flats when racing in the sand but there are a few who run barefoot.

We passed under the Sheraton Pier just before 2.5 miles.  I felt strong and the sand on the other said of the pier was great.  It was packed in really well and there was plenty of room to spread out and still have great sand to run in.  I kept pushing the pace and ran mile 3 in 6:10.  I was maybe 15-20 seconds ahead of Nick when I rounded the 10K turn-around sign.  The strong headwind was immediately in my face.

I knew I had to keep running as hard as I could in the headwind so Nick wouldn't be able to run me down.  It was tough and the tide was starting to come in but it was still good.  I ran mile 4 in 6:19.  We passed back under the Sheraton Pier and the sand started to get worse.  The tide was coming in and the sand was getting very soft.  We were also running in sand beaten up by runners in the 10K going out and the 5K runners going out and back.  It was a struggle to find good footing and the wind was not letting up.  I ran mile 5 in 6:33.  I began to worry Nick would catch me.  I didn't turn my head to check to see where he was.  Instead, I looked for his shadow on the beach and did not see one coming up from behind me.

I kept pushing through the soft sand and strong headwind as I ran mile 6 in 6:44, my slowest of the day.  I still did not see a shadow from Nick and started to feel confident that I was going to win.  I heard Justus bark as I neared the finish line.  I smiled as I knew he was cheering for me.  I ran the final 0.22 miles at 6:17 pace to finish in 38:57 and 1st place overall!  Nick finished 2nd overall in 39:51.  I beat him by more than I realized.  Knowing Nick was behind me and trying to run me down pushed me to my fastest 10K time so far of the beach run series this year.  Nick can still force a tiebreaker with me at the seventh race if he wins the next three races.

Jamie finished third in her age group in the 1.4 mile race.  I still can't figure out why they put the mile turn around sign to far out.  Maybe they put it in the right spot and some kids or someone came along and moved it as a joke.  Carteret County Parks and Recreation apologized for the extra distance and will work to prevent it from happening again.  The turn-around signs have never been wrong before and I've been doing the beach run series since the summer of 2000.

The race had a record 307 runners.  There were 186 runners in the mile with 58 in the 8-and-under age division.  It is great to see so many kids being active in a time where childhood obesity is rampant.  The 5K had 104 runners and the 10K had 17.

I'm looking forward to the next beach run.  I hope the tide will be falling before the race starts.  I also hope the temperatures stay cooler than average for June.  I am now just one win away from clinching the overall 10K championship.