We (a few hundred runners and I) ventured into uncharted territory on the CARA Circuit, running the Healthbridge 5K "up north" in northwest suburban Crystal Lake. It was a nice, fair course that included some wide roads and a narrow bike path. I was able to do some decent pacing, didn't blow up early and came in strong with an OK kick for a change, even though it was into the wind. The time of 20:41.7 is still too slow as far as I'm concerned, but it was a confidence-booster for sure. My Elmhurst Running Club (photo) mates did well (Doug Pearson--1st M40-44, Julie Bruns--1st F35-39, John O'Blanis and Mark Robinson (not pictured)--both strong showings) and so did my Fossil Velocity MC200 Relay mates (Keith Burns--1st M50-54 and Charlie Shabazian--3rd M50-54. Hats off also to runner/photographer Eileen Skisak, who joined me last week in the Wheaton-Villa Park double. She ruled women's 45-49 at Crystal Lake with a snappy 21:57. The heavy hitters this week were familiar names. Dave Wilson of Brookfield, the hottest runner on the CARA Circuit, was the men's winner in 15:48, and Cari Setzler of Wonder Lake was the women's medalist in 19:11. Nice job by Healthbridge Fitness Center in ramping up for its first year on the Circuit. NOTE: I've heard more than one report that police were stopping runners to let traffic through on Main Street. That's a no-no! Anyone have a first-hand account??
1 comment:
I'll witness the traffic stoppage, but it wasn't near the end, it was about 1.3 miles into the beginning,that major artery we had to cross that the police were manning. I wasn't part of the group that got stopped, but I looked down the road and noted that the police were standing in front of a group of runners on the course, they were motioning cars through, then they let the runners go. I went though the first mile marker at 7:53, so I'm assuming the group that got stopped were running at a 7:30-7:45 pace. I also wrote CARA about the trail section. I was in that section when the front of the race came back the other way, and it was impossible to pass without being creating a problem for either the oncoming traffic or the slower folks being passed. A group of about 4-5 of us had to run single file for awhile, and kudos to everyone in that group for biding their time. The extreme right side of that path contained more than a little uneven footing. Were the mile markers off? We all had some amazingly fast first miles, followed by comparatively slow second miles
Post a Comment