All's Good at Ravenswood

This was judgement day for my right knee. While it hasn't been life and death, the darned thing has been bugging me, sometimes painfully, over the last few months. So with a couple of Motrin tablets safely digested and a microwave heating pad firmly strapped on for the drive, I set out for the Ravenswood Run 5K in the city. Cutting to the chase, things went well for me. There was some soreness, but no excrutiating pain. I ran a controlled race and logged a 20:27. To be honest, I didn't think I would go that fast, even though it was 28 seconds slower than last year.
The race went past its "soft cap" of 3,500, with the field closer to 3,600, counting walkers, Fleet Feet's Dave Zimmer said. The course was reversed this year with the start on Hermitage going south and the finish on Wilson going east. With the exception of four speed bumps in the first half-mile, I really liked the course. I really didn't see any problems at all. It was a job well-done by the organizers.
There were plenty of heavy hitters present to hammer the fast, flat layout, crossing all age groups and both genders. For the complete list, check out the results page at http:www.chicagoaa.com
To tease you, the top three men (left to right above) and women (Haney-Prisby-Banai L-R))were:
MEN -- 1. Chad Ware, 23, Deerfield, 15:12; 2. Jim Akita, 27, Elmhurst, 15:20; 3. Dave Wilson, 39, Brookfield, 15:27. All three were under 5-minute pace!
WOMEN -- 1. Karen Prisby, 23, Wheaton, 17:34 (THAT'S MOVIN', FOLKS); 2. Alona Banai, 24, Oak Park, 18:03; 3. Amy Haney, 35, Libertyville, 18:13. All three were under 6-minute pace.
Two more performances of note: Vic Heckler of Chicago ran 19:40 to win the men's 65-69 group and Lois Gilmore of Janesville, Wis., ran a national class time of 27:21 to win women's 75-79.
It was a lot of fun to be there with my Elmhurst Running Club cohorts and to see some of my fellow "Fossils," our team of 50-plus runners for the Madison-Chicago Relay on June 6-7.
Well, I said before the season that I wouldn't get serious about the CARA Circuit this year. Hmm. That might change.