The Run2Give 5K Road Race on August 25th was put on by Steven Tulevech as his eagle scout project.  Steven runs for West Carteret High School.  All proceeds benefited Martha's Cupboard.  Martha's Mission Cupboard is an emergency food pantry for families in emergencies in Carteret County, North Carolina.  The race was held on Front Street in  Beaufort.  I haven't started a road race of my own yet but I want to.  A lot of work goes into one and seeing a high school student do it and pull it off successfully is a good sign for our future.

I decided to run the race to support the cause and Steven.  My friend Katherine Stephenson also decided to run it after finding out it was on her wedding day.  Katherine is a close friend and running a race on her wedding day fit her perfectly.  Instead of running to win it I chose to run it with her and pace her.  She's a very talented runner and wanted to break 19 minutes since she started training again.

I was on week 1 of a 12 week modified Pfitzinger Plan for a possible fall marathon when I chose to run this race.  The plan didn't call for a 5K race but I wanted to do it with Katherine anyways.  I followed the week of the plan exactly until race day.  The day before I ran 11 miles in 1:21:17 as a medium long run according to the plan.  I had never ran that far the day before a race so it would be interesting to see how I would feel come race morning.

I arrived at the race around 7:15am and registered.  I met Katherine and we did a slow 1.5 miles warm-up together.  I felt surprisingly well for the race and was ready to go fast.  A good sized crowd showed up for the first year race.  Most of the runners were the cross country teams of West Carteret and Croatan high schools.  It was good to see them support their fellow high school runner.  The weather was humid and we had bad thunderstorms the night before the race.  It was still cloudy and we were going to have to battle a strong head wind coming back down Front Street to the finish.

We lined at the start and were ready to go.  The gun went off and some West Carteret and Croatan runners were out fast.  Katherine and I were side by side and tucked in behind them.  We didn't want to go out too fast.  The course was supposed to be the Historic Beaufort Road Race course, which is an out and back on the waterfront.  Well, we got to the intersection of Front Street and Live Oak Street the fireman told Nick Pugh, the leader and senior at Croatan High School, to turn left.  I knew it was wrong but when you have someone on the course telling you to turn, you do it.

We made the left turn and ran up to highway 70 and ended up in traffic with no volunteers or course markings.  I screamed at Nick and the others ahead to turn around.  Katherine and I made the decision to go down Gordon Street to get back on Front Street.  Since we added on half a mile we also decided to turn around where my Garmin said was 1.55 miles and run back the same way we came.  If we didn't we would end up running 3.6 miles or so instead of the 5K it was supposed to be.  Nick stayed with Katherine and I as we ran the first mile in 5:58.

We kept running hard down Front Street until my garmin hit 1.55 miles then we turned around.  Everyone else in the race behind us were also sent the wrong way so we told everyone to turn it where we did so it would still be 5K and not too long.  Not everyone heard us but we were doing our best to let everyone know.  Some people ended up running all the way to the real turn around and thus running 3.6-3.8 miles instead of a 5K.

Katherine and I went out too fast but got caught up with the adrenaline and tail wind.  We slowed down to a 6:16 for mile two.  Nick started to pull away and Katherine and I were side by side for second place overall.  We approached the fireman that sent us the wrong way on the way back and I told him he sent us the wrong way.  He said he was told to send us left but he was told to block the intersection so we could go straight, not to send us left.  We kept running hard and ran mile three in 6:24.  Katherine finished with a kick and her and I tied for second place overall in 19:12.  Katherine won the women's race in her all white bridal running clothes.  I didn't do a good job of pacing Katherine for the sub 19 minute goal but she still had a great time running with me.  We handled the wrong turn situation well.  She started her day off great and went to yoga after the race.

It was disappointing we ran the wrong course but it was not Steven's fault.  It was solely the fault of the fireman who sent us the wrong way.  He's lucky no one was hurt or hit by a car when over 100 runners ended up running on highway 70 in traffic.  The race had 102 runners finish the 5K and it still raised money for a good cause.

