Arizona Foot Races: Month: May

Showing posts with label Month: May. Show all posts

Friday, May 29, 2009

ARR Summer Series Race #1

The Arizona RoadRacers put on a 5 event summer series every year and the first event was on May 23rd in Papago Park. It starts just north of the zoo parking lot. Plenty of parking.

This is a unique race because, while it is chipped timed, it has a staggared start. The oldest runners start first, then in the next 15 or so minutes runners are released to run based on age and gender. Don't worry kids, the youth don't start last.

The goal is to have different winners based on chip and gun times. How did that work out? The overall gun time winner was Sara Slattery (27)with a finish time of 29:16. Her chip time was 16:47. That means she started when the clock was at 12:29. She beat Andy Lawrence (58) by 22 seconds. She was also the overall chip finisher.

The challenge with this format is that between 11 and 17 minutes there's a boat load of folks starting. I started several minutes late due to the crowds. It looks like Andy may have started at about the right time. Not sure when Sara was supposed to start. I was in the 48 year old group and our start time was 12:39. It's really hard to start when you are supposed to, so I don't blame any runner for starting sooner than their race bib allows. I was about 2 minutes late starting, but I didn't want to get in the way of any runners that had a chance to place. I would think it would be really hard for race organizers to figure out the time for runners to start.

Anyway, the race overall was a fun one. It's mostly on the canal heading north past McDowell Road. You turn around and head back against the slower runners. I think the speedy runners probably felt like salmon swimming upstream. I always enjoy seeing the faster athletes run by on the return leg. In this race I also got to see the older runners race by.

At the end as you enter the park again there is a slight downhill which is fun to race down. I didn't notice it at the beginning of the run, but I sure needed it at the end.

ARR did a great job with the after race food. Bagels, chips, cookies, soda, water, peanut butter and cream cheese. They did a good job putting the spreadable stuff on a separate table. It sure did make the line go faster. Tee shirts are an option during the summer series. The theme is "Run like it's Hot".

Runner - We'd love to include your race reports. Learn more here.

Race Directors - Send us your race info. It's free to promote on AFR.

April 2009 Races

Monday, May 11, 2009

ARR Rio Vista Luck of the Draw

I ran the 3rd Annual Rio Vista Luck of the Draw 8k on Sunday, May 10. The race was well-organized by the Arizona Road Racers club. Unfortunately since I’m horrible at committing to races (being the first to sign up for the Fireside at Norterra Adventure Run was a complete fluke), I couldn’t take advantage of my ARR membership to get a discount on the race. Race day registration was $25. Instead of a t-shirt, we received a participant medal. I thought it was a little weird getting the “medal” when I registered instead of after finishing the race. Participants also got a discount coupon ($10 off a $20 order) for Buca di Beppo, who seemed to be a major race sponsor.

The race was at Rio Vista Park in Peoria. The park facilities were very nice with plenty of parking, a group ramada area, and clean bathrooms. The 8k course was different than the 5k course that I vaguely remember from last year’s ARR Summer Series #3 race. For the 8k we started off running south along the edge of the park, and I think for the 5k we ran north. There’s a course map on the ARR website.

The 8k started at 7:30am and there was also a 2 mile fun run that started 15 minutes later. I don’t have a lot to say about the run itself. With only about 150 participants there was plenty of room and I just settled in to run at my own pace. I managed a 10 minute pace for the first three miles, then ended up slowing for the last two miles. There were a couple small hills, but overall the course was pretty flat.

After crossing the finish line, every participant was handed a playing card which was our ticket to a possible door prize. The post-race refreshments were handed out in pre-packaged brown paper lunch bags with a choice of an apple or banana. The other items in the bag were Pringles, a Nature Valley granola bar, a slice of raisin bread, and Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies. The bags made it easy to grab and go (no waiting in line for food), but I think I prefer being able to select my own snack.

Awards were presented at 9am, then it was time for the door prizes. So the fun thing about the race was that door prizes were given away, as the name of the event implies, by the luck of the draw. For each prize, a playing card was drawn. Everyone who had that card came up to the front, and then they drew another card from the deck, with the high card winning the prize. The door prizes were pretty awesome. The ones I remember are: two prizes worth $100 at Buca di Beppo, $25 at Texas Roadhouse, $20 at Sprouts, and a free meal for two at Sweet Tomatoes. Unfortunately the five of spades wasn’t a winning card for me that day.

I’ve enjoyed all the ARR events I’ve been to and this race was no exception. Assuming I’m not busy, I’ll be back next year to try my luck again.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Walk in the Wild 5k

Ever since the first time I visited the Phoenix Zoo a couple years ago, I thought it would be an awesome course for a race. So, when I saw this event a few months ago, I got real excited and knew this was a race I wanted to do. I was also excited to participate in the first annual event. I've never been able to do an inaugural event, and I definitely had a good time.

The 5k course consisted of two laps around the entire zoo, and took me on a little desert trail I had never been on before. There were quite a few hills on the course. That's something I grown unaccustomed to considering most of Phoenix is pretty flat. I enjoyed it though, simply for something different. The course was also pretty well shaded, which was especially nice since temperatures are on the rise here in the Valley of the Sun.

I didn't see too many animals. Guess they were all sleeping, or not interested in all the people running and walking by. I had to laugh when I saw the flamingos. They were all standing together in a group, on one leg of course, with their heads under their wings, apparently sleeping. After the race, I also saw an ostrich running across the hill. I thought that was appropriate.

I finished with an unofficial time of 22:07. Not bad, considering the hilly course and the sea of walkers I had to wade through on the second lap. That was pretty poor planning on the organizers part, if you ask me. Not a big deal though, since I wasn't running for time.

This being my first time participating in an inaugural event, I don't know how it compares to others, but I did notice a few things that could be improved on. Only 30 minutes into the registration and packet pick-up, they only had large shirts left, and they were out of safety pins. I had to carry my bib relay baton style. There's gotta be a better way to make this a run/walk. My suggestion, have the 5k walk go at the same time as the mile walk (which started an hour later). That'll save a lot of congestion on the tiny trail and the rest of the course. There was no timer, and no one taking our bib numbers, so no official results. That's my biggest complaint. I don't care to much about the shirt or the safety pin shortage, but I would like to know how I faired with the rest of the field.

This was definitely a nice run though. I loved the course. Plus, it's always fun to go to the zoo.

Runner - We'd love to include your race reports. Learn more here.

Race Directors - Send us your race info. It's free to promote on AFR.

April 2009 Races