Looking for a Costume Race? NoDaWeen!

What? 1 night, 4 events at NoDaWEEN, including the Freaky 5k Twilight Race
When? Saturday, October 29th at 6PM Race Start
Where? Neighborhood Theater at 511 East 36th Street
Why? Costume Contest + Prizes for Top 3 Overall Winners!

Details
In the twilight hours of Saturday, October 29, 2011, hundreds of runners and revelers will race through the streets of NoDa in the Freaky 5k Race. The race will begin and end at the Neighborhood Theatre located at 511 East 36th Street, Charlotte, NC. Race Day registration opens at 5:00 p.m. and the race begins at 6:00 p.m. Costumes are encouraged, but optional.

Following the race, participants who have chosen to dress-up will be automatically entered in a costume contest with the best three costumes receiving prizes. This is in addition to 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place prizes awarded to the fastest Male and Female runners.

Proceeds of Race
100% of the proceeds from NoDaWEEN will benefit the NoDa Neighborhood Association. NoDa NA is dedicated to promoting the arts, advocating for greener environments, supporting small businesses, encouraging diversity, and aiding fellow charities. NoDa NA is a grassroots organization that does not have huge financial resources or wherewithal to produce massive events. NoDa NA relies on the efforts of our sponsors, donors, and volunteer staff to keep the neighborhood alive, vibrant, and streaming with tourists. The NoDa NA is also a federally recognized 501 (c)3 charitable organization.

Participant Packet Pickup
Friday, October 28 at the Johnston YMCA Gymnastics Room from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Event Parking
Event parking for the Freaky 5K is available at the Johnston YMCA from 5 p.m. until midnight. There will be a $5 parking fee for this lot during these time slots. ALL proceeds will be directly donated to the Johnston YMCA to benefit another worthy non-profit. Parking attendants will be there to guide the way and watch your car while you enjoy the festivities!

Warrior Dash Recap

A special thanks to Billy Shue for his recap of the Warrior Dash: Billy finished 3rd overall in 23:12 for the 3.08-mile course with 12 obstacles he had to negotiate.

WOW! What a fun event!! I pulled into the race site just before 1:30pm, and after getting my packet, chip, and taking in the sights & sounds, I embarked on just under a 13-minute warmup around the parking field and first mile of the course before settling into a spot on the starting line in the 2pm wave. Because I knew I would be getting quite muddy by the end, I decided to wear my old Mizuno Elixirs that I ran in during the previous fall and winter (including the 2010 Thunder Road Marathon) and send those out with a bang, before bringing them back to their current state of mowing/yardwork shoes. I also wore my green USMC physical training (PT) shirt that I wore during Marine Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA, during the summers of 2004 and 2005, where I encountered very similar obstacles during our Stamina and Endurance Course runs. (My original plan was to race in my camis and boots, but I realized I would have cooked out there had I did!)

The gun went off precisely at 2pm and after about 400m, I was leading the charge uncontested it seemed, for my heat, as I felt like I was running the first mile at 5k pace. Since I don't have a Garmin, I don't know how far we went before hitting the first obstacle, but it seemed like it was about a mile or slightly under. By the first obstacle, I could tell I had gapped the rest of the field in my heat, based off the course monitors cheering me on. The first obstacle was the "Barricade Breakdown", which involved scaling over a chain of walls and crawling under fenceposts tangled in barbed wire for several cycles. The second obstacle was immediately after and was the "Road Rage" obstacle, which involved jumping in-&-out of a chain of dumpsters and running through sets of tires in several cycles.

After the second obstacle, we got to run for a fair distance through the woods, which involved some steep, curving terrain! I was definitely feeling the burn by now, after having started out at 5k pace and then tackling the first two obstacles, but I kept charging along. (I'll pace myself a little better next year on the run leading up to the first obstacles!) After I came back out of the woods, the third obstacle was the "Great Warrior Wall", where I scaled a high wall with a rope before hurling myself over down the other side. The next obstacle was the "Teetering Traverse", where I went up a very narrow plank and then came down on the other side after hitting the crest. After the fourth obstacle, I ran another fair distance through the woods across the big open field where I started passing a bunch of people who were racing in the 1:30pm heat. I let the racers know I was coming on their left so that I could try to avoid potential traffic jams or collisions, which I was able to manage well.

