Jay Holder's Race Recap: Corporate Cup Half Marathon

I am not going to play it cool. I was pretty pumped to win the Corporate Cup Half Marathon Saturday morning. I am not one of those runners who acts like winning is old hat. For me, it's not. Granted, I have had more than my fair share of running accomplishments in Charlotte and am thankful for and feel blessed to have each one of them. But, the last time I was the first guy to cross the finish line was June 1, 2003. I entered some tiny 5K with my dad in Lyons, NY. So to be the winner of a fairly large race in Charlotte is a pretty big deal for me.

Going in to the race, my goal was sub 1:15. Spoiler alert. It didn't happen. But, the race was a great experience/lesson physically and mentally. When the gun went off, four guys took off in front of me heading up College. It was Compton, Beigay and then two other dudes I didn't know. I knew Compton and Beigay were running relays, so I had decided before the race to keep a safe distance from them. The other two's plans were unknown. Were they running relays too? Were they running the 5k OR were they running the half too and unaware of Compton and Beigay's plans? Planning for the latter, just in case, I kept them in sight so they didn't open up too big of a lead on me. I figured, if they are going out that fast for a half, they are either really good, or setting themselves up for a disaster. It was good planning on my part. I went through the first mile in 5:20. OK, that's a little fast. When we hit the 5k point, Compton and Beigay were done, and the other two guys were the top two finishers in the 5k. Drats. Now, I was alone. Megan said she could tell I had an "oh shit" look on my face when I came through and realized what had happened.

I am hoping I am getting all my lonliness in now. Salisbury was five miles of me talking to myself, and this was setting up to be 13.1 of the same. I know my next two races, I'll have plenty of company (4 miler and Boston).

Heading up 3rd, I stole a few glances behind me. Open road. Hovis and Linz were a ways in front, on the second leg of their relay. I was half expecting Megan, on the second leg of her relay, to come flying past me. Spectators kept cheering, "you're in third" which I knew meant I was in first. We climbed up Providence to the intersection of Providence and Providence, Queens and Queens (for all you non-Charlotteans, yes this is a real intesection of four roads with two names. It's like that Seinfeld episode where Kramer is at the corner of First and First. "I'm at the nexus of the universe"). At this point, I was curious as to whether we would cross onto Queens and jughandle around or turn left right onto Providence. On the preview run last week, I had rather insistently told Spada there was no jughandle. I ate my words as I ran into the jughandle. Jocelyn and Dana blew by on their bikes with some supportive cheers.

Thomas Eggar was the first familiar face as I climbed toward Wendover. ('Climbing' will be a word I use a lot in this recap, since the race features some of South Charlotte's/Uptown's nastiest and longest hills). He had Gatorade and Gu, but I wasn't ready yet. I turned on to Wendover with a plan to ditch my gloves at mile 7. The only problem was, I didn't see mile 7 marker. So, a cheap pair of gloves landed in the middle of the road at the intersection of Wendover and Sharon.

The whole 7-10 mile portion of the race was nice because of all the club support. I think I touched on this in my Winter Flight recap, but the support from the Charlotte Running Club is INCREDIBLE. Our members come out in the cold just to stand on the street and cheer. Granted, I haven't been a part of many other running communities, but the one we have here has got to be as good as it gets.

At mile 8, I ate a mint chocolate Gu and nearly vomited. It was too thick, but then I turned toward the second relay point to a big crowd of Cheers. That's where Lauren was with Paul, Breland, Ben, Mo, etc. However, I knew what was coming next. The dreaded Colony hill. Thankfully, as I got to the base, Aaron came running out the woods to escort me up the hill. That was good because i needed someone to keep me positive on that trek.

After that, it was just me and Michael Greene. He was riding the pace bike in front of me, after Jocelyn apparently sent him back to keep me company. The only thing was, I could only see the back of his head, so I had no idea who I was talking to. That was until he held out his water bottle for me to take a sip of, I and sped up to grab it. Then, I felt dumb! Running down Queens, Matt stopped by on the bike too. I asked him where the next runner was, and he said he wasn't sure who it was, but the gap was enough for me to relax. I took advantage of the opportunity and let off the throttle a little bit. I knew the Moorehead climb was coming.

