As a runner there are certain races in certain states that you "have to do". Some events are even "have to do" for non-runners too -- Pat's Run is one of these events.
Sunday, April 18 marked the 5th running of Pat's Run, benefiting Team Tillman / Pat Tillman Foundation and showcased how much an event like this can grow. 20,000 walkers, runners, stroller-pushing joggers and first-time runners participated along with an army of yellow-shirted volunteers. To put it simply, the city of Tempe is transformed by the number 42. (Pat's number with ASU). Tempe, AZ and ASU are one in the same. The university's campus is directly connected to the main artery of Tempe -- Mill Street -- and ASU students (not to mention parents and visitors) are the life blood of the city. On the Spring day of Pat's Run, Tempe bleeds ASU burgundy & gold and the number 42 is everywhere you look.
Most races it's considered a rookie mistake to wear the event's T-shirt during the race; experienced runners know that race day is not the time to wear anything new (chafing anyone?). There are a few times when that rule can be broken - Pink race shirts during a breast cancer run (Nike women's marathon and Komen Race for the Cure come to mind) - and Pat's Run is one of these times. Packet pick-up is available for days before the event, so everyone has the latest "42" on their backs, and multi-year runners have any of the previous 4 years... although there are very few from year 1 before the current TT / Pat's Run logos. I guess those are collector's items of sort. Pre-race it was fun to point out each of the previous year's shirts to my running partner while we were waiting in line at the port-o-johns. Even with a huge mass of people, the wait wasn't that bad, as the organizers did a tremendous job of making sure there was enough of everything to accommodate 20,000 bodies.
Speaking of my running partner, this was his first running race. He's done a few tris and even an ultra marathon relay -- yet never toed the line for a running race. I got to provide some advice and see the event through the eyes of a newbie; that's always fun to remind you what it was like on your first time. My sage advice wasn't always on the mark though; we picked a corral that had the big #8 on it and I failed to notice it wasn't 8-minute miles (as we'd planned to run) it was corral #8, 11:00 minute miles! Since this is an "event" and less of a running race, I didn't care about time, and settled in with this pack. There were plenty of walkers & runners of all shapes & sizes, and the mood was light - whether they were there to run, walk or just be a part of the event. Aside from the tight quarters at the start (OK, for the first mile) it was a blast to navigate around the rest of the pack. Jason felt it was a great confidence boost to pass ab out a thousand other runners during the race!
As far as courses go, the route is pretty nice; I have run or biked the same area several times for different triathlons or marathons so I know the area well. You start between Sun Angel and Sun Devil stadiums, and end - get this - on the 42 yard line of Sun Devil Stadium. The run into the stadium can be a little tight, but coming out of the tunnel onto the field is an amazing experience. For the last 2 years I've made it a point to all-out sprint the 60 or so yards as soon as my feet hit the turf. Finishing on the field is incredible, the stands are filled with spectators and runners who've already finished and some runners even get their names called over the PA system. The huge crouds work their way up the stadium steps and the concession area is very well stocked with water, bananas and bars.
(I just realized it took longer for me to write this than to run the race!)
All in all, it's a great event. If you're a runner, walker or athlete and live in AZ (or San Jose for that event) then you need to do this race. Period. There's a reason 20,000 people showed up this year and left happy!
Showing posts with label Maps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maps. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Safe Baby Haven 5k
Race Report: Safe Baby Haven 5k @ Westgate Center. by Chad Sayban.
I woke up this morning to nice temperatures and cloudy skies for the Safe Baby 5k @ Westgate. It's only about a 10 minute drive from my house to Westgate, which is the shopping center than surrounds the Jobing.com hockey arena and sits next to University of Phoenix Stadium - home of the Arizona Cardinals.
Mile 2: 8:20
Good. I was maintaining a nice, consistent pace and felt really good. My form was staying nice and compact and I wasn't really expending very much energy. We made another turn and made the long run up to the west end of Westgate to the main entry road and turned along it back towards the start/finish line. I was feeling great, although I was pretty alone. There were two people about 300 yards ahead of me and one guy about that far behind me. I was in my own little running bubble and I was really enjoying it. The only problem was that I was feeling too good for it to end so soon. But since I could see the finish line in front of me, I knew it was really going to end.