The final beach run of the 2012 summer series took place on August 9.  I ran and won the first four 10Ks in the series with a best time of 38:10 coming in the fourth race.  The final Beach Run was used as a fun run and time to pass out the age group and overall awards based on the points system they used.  It was also the second beach run without Billy Stanley, who passed away on June 30.  Billy was a great guy and was the Carteret Country Parks and Recreation Supervisor from 2008-2012.  He was a big reason the Beach Run series has grown and this year had a record turnout.  He was really funny and I always enjoyed talking to him at the races.  Billy will be missed by many and the Beach Runs will not be the same without him.

I started building my weekly miles up the week of the Beaufort Road Race to get ready for a possible fall marathon training plan.  I spent most of the summer running 30-40 miles a week but got up to 40-50 miles a week before the final Beach Run.  My weekly mileage was 56.3 miles the week this Beach Run took place.  I wasn't taking the final Beach Run as a serious race but I still wanted a good time.  I ran 10 miles the day before on some rolling hills in a neighborhood in Greenville.  I ran a slow 6 miles recovery run the morning of the final Beach Run.

Jamie and I arrived at the Atlantic Beach circle around 5:30pm and registered and picked up our tee shirts with a tribute to Billy Stanley on the back.  I met up with my friends Heidi and Anne after they ran over the Atlantic Beach high rise bridge on the way to the race for some extra mileage.  Anne also ran back after the race.  My personal training client, Melanie Ng, made the trip down from Greenville to run her first ever Beach Run.  Jamie chose not to run this race since she had already locked up her age group for the women's 1 mile.   The weather was hot and humid and the air temp was around 87 degrees when we made our way down to the sand for the start of the race.  There were a lot of high school runners from West Carteret, Croatan, and Swansboro.  The area high schools like to use the final Beach Run as a tuneup for their cross-country season.

Heidi, Anne, and I lined up together for the start of the 5K and 1 mile.  It has been a long time since the three of us were on the starting line at the same race.  A lot of little kids lined up in front of us and I knew they were going to be a problem.  They start really fast then stop suddenly in front of you and you have to be careful and not run them over.  It would be better if parents told their little kids to line up at the back when they do a combined 1 mile and 5K start.

Anne, Heidi, and I never heard the officials say Ready, Set,  Go!  We just heard the gun fire so we took off.  I was out fast but in a pack of runners.  There was one runner, way ahead of the pack.  I stayed steady and just worked my way through the pack.  I ran side by side with Mark Starlin, the coach for Swansboro High School.  We were 2nd and 3rd overall.  There was a little headwind going down the beach for the first 1.55 miles.

I moved ahead of Mark just after we passed the turnaround.  I ran the first half in 9:24.  I tried picking it up to run down the leader.  I was hoping he wouldn't hold the pace he was on.  It was hard running in the sand that everyone had chewed up but you get used to it.  I've been doing the Beach Run Series since I was in high school so I'm used to racing in all kinds of weather and sand conditions on the beach.  I still felt pretty good but I wasn't able to run the leader down.  I kept running hard and ended up finishing 2nd Overall in 18:55.

Anne won the women's race, Melanie was second, and Heidi finished 3rd while being four months pregnant.

After the race, the parks and recreation staff did a tribute to Billy Stanley before passing out the awards.  Jamie was surprised when they said she was the Overall Women's 1 Mile Champion.  Jamie also won her age group championship.  I won my Seventh Overall Beach Run Series 10K Championship out of the last 8 years.  You can win overall and age group in the Beach Runs.  I think they should take you out of age group if you win overall and give the age group to someone else, like every other race does.

I love the Caretet County Beach Run Series for a lot of reasons.  I enjoy running on the beach at sunset in the summer.  It's also a great time to see friends and catch up with everyone.  Most of us that have been doing the series regularly for years have become close friends.  It's also great for families and kids.  It is wonderful to see so many kids running and being active.  The 8 years old and under age group this year had a lot of kids participating.  I'll always choose to race in Carteret County over other places because I like supporting the hometown races.