After running through the woods a good bit again, I hit the crunch-time stretch of the final eight obstacles, which were all in close proximity of each other. The fifth obstacle was the "Blackout" obstacle, where I had to crawl through a low-lying tent of complete darkness. I was crawling so fast through the darkness that I almost had my bell rung when I banged my head off one of the big wooden stakes holding the tent up from within! Shortly thereafter was the sixth obstacle called the "Chaotic Crossover", which was a jungle gym of tangled nets/ropes intended for people to crawl over. I, however, briskly walked on top of the nets and carefully balanced myself while also making sure I wasn't stepping on anyone from the 1:30pm wave who were also negotiating the obstacle at the same time. Next was the seventh obstacle called the "Assassins Escape", which involved climbing up a chain of high steps and then going down a firepole at the end. I then proceeded to run to the eighth obstacle which involved jumping in & going through waist-deep muddy water over a chain of logs and to dry land again - I swam across this body of water and butterfly-stroked myself over the logs, while others from the 1:30pm heat were trudging across. This was my favorite obstacle and Lake McAlpine trained me very well for it!! After engaging this muddy water hazard, I proceeded on to the ninth obstacle, which was the "Horizontal Hike", where I went up and over an archway of wooden planks. Next up was the tenth obstacle, which was the "Cargo Climb", where I climbed up & over a high tepee of cargo nets. Next was the eleventh obstacle, which was the famous "Warrior Roast" hazard where I had to leap/hurdle over a chain of warrior fires - this was awesome!! Finally I could see the finish line, but I had one more muddy obstacle to go through! The twelth obstacle was the "Muddy Mayhem" where I jumped into a pool of mud and crawled under several rows of barbed wire. Upon completion of this obstacle, I sprinted a short distance ahead to the finish line, where I was able to successfully complete my first ever Warrior Dash!

After getting sprayed down really good by the spray trucks and seeing my parents, I watched and cheered on the rest of my heat as they were coming in. It was great recaping the experience to my parents who had a great time watching me take part in this event! I was very thankful and appreciative that they came to watch me! After hanging out with them a good bit, my parents headed home since it was pretty hot outside. I got to meet a guy named Adam from Durham who was in my heat and we chatted/hung out the rest of the afternoon there, while chowing down on some huge, delicious turkey legs while waiting for the awards ceremony. Because overall winners were not excluded from the age-group awards, I was able to double up on awards. I was 3rd overall and also 3rd in my age group, as the men's 25-29 age group once again prooved to be the group of death as we swept the overall category. I got a mini knight helmet for age group and then received a really nice Viking helmet (indicating my overall place) that fit perfectly on my head! I know what I'll be dressed up as for Halloween now!!

Hats off to all the finishers and to Josh Baker who had the top overall time this weekend of 20:55 for the 3.08-mile obstacle course. Josh and I will be two of the runners on our CRC 12-man relay team that's looking to tear it up in the Blue Ridge Relay in a couple of weeks!

I absolutely cannot wait for this event again next year!!!!

Charlotte Firecracker 5k - CRC Water Stop Assistance Needed

Start 2 Finish Charlotte presents the 1st Annual Charlotte Firecracker 5k and Fun Run. The race will be held July 3, 2011 starting at 7:00pm. The run will start on Windyrush Road next to Olde Providence Elementary School and end at the Windyrush Country Club pool. The 5k is chip-timed using the state-of-the-art Jaguar timing system. The 1/2 mile fun run will start at 7:45 from the finish line.

Join us after the race for a pool party, music, food and drinks. Entry fees for the 5k are $20 through 6/26/11, $25 after 6/26/11, and $30 race day. Family fun run fees are $10 through 6/26/11, $12 after 6/26/11, and $15 race day.

Proceeds will benefit the Olde Providence Elementary School Foundation. Please visit our website for more information and to register: www.charlottefirecracker5k.com. Contact Rachel with any questions 908-216-8920 or rachel@s2fcharlotte.com.

Charlotte Running Club will be helping with water distribution during the event at the 1.5 mile mark. We would love to get some assistance from as many of you as we can. Contact run.charlotte@gmail.com if you can assist. Thank you.

Caitlin Chrisman: Shamrock Four Miler

I don’t run many of the GPx series races, but this Shamrock 4 Miler definitely would serve as an incentive for me to run more! The atmosphere was great! The participant numbers were massive (almost 1000!), the course allowed the runners to cheer for each other, and there was great competition for both males and females!