Mile 3: 8:15
Mile 3.1: .21
Race finish: 25:19 / 8:18 pace
My Garmin listed the course at 3.05 miles, but that's well within the margin of error so the course is pretty accurate as far as distance. It is a well organized race for the most part. They only have awards for top-3 overall male and female, but they do have one more interesting perk. If you go back up and look at the photo of me above, you will see the t-shirt they provide. It's actually customized with your race number and first name on the front. I've never seen a race do this before. They were actually there screening the shirts at the finish line, including ones for the people who signed up on the day of the race. Pretty cool, huh? And the race supports a great cause. If you are looking for a flat, fast little 5k that's fun, you can't do much better than this one. I managed another mile cooldown while I was waiting for the awards. I finished 3rd in my age group, but didn't get anything. Oh well.
I hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Until next time...
-Chad
I woke up this morning to nice temperatures and cloudy skies for the Safe Baby 5k @ Westgate. It's only about a 10 minute drive from my house to Westgate, which is the shopping center than surrounds the Jobing.com hockey arena and sits next to University of Phoenix Stadium - home of the Arizona Cardinals.
I did the race two years before and the course had only changed a little bit. It is flat as a pancake, but it winds around the area through some pretty places and goes right past the football stadium during the first mile.
So I did a one mile warmup run and felt good. But I didn't really intend on pushing the pace of this race real hard. This was also the first time I was going to be racing with my Garmin 305. I was hoping it wouldn't be too distracting.
About 100 runners and walkers lined up for the race. There was actually a flyover of two WWI-era biplanes, which was pretty cool. The starting horn went off and we were away. My one complaint about the race comes really early. Within 200 yards of the start, they funnel us on to a sidewalk. This is a really tight squeeze so early in the race and if the runners around you are not feeling particularly cordial, things can get pretty rough. I escaped any issues and settled into my race. We ran towards and then past the stadium before turning away to head back into the Westgate area, past some of the condos. I was cruising along, enjoying the beautiful morning when my Garmin chirped to let me know that the first mile had passed already.
Mile 1: 8:22
The pace just felt right to me and given the paces my training runs have been at, this felt good. Actually, it felt like I could do this for a couple of hours, but I just didn't want to go any faster. One thing I did notice was that there was no mile marker to be seen. I wasn't sure if they just had it in the wrong location, but after several more minutes of running, it was obvious that there were not going to be any. Now I was really glad I had the Garmin or else I would have had no idea what my pace was or if the course was even the right distance.
The one aid station was right at the midway point of the race and given the nice morning weather and the short distance, that seemed like plenty. They had Gatorade and water. I grabbed a cup of Gatorade on the way by and thanked the young girls working the table. At this point we crossed a street and got into the least interesting part of the course. There is a section of out and backs through a parking lot, presumably to get the distance right. It certainly isn't the most beautiful of runs in this part, but my Garmin spoke again to let me know that I was through two miles.
So I did a one mile warmup run and felt good. But I didn't really intend on pushing the pace of this race real hard. This was also the first time I was going to be racing with my Garmin 305. I was hoping it wouldn't be too distracting.
About 100 runners and walkers lined up for the race. There was actually a flyover of two WWI-era biplanes, which was pretty cool. The starting horn went off and we were away. My one complaint about the race comes really early. Within 200 yards of the start, they funnel us on to a sidewalk. This is a really tight squeeze so early in the race and if the runners around you are not feeling particularly cordial, things can get pretty rough. I escaped any issues and settled into my race. We ran towards and then past the stadium before turning away to head back into the Westgate area, past some of the condos. I was cruising along, enjoying the beautiful morning when my Garmin chirped to let me know that the first mile had passed already.
Mile 1: 8:22
The pace just felt right to me and given the paces my training runs have been at, this felt good. Actually, it felt like I could do this for a couple of hours, but I just didn't want to go any faster. One thing I did notice was that there was no mile marker to be seen. I wasn't sure if they just had it in the wrong location, but after several more minutes of running, it was obvious that there were not going to be any. Now I was really glad I had the Garmin or else I would have had no idea what my pace was or if the course was even the right distance.
The one aid station was right at the midway point of the race and given the nice morning weather and the short distance, that seemed like plenty. They had Gatorade and water. I grabbed a cup of Gatorade on the way by and thanked the young girls working the table. At this point we crossed a street and got into the least interesting part of the course. There is a section of out and backs through a parking lot, presumably to get the distance right. It certainly isn't the most beautiful of runs in this part, but my Garmin spoke again to let me know that I was through two miles.
Mile 2: 8:20
Good. I was maintaining a nice, consistent pace and felt really good. My form was staying nice and compact and I wasn't really expending very much energy. We made another turn and made the long run up to the west end of Westgate to the main entry road and turned along it back towards the start/finish line. I was feeling great, although I was pretty alone. There were two people about 300 yards ahead of me and one guy about that far behind me. I was in my own little running bubble and I was really enjoying it. The only problem was that I was feeling too good for it to end so soon. But since I could see the finish line in front of me, I knew it was really going to end.
