Run Run Away

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – But if you want to find out about your local race, you really should talk to somebody local, esp. if associated with the race. That’s the only reliable information for *your* race.   I know I got a shock for my first race when I found out a few days before that things were so different from what I had expected based on what I had read. (I’d been trying to contact organizers and hadn’t gotten any responses.) Same here.  I thought the race I was entering was a 5K "Fun Run" in a park known for its trails.  Turns out it was a four mile road race that ran PAST the park (but not on the trails) and there were NO walkers.  I finished last with my poky 12 minute mile jog.  It was significantly different than I expected.  But don’t interpret that to mean it was bad.   It was just fine. I’m still looking for a 5K "Fun Run" that fits my ideal.

I think you did great, and would encourage you to keep looking for that perfect "fun run".  Some events are better organised than others. Usually, the big city races are quite large, well organised, and have a diverse pool of runners, from very fast to very slow, to walking (you wouldn’t finish last in a NY city race, even at your 12min/mile pace) I don’t know how the Boston races compare, but I would guess they’d be similar. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – But if you want to find out about your local race, you really should talk to somebody local, esp. if associated with the race. That’s the only reliable information for *your* race.   I know I got a shock for my first race when I found out a few days before that things were so different from what I had expected based on what I had read. (I’d been trying to contact organizers and hadn’t gotten any responses.) Same here.  I thought the race I was entering was a 5K "Fun Run" in a park known for its trails.  Turns out it was a four mile road race that ran PAST the park (but not on the trails) and there were NO walkers.  I finished last with my poky 12 minute mile jog.  It was significantly different than I expected.  But don’t interpret that to mean it was bad.   It was just fine. I’m still looking for a 5K "Fun Run" that fits my ideal.

‘Tis (almost) the season for spring charity 5Ks. Unless you live on Neptune (like Dot, har har har), there should be more coming up in April and May than you can shake a stick at. In my vast racing experience, the best back-of-the-pack experiences come in "medium-sized" races: a few hundred runners, but not a few thousand. For most races you can research past finishing times and turnouts on the web.

Response:

But if you want to find out about your local race, you really should talk to somebody local, esp. if associated with the race. That’s the only reliable information for *your* race.   I know I got a shock for my first race when I found out a few days before that things were so different from what I had expected based on what I had read. (I’d been trying to contact organizers and hadn’t gotten any responses.)

Same here.  I thought the race I was entering was a 5K "Fun Run" in a park known for its trails.  Turns out it was a four mile road race that ran PAST the park (but not on the trails) and there were NO walkers.  I finished last with my poky 12 minute mile jog.  It was significantly different than I expected.  But don’t interpret that to mean it was bad.   It was just fine. I’m still looking for a 5K "Fun Run" that fits my ideal. Dally

Response:

I would like to participate in a upcoming April 25 5K run/walk in our community park (Western suburbs of Chicago). I never participated in a race before and have some basic question. The ad says that the race begins at 8am. Is it realistic to expect to be done by, say, 8:55am. I need to take my son to a playgroup at 10am. If it says the race begins at 8am, I have to be there at 7:45 or so, to register etc? Do people finish around where they started? How does it work, normally? i

Have you run that far in training?  If so, figure you will run faster than that during a race.

Response:

Doubtful I could run that fast… but thanks. i If this is your first race, don’t worry about time. Just have fun. Also, what you actually have for your race may differ from what any of us here indicate. Donovan and I run at opposite extremes.

