For my sixth race of the year I did the Running of the Bulls 8K in Durham put on by the Bull City Running Company. The race is the NC-USATF 8K Road Championship and as a result draws a fast and competitive field. I had not done the race before but heard good things about it from friends who had so I added it to my list of races to do. The course starts on Foster Street near Durham's Central Park and Farmers Market. It is an uphill start until you turn right onto Main Street. The rest of the course winds through downtown Durham, the American Tobacco Campus, Trinity Park, Old North Durham neighborhoods, and finishes with a lap on the warning track in the Historic Durham Athletic Park made famous by the movie Bull Durham. It was also the home of the Durham Bulls for nearly 70 years before they moved into a new stadium close by.
I enjoy the 8K distance but don't get to race it much. The usual 8K I do is the Twin Bridges 8K in my hometown that is part of the Seafood Festival. I've won that race twice counting last year when my friend Katherine and I finished side by side in honor of our friends Sonny and Taylor Hyman.
Race day parking was easy. I parked at the parking deck near the start for free when I arrived about an hour before the race start. I ate a Honey Stinger waffle an hour before the 7:15 AM start. I walked around and talked with some friends before doing my dynamic warm-up exercises. Thirty minutes before the start I did a scoop and a half of Generation UCAN. I then headed off for an easy two miles warm-up run where at the end I met up with my friend John Barry and we did some strides together before going to the starting line.
I enjoy the 8K distance but don't get to race it much. The usual 8K I do is the Twin Bridges 8K in my hometown that is part of the Seafood Festival. I've won that race twice counting last year when my friend Katherine and I finished side by side in honor of our friends Sonny and Taylor Hyman.
Race day parking was easy. I parked at the parking deck near the start for free when I arrived about an hour before the race start. I ate a Honey Stinger waffle an hour before the 7:15 AM start. I walked around and talked with some friends before doing my dynamic warm-up exercises. Thirty minutes before the start I did a scoop and a half of Generation UCAN. I then headed off for an easy two miles warm-up run where at the end I met up with my friend John Barry and we did some strides together before going to the starting line.
Me and John before the start. Photo by Tim Meigs For June in North Carolina we couldn't ask for better weather for the race. The humidity was low and the temperature was about 65 degrees with just a few clouds. The race started and I went out beside John Barry and Mark Manz. The quarter mile uphill start wasn't bad as I was fresh and it kept me from going out too fast. Once on Main Street John and Mark started to pull away from me. I opened with a 5:50 for the first mile.
I felt good and and had plenty of runners around me to run with which is what I love about bigger and more competitive races. It's one of the reasons I ran so well at the Florence Forth 10K in Durham in March. Right after the first mile we turned right onto Buchanan. I kept John and Mark in my sights as I wanted to keep them within striking distance. John was gradually pulling farther away but I was keeping Mark pretty even ahead of me. The course was rolling but nothing steep. There was one female runner ahead of me and another had pulled even with me as we neared two miles. As female number two pulled even she complimented my Duke singlet before saying "Roll Tide". I laughed and told her not to beat us too bad in football when Duke and Alabama play in the 2019 kickoff game. I ran mile two in 6:03.
After mile two we got a nice downhill stretch on Trinity where I used it to pick my pace back up and catch female number two. Tim Meigs was on Trinity just passed the train trestle taking pictures and it was good to see him. At about 2.85 miles we made another right turn onto Morris Street. I used the downhill and flatter section of mile two to tree well and got my split lower which resulted in a 5:48 for mile three.
I felt good and and had plenty of runners around me to run with which is what I love about bigger and more competitive races. It's one of the reasons I ran so well at the Florence Forth 10K in Durham in March. Right after the first mile we turned right onto Buchanan. I kept John and Mark in my sights as I wanted to keep them within striking distance. John was gradually pulling farther away but I was keeping Mark pretty even ahead of me. The course was rolling but nothing steep. There was one female runner ahead of me and another had pulled even with me as we neared two miles. As female number two pulled even she complimented my Duke singlet before saying "Roll Tide". I laughed and told her not to beat us too bad in football when Duke and Alabama play in the 2019 kickoff game. I ran mile two in 6:03.