Mile 3: 8:15
Mile 3.1: .21
Race finish: 25:19 / 8:18 pace
My Garmin listed the course at 3.05 miles, but that's well within the margin of error so the course is pretty accurate as far as distance. It is a well organized race for the most part. They only have awards for top-3 overall male and female, but they do have one more interesting perk. If you go back up and look at the photo of me above, you will see the t-shirt they provide. It's actually customized with your race number and first name on the front. I've never seen a race do this before. They were actually there screening the shirts at the finish line, including ones for the people who signed up on the day of the race. Pretty cool, huh? And the race supports a great cause. If you are looking for a flat, fast little 5k that's fun, you can't do much better than this one. I managed another mile cooldown while I was waiting for the awards. I finished 3rd in my age group, but didn't get anything. Oh well.
I hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Until next time...
-Chad
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Mesa Turkey Trot
Another Personal Record bites the dust. I ran in the 2006 Mesa Turkey Trot last year and set a PR of 1:11:05. One year later I ran it again and finished around 1:07:59. 3 minutes and 6 seconds faster with a sore calf.
Here's the tee. I think it's pretty cool. We also got a $5 discount for Mi Amigo's Mexican Restaurant. I got to watch the start of the 1 mile and 2 mile races before my race started. Lots of folks running these races. I bet there were about 500 people for the 10k. The race was all on surface streets, asphalt with some dirt shoulders. I decided to rely on the water stops that were planned, so I didn't carry any water. This worked well and I never went thirsty. I had a gel around the 3.5 mile mark and that seemed to help. At the start it was pretty crowded, but I wanted to start slow and warm up my calf. Mile One split was 10:35, but there were times we were running around 11:30 shoulder to shoulder. I wanted to get my speed up like it was at Vegas last week. Mile two split was 9:57 and I was breathing good, but my legs felt tired. Mile three was my worst. The split was 11:58. There was 2 breaks during that mile. One for water and one for no obvious reason (that I can remember). Mile four's split was 11:18, so I was picking it up a bit, but I wanted to go faster. I tagged along with various runners that passed me, my unknowing pacers. Mile five was 11:33 with one break. Mile six was 10:20. I realized if I wanted to have a shot at a PR I better get it in gear. At the end you enter the park, the crowds pick up and you run along the lake. I passed a bunch of people and ran my fastest of the day, doing the last 2/10 of a mile in a split of 8:51.
This is the sweat shirt they gave out at the LV turkey trot last week. I really like it, but it's a medium. I can fit into now, but after it gets washed I think it will be too small. My wife, Amy has put dibs on it. Below is the data, if anyone is interested.
Here's the tee. I think it's pretty cool. We also got a $5 discount for Mi Amigo's Mexican Restaurant. I got to watch the start of the 1 mile and 2 mile races before my race started. Lots of folks running these races. I bet there were about 500 people for the 10k. The race was all on surface streets, asphalt with some dirt shoulders. I decided to rely on the water stops that were planned, so I didn't carry any water. This worked well and I never went thirsty. I had a gel around the 3.5 mile mark and that seemed to help. At the start it was pretty crowded, but I wanted to start slow and warm up my calf. Mile One split was 10:35, but there were times we were running around 11:30 shoulder to shoulder. I wanted to get my speed up like it was at Vegas last week. Mile two split was 9:57 and I was breathing good, but my legs felt tired. Mile three was my worst. The split was 11:58. There was 2 breaks during that mile. One for water and one for no obvious reason (that I can remember). Mile four's split was 11:18, so I was picking it up a bit, but I wanted to go faster. I tagged along with various runners that passed me, my unknowing pacers. Mile five was 11:33 with one break. Mile six was 10:20. I realized if I wanted to have a shot at a PR I better get it in gear. At the end you enter the park, the crowds pick up and you run along the lake. I passed a bunch of people and ran my fastest of the day, doing the last 2/10 of a mile in a split of 8:51.
This is the sweat shirt they gave out at the LV turkey trot last week. I really like it, but it's a medium. I can fit into now, but after it gets washed I think it will be too small. My wife, Amy has put dibs on it. Below is the data, if anyone is interested.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Sunrise at Old Tucson
Randy, the race director, planned this one right. Two loops in the studio town with single track trail thru the desert inbetween. Of course, going thru horse poop alley might not have been the best choice.
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