Race Season

I think it's fair to say that race season has started in our corner of the world. It seems like there will be at least a 5K race every Saturday from now until October or so. And a few organizations have already run theirs. So opportunity is something we'll have for a while.

I'm down for a 5K race that starts at 8 AM tomorrow. With my marathon in the rear-view mirror, I'll turn to shorter distances for a while. My 5K PR is 23:08. I don't really expect to PR tomorrow-- I just want to put a good number on the board and see where I'm at. I might try to run one race a month and see how that goes. I feel like I can get under 22:30 or so, and I think I can set a new 5K record at some point this season. Tomorrow is a chance to set the bar for the rest of the year.

10K races are a little harder to find, but there are a few out there, and I'll be ready for those as well.

As for half-marathons, we've had to answer questions for the last several weeks pertaining to a half-marathon scheduled for Tuscaloosa, March 24. The local track club wasn't putting it on, and we at the running shop had no idea about it. We pretty much shrugged our shoulders when folks asked us. The track club in Birmingham was promoting it at their booth at the marathon expo, and I got no call back when I inquired a week ago. So it seemed that outsiders were putting on a race in our town, not knowing that a 10K race plus a big bicycle race were already scheduled.

We were a little honked about it, since it seemed poorly organized and no local running types knew much. Thankfully (in a way), it will not come about. It sucks because local runners miss an opportunity. The good part is that Tuscaloosa won't get labeled as a bad running destination, even though others were doing the organizing.

So we'll see what else is out there.