Turning on to Moorehead meant the end was near. I run up this street several times a week. No big deal. At this point, I knew unless something terrible happened, I was going to win, so excitement was carrying me in. I got a big cheer from Amy Ayrault near Euclid. Crossing over the bridge toward College, I could see the end. In the final stretch, there was a big crowd of supporters. Larry and Kathy were yelling loudly, Tonya and Kate had signs. Ben was running next to me with a bag. One more little uphill and then it was across the finish line. There was no tape to break, but I did get a high-five from Tim and Ashleigh. 1:15:28. I didn't hit my goal, but was truly proud and thankful for another solo effort on a hilly course. Wait, solo effort sounds wrong. I may have run by myself most of the race, but I run every day with some of the most supportive people I know, and had support on the course every mile. As soon as I got my chip off my shoe, I turned around to run back toward Lauren who was running the relay. My plan was to run her in. My favorite part of this experience is that she was as excited as I was. Her CRC relay team of complete strangers finished 3rd! At the awards ceremony, we were both pretty happy to get our trophies. She did a jump in the air, even!

I have to take some time to rave about the organization of this event. The course was very clearly marked. The water stops were plentiful. The police were friendly. The Childress-Klein YMCA and Event Marketing Services did an AWERSOME job putting it all together. It will definitely be on my calendar next year. Gotta defend the title, right?

PRs

My father always says PB (personal best) but the more widely used term in Personal Record. I thought I would take a few minutes to congratulate so many folks who had PRs this weekend at the Corporate cup 5k, half marathon and half marathon relay. By design, I requested to run the 2nd leg of the relay. It afforded me the opportunity to see the start of the race, compete myself, and then see as many folks as I could the last 5 miles of the course as I needed to get back to the start/finish after my leg.

What was so much fun was to find out how folks were doing mid race and then be able to share in their happiness after the race. I tried to run a bit with Jay Holder after my leg but he was turning 5.35 miles so I knew he was in route for a PR! Chad Crockford was cranking up the hill next to Myers park and I just knew by where he was in the race and how strong he looked that he was on time for a big PR. Michelle Hazelton came by in 3rd overall and was assisted by club member Thomas Eggar. They were working as a team to get Michelle thru the finish line in a 2 min and 30 second PR. Danielle Walther and Alice Rodger were neck and neck when I saw them with whole entourage of dudes (most were CRC members) pacing them along. Danielle had a 5 minute PR! I know I just scratched the surface of success out there. As an example, after the race I learned that Emily Barrett PRed thru 10k and half (1.50.31).

We send out a lot of praise to the folks up front who routinely place in the top overall spots. Those accomplishments are excellent but to some extent they are expected as the individuals obtaining them are very serious runners who are blessed with a boat load of talent. What I find really inspiring and satisfying is how many of you set a goal and crushed it this weekend! That means you worked hard in training and then delivered during the race to run a time faster than you have every run before! Pat yourself on the back for that as getting a PR is ALWAYS a great accomplishment.

Obviously we can’t PR every race, but I think the general trend in 2010 will be more and more club members achieving their goals and finding new levels of fitness they never thought they could achieve. Speaking from experience, I was so inspired by the Winter Flight crew 2 weeks ago that when it came time for me to race a week later, I had the confidence that I was going to do well because I run every week with that group. I also wanted to impress every one of them with a better performance of my own J I knew there were lots of you who were supporting me and curious/anxious to see how I would do. That gets me pumped up along with my own personal ambition and drive to improve.

To be totally honest I had folks today cheering for me and yelling my name that I do not even know and probably should! I sincerely appreciate their support and look forward to meeting them as they are a big reason I ran so well and was able to PR myself on my 5 mile relay leg (fastest I have run 5 miles in 17 years…XC back in sophomore year of college…that was a different chapter in my life so I am counting today as a PR J ). Throughout the race, I saw club members helping each other out by pacing each other, cheering at the end, and or our fabulous bike support crew that zig zagged up and down the course while shouting support.
It is hard for me not to gush about all of you each time I pump out a blog but so far, it has been totally deserved. Thank you all and congratulations! I look forward to sharing in your athletic progression all year.