Going into the race, I had a great 1200m workout on Tuesday, so I was hoping that I could maintain a faster pace than I did at the Winter Flight 8k (5:47). Unsure of what the course was like, I was going on the conservative side for my race goal pace of 5:45 – 5:50 because all that I had heard about the course was bad: all downhill the first two miles, hairpin turn around and then straight back up the hill you just ran down. I would find out later that the course was not nearly as bad as I had prepared myself for (perhaps that was why??).

Unsure if there would be any women for me to run against, I was expecting to run with whichever random guy I could attach myself too. Fortunately enough for me, Friday night I received an email from Meagan Nedlo, a Queens University runner, and she asked if I would mind if she ran the race with me as a tempo for one of her 10k prep workouts. I was thrilled! Instead of emailing her back, I called her and we worked out logistics over the phone.

That morning, I warmed up with mostly Charlotte Running Club people, and learned from Meagan that Paul Mainwairing was planning to pace the two of us during the race, since he was coming back off a calf injury. I got to the starting line with four minutes to spare and I’ll make a mental note to do this more often with local races. Really, there is no need to get to the starting line 10 minutes before hand because you just end up standing around, without much room to stretch or do drills. Instead, I did all of this in a much calmer area, so I did not have to dodge runners during my strides or other pre-race drills.

At the starting line, Meagan was rocking some awesome flame tights that she informed me were really volleyball shorts. I think that all CRC women should buy the same! We jumped off the start line to some Irish jig which was very festive. In the first mile, I situated myself a safe distance from Chad Crockford, whom I know has made ample gains in his fitness. Paul, Meagan, and I settled into a nice rhythm and even enjoyed some small talk. Meagan asked me about my workout on Tuesday, and if my answer seemed short and curt to her, it was probably because I was starting to feel the effects of racing in my breathing. Paul also asked about what kind of shape I thought John was in, and I mumbled something incoherent about John’s sore calf.

I split 5:42 on the first mile – and felt bad because I had told Meagan I was hoping to run 5:45 pace in the race. At that point, I was worrying whether or not I was going to mess up her workout…We continued to press, using the next downhill to our advantage, coming through the second mile in 5:35. Right before the two mile marker, we ran a hair pin turn, so that we could see all the runners who were behind us. Surprisingly enough, there were several cheers for Meagan and me as we climbed the hill in the third mile (5:49). It was actually very motivating, so I thank all of those who did cheer for us, many of whom I probably do not know. Meagan was so surprised that she even asked me “Do you know these people?” Nope – but girl, you’re going to be a Charlotte running celebrity once you start running these races more often! ;o)

The last mile Paul pulled away from me, and I, in turn, pulled away a bit from Meagan. I knew I probably hadn’t put that much distance on her though because I could hear people cheering for both of us. Regardless, she was tempoing, and I was racing…So when she graduates and actually races, it should be really fun. Admittedly, I was almost expecting her to come blazing by me in the last 150 meters because I was definitely feeling the lactic acid buildup in my quad and glutes from all of the hills and did not feel like I move my legs as quickly as I would have liked. I crossed the finish in 22:48 – a 5:42 average for the entire race and with a 5:42 last mile.

After the finish, I congratulated Meagan, thanked Paul, and found my men to cool down with. I enjoyed a long warm down with Jordan, Bert, Thomas, Aaron, and Meagan for a bit. Since the cool down was so long, not much time was wasted between the finish and the awards ceremony, in which I got a free one hour massage!

I would like to note that this is probably one of the fastest races for women in the Charlotte area in a while. I checked the results and compared them to previous years. This year we had two women under 23, and two women under 24. Last year, there was only one woman under 24! The reason why I bring this up is because I am excited for the race where all of Charlotte’s fastest women come out to compete against use other and use this as incentive to break some personal records.

If we got Megan Hovis, Alana Hadley, Meagan Nedlo, Danielle Walther, Kelly Fillnow, Jocelyn Sikora, Alice Rogers, Val Matena, Rebecca Thomason and me in one race, I think we would all be very impressed with the fast times that would come and with the overall camaraderie of the group. We are all teammates, ambassadors of the Charlotte running community and I would be inspired to race with such a fine group of ladies.

Overall, this race has enabled me to go into the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler with confidence. I believe that running sub -60 minutes in three weeks is something that is within my fitness range!

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?