Yeah, it was interesting reading your response in this thread. Hopefully, between us we can "bracket" his experience … Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

Doubtful I could run that fast… but thanks. i

If this is your first race, don’t worry about time. Just have fun. Also, what you actually have for your race may differ from what any of us here indicate. Donovan and I run at opposite extremes. He does big city road races in NYC while I do comparatively small trail runs (max 200 runners, sometimes < 30) in Alaska. Somewhere in between is what you might find for experiences on race day Seriously, though for a run in a local community park, don’t be surprised if there’s no big clock, no mile markers, etc. There may very well be, but I’ve yet to see any in any of my races (except for clock in orienteering where start times are variable). "Dual timing" at my last race consisted of 2 hand timers. Also for those age-graded thingies, keep in mind that many world records (the standards for these numbers) are set on accurately measured courses designed to be fast. Many local races may be approximate distances, more hills, wind, snow, or any number of other things to slow a person down. It’s an ideal that people that are into numbers enjoy comparing themselves to. And trail runners use the slowness of a course to judge the amount of challenge in a race (hills, mud, snow, and other course challenges) But if you want to find out about your local race, you really should talk to somebody local, esp. if associated with the race. That’s the only reliable information for *your* race.   I know I got a shock for my first race when I found out a few days before that things were so different from what I had expected based on what I had read. (I’d been trying to contact organizers and hadn’t gotten any responses.) Dot — "Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Response:

If you’re referring to a the 60% AG% rating .. ? It’s about 21:36 for a male under 35. If you’re older than that, you get a time bonus — add maybe about 9 seconds per year or so. Doubtful I could run that fast… but thanks.

For your first race — just run it and have a good time. You will probably exceed your expectations. Running alongside a bunch of other people who are running fairly fast not only reduces any inhibitions that would prevent you from running fast, the fact that you’re not alone and the excitement of the occasion also boosts pain tolerance or even suppresses pain. Whatever happens, you’ll probably do better than you expect. So have a good race, and be sure to post a report. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

… snipped other useful suggestions… Generally, anything above 60% is considered a reasonably respectable performance, and is the entry-level standard for some competitive clubs. Serious competitive runners are usually over 70%, and the ones who win age group awards around here are typically in the high 70s or low 80s. Thanks. And how fast should I run a 5K run to become "barely respectable"?

If you’re referring to a the 60% AG% rating .. ? It’s about 21:36 for a male under 35. If you’re older than that, you get a time bonus — add maybe about 9 seconds per year or so. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

I would like to participate in a upcoming April 25 5K run/walk in our community park (Western suburbs of Chicago). I never participated in a race before and have some basic question. The ad says that the race begins at 8am. Is it realistic to expect to be done by, say, 8:55am. Depends on how quickly you finish (-; Yes, it’s realistic. Once you finish, you can just go. Most races will post the results on the internet nowadays. Okay, thanks. They would tell me my time right away though, right?

Usually, they have a nice big clock at the finish line, so you can check your time. So if you only care up to plus/minus a second or two, then you can just check the clock as you finish. It’s a good idea to bring your stopwatch to keep an eye on your mile splits. One hint: if the race is chip-timed, make sure you run past *BOTH* of the mats at the finish line. A lot of people get recorded out-of-place, because they decide that they don’t have to run any more after they’ve run under the clock. Not the case — run through the finish line, not to the finish line (apart from anything else, this also helps prevent other finishers getting obstructed) Do people finish around where they started? Most races of this length use a loop course (or an approximate loop). Alright, sounds good. Do you know of a website with running time distribution curves for various ages?

Many races record your WAVA "age graded percentage" rating. For a runner aged 20-35, this is calculated by dividing the time for a world record performance (at least, world record at the time the system was devised) by your time. For example, a 3hr marathon for a 25 year old would be 2:06:50 / 3hrs = 126.8/180 = 70.4%. The ratings are graded to take age into account, so there are scale factors for different ages and different distances. So for example, a 38 year old male runner who runs a 4 miler in 23:10 will have a performance rating of about 75%, whereas the same pace is only worth 73% for a 30 year old. Generally, anything above 60% is considered a reasonably respectable performance, and is the entry-level standard for some competitive clubs. Serious competitive runners are usually over 70%, and the ones who win age group awards around here are typically in the high 70s or low 80s. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

Is there a contact phone number listed anywhere? If so, call & ask about all these things. It’s what I did the first time I did a local community race. I even asked "will there be some slow people running?" (I’m slow, I wanted to know I’d have company!).

