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 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.
Before the start 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.
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.
Waiting for the start 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.
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 Me finishing 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.
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.
Katherine being walked down the aisle at her wedding
RSS Feed