After mile two we got a nice downhill stretch on Trinity where I used it to pick my pace back up and catch female number two. Tim Meigs was on Trinity just passed the train trestle taking pictures and it was good to see him. At about 2.85 miles we made another right turn onto Morris Street. I used the downhill and flatter section of mile two to tree well and got my split lower which resulted in a 5:48 for mile three.
Start of the uphill after 3 miles Right after mile three awaits the steepest hill of course. I pulled even with female number two just at the start of the uphill. I told her to grind the hill out with me. I ended up pulling away from her on the 0.3 mile hill and managed to pass a few other guys as well and close the gap to Mark. Once we crested the hill I set my sights on another couple guys ahead of me. We made a right onto Chapel Hill Street and then a left onto Ramseur Street. I passed two more guys on Ramseur before making a right onto Roxboro. A short steep hill took some momentum out of me just before making a left back onto Main Street. I ran mile four in 6:03.
Under a mile to go now and Main Street was a gradual uphill until the right back onto Morris Street. We got to go down the steep hill we just climb after mile three. I'm sure those still going up the hill saw us flying down and hated it haha. Time to stretch the legs on the downhill and let gravity help too. You really feel the drop of the downhill at about 4.5 miles and can really open it up. Mark found something on the downhill and was pulling away from me whereas up until now I was keeping him consistent and even gaining on the uphills.
Under a mile to go now and Main Street was a gradual uphill until the right back onto Morris Street. We got to go down the steep hill we just climb after mile three. I'm sure those still going up the hill saw us flying down and hated it haha. Time to stretch the legs on the downhill and let gravity help too. You really feel the drop of the downhill at about 4.5 miles and can really open it up. Mark found something on the downhill and was pulling away from me whereas up until now I was keeping him consistent and even gaining on the uphills.
Downhill into the stadium. Photo by Tim Meigs We made a quick right turn off Morris onto Corporation and kept going downhill to the stadium finish. Tim was at the bottom of the hill on Corporation taking more pictures. A quick left after passing Tim and we were headed for the stadium finish. I figured I would go to my kick as soon as my feet hit the dirt of the warning track on the baseball field and pick up a few more positions. I saw Mark just ahead and as soon as his feet hit the dirt he took off like a bullet. He had a a monster kick that surprised me. I still went to my kick and did pass a few on the warning track but there was no catching Mark. Mark finished 20th in 29:08. I finished 23rd overall out of 1309 and 3rd in my age group (30-34) out of 90 in 29:19.
The winner, Luis Vargas ran 23:23. The top female was Kate Schwartz in 28:54. John Barry finished in 28:34 for 14th place. My friend Catherine finished 38th overall and 6th female in 30:52. Our friend Liz was right behind for 45h place and 9th female in 31:06.
It was a really good race for me. It was my fastest 8K since my PR of 29:04 in 2012 at the Twin Bridges 8K Road Race. Getting coached by Philip Latter of the Running Syndicate has been treating me well. I'm running some of my fastest times in years thanks to him. I've had two really good races in Durham this year now. Both courses are similar with the rolling hills but the longest hill at the Running of the Bulls 8K is less than half a mile and comes right after mile three whereas there is a mile uphill at Florence Forth from mile five to six. The Running of the Bulls 8K course is fair and keeps you honest but you get a fast downhill finish. Finishing inside the stadium was fun. Post race festivities was also great. Brooks Running was there with iced coffee and Fullstream Brewery was there as well with beer. Bull City Running did a great job setting up the course and race day organization. This is a great race and one to do in the Triangle area.
It was a really good race for me. It was my fastest 8K since my PR of 29:04 in 2012 at the Twin Bridges 8K Road Race. Getting coached by Philip Latter of the Running Syndicate has been treating me well. I'm running some of my fastest times in years thanks to him. I've had two really good races in Durham this year now. Both courses are similar with the rolling hills but the longest hill at the Running of the Bulls 8K is less than half a mile and comes right after mile three whereas there is a mile uphill at Florence Forth from mile five to six. The Running of the Bulls 8K course is fair and keeps you honest but you get a fast downhill finish. Finishing inside the stadium was fun. Post race festivities was also great. Brooks Running was there with iced coffee and Fullstream Brewery was there as well with beer. Bull City Running did a great job setting up the course and race day organization. This is a great race and one to do in the Triangle area.
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