heck, I asked how long they kept the course open! I had read the case of someone doing a winter tri that he had so many problems that they were about ready to close the pool when he showed up for the swim portion (swim is usually last in winter tris). No, I wasn’t that slow as it turned out. contacting locals is also how I found out that we (Alaska) do things very differently up here than down south (or at least r.r postings). I basically ignored everything I’d heard here or read in books regarding races. Dot — "Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Response:

Is there a contact phone number listed anywhere? If so, call & ask about all these things. It’s what I did the first time I did a local community race. I even asked "will there be some slow people running?" (I’m slow, I wanted to know I’d have company!). bj

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would like to participate in a upcoming April 25 5K run/walk in our community park (Western suburbs of Chicago). I never participated in a race before and have some basic question. The ad says that the race begins at 8am. Is it realistic to expect to be done by, say, 8:55am. I need to take my son to a playgroup at 10am. If it says the race begins at 8am, I have to be there at 7:45 or so, to register etc? Do people finish around where they started? How does it work, normally? i

Response:

I would like to participate in a upcoming April 25 5K run/walk in our community park (Western suburbs of Chicago). I never participated in a race before and have some basic question. The ad says that the race begins at 8am. Is it realistic to expect to be done by, say, 8:55am.

Assuming they start on time and you run 5k in less than 55 min, then you should be done by then I need to take my son to a playgroup at 10am. If it says the race begins at 8am, I have to be there at 7:45 or so, to register etc?

Most races I’ve done suggest arriving 1 hr before race, esp. if you haven’t pre-registered, which may take 5-10 min. Small races (<30 people) may suggest 30 min lead time. There may be pre-race meetings about 30 min before. The registration may not be at the start line. Parking most likely isn’t at start line. And if everybody else waited until race day to register, there may be long lines at registration. Don’t forget time for warmup, potty lines, etc. Some races will start without you; others may wait (to the annoyance of some runners that arrived on time). Do people finish around where they started?

Depends on the route. Check with the RD, the web page, or someone whose done the race before. I’ve only done a few short races so far but half have been loops returning to start and half have been point to point and you’re on your own to find a way back to your vehicle (many just run back). Other races do provide a shuttle if point to point. Sometimes parking is at start; sometimes at finish. Regarding the time question in your other post, this would depend on race. My races generally don’t have web pages, but many have times posted in the paper the next day. Assuming it’s not too crowded, you may be able to get the time when you finish or someone may call out the time as you cross. My very first race expected us to come to the visitor center after 5pm to get results (manual recording) – also parade time so I think there was some ulterior motive there. They’ve changed that procedure in recent years. Enjoy! and post a race report! Dot — "Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Response:

I would like to participate in a upcoming April 25 5K run/walk in our community park (Western suburbs of Chicago). I never participated in a race before and have some basic question. The ad says that the race begins at 8am. Is it realistic to expect to be done by, say, 8:55am.

Depends on how quickly you finish (-; Yes, it’s realistic. Once you finish, you can just go. Most races will post the results on the internet nowadays. I need to take my son to a playgroup at 10am. If it says the race begins at 8am, I have to be there at 7:45 or so, to register etc?

I’d recommend getting there earlier if you need to register, more like 7:30 (even for a small race). It rapidly gets more crowded as it gets closer to starting time. Never hurts to be early. Do people finish around where they started?

Most races of this length use a loop course (or an approximate loop). Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

I would like to participate in a upcoming April 25 5K run/walk in our community park (Western suburbs of Chicago). I never participated in a race before and have some basic question. The ad says that the race begins at 8am. Is it realistic to expect to be done by, say, 8:55am.

In my vast experience the race starts when they say it will start.  How long it takes you to finish is someone situational, don’t you think? If it says the race begins at 8am, I have to be there at 7:45 or so, to register etc?

Earlier than that: the registration ENDED 15 minutes before the race started.  It was nearby but not actually AT the starting line.  I’d say to get there by 7:15.  You might want to do a warm-up run, too. Do people finish around where they started?

Nearby, anyway, at least in the races I know about. How does it work, normally?

You show up in running gear and move your feet over and over again. Dally

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