RCU Charity Classic

I learned something today. Tying a key for your car to your shoe is a terrible way to secure a key prior to running a race. This race started off great. Wonderfully cool weather. A slight mist in the air. A perfect day for a PR. I started the race off at a great pace. I felt wonderful. All until mile two in the race. The key that was attached to my shoelaces loosened and flew off into the grass. As if that wasn't enough, I then had to find my key which proved no short task. I lost at least 45 seconds to a minute searching for the key and quickly tying my shoe. That time lost allowed several runners to pass me. My time for the remainder of the race was great. I finished in 39:45, which was just 26 seconds from my PR (that's the importance of the lost 45-60 seconds). I gave up an opportunity for a personal record. Still, my time beat last years time of 40:55 and my overall placing improved as well. I finished 15th overall out of 277. My wife cruised to a personal record time of 53:14 (Congrats, Angela!). I then did the same crazy thing I did last year and ran the two mile race afterwards. I started front of the pack to start and held the lead for about 1/3 mile before finally being caught. I ran a strong 2 mile race, but also not a PR. My time was 11:57, which was good enough for 10th overall out of 245 (2nd in my age group). My wife was there to cheer me on. Afterwards, I talked with Albert Omhasa who finished 2nd in the 2 mile and 3rd in the 10K. He was fun to chat with. He told me I "have good speed, but no endurance." He told me I need to add more miles to my training. I told him I would try to see what I could do. Maybe next year will be a better year for the event. Today would have been an ideal time for a PR in the 10K. We had a blast at the race. Monte Stewart (who won this year's Aquafest run) finished strong with a 10th place finish in the 10K run with a time of 38:23.

Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon

This was one of the highlights of my running experience. A wonderfully run race which was done on a warm, hilly course. 13.1 miles running mostly along Duluth's ever-popular Lake Superior and also finishing within the beautiful downtown area of Duluth. I finished in 1:28:21, which is a little over a minute off of my PR, but I was happy to place 146th out of 5,604, which was in the top 2.6% of runners in the race. I definitely would have liked to have finished a couple of minutes faster, but my overall placing in the event was right where I had hoped it would be. The best part of running the half marathon was that I was able to watch the finishers in the full marathon. An American won this year. What's better is that it was someone who was a Minnesota native. We must be proud of local talent finishing so well and beating all the favorites who were expected to do much better. Temperatures reached a high of 90 by 1:00 pm. Even at 5:00 am in the morning as we were waiting to load into buses, the temps were 69 degrees. That's hot.

Rice Lake Aquafest Run

The Tuesday night biking group fragmented tonight as five of the bikers showed up at Rice Lake's Aquafest run and only two bikers showed up at our normal ride location. Those two bikers then headed north to the Tuscobia trail to watch the run. It was a good group. The picture of the bikers shows Brian Arnold, Ron Kay (he didn't run in khakis), Mark Bittner, Gary Crisler, and myself. Even some of the cross country students I have coached showed up. With rain hitting during the early stages of the run and the humidity very high, it made for a warm evening run. Last year's race winner (Monty from Flambeau. . .sorry I don't remember his last name) took an early lead and held it to the finish in 39:08. I finished second overall with a time of 40:14. My wife finished around 55 minutes in what she thinks was a PR for her, so congrats, Angela. The overall award for this race is pretty cool. It is an old railroad spike with the winners information painted on it. I think the railroad spike might actually be from this trail when it was previously a railroad track. Pictures were taken by Valerie Leair of the Chronotype.

See Dick Run Race

Seriously, the prizes for this race were the most unusual of any race in Wisconsin. Mark Bittner and I travelled to Bloomer, Wisconsin, for the See Dick Run Race which had options of 2, 4, or 7 miles. Runners crazy enough could also opt to participate in the Bloomin' Idiot Endless Miles Run, which is essentially a marathon distance (or however far you run before you decide to turn around). This year there were 5 people who did this (I wonder if the support staff on the route outnumbered the number of racers?). Mark did the 7 mile run and I did the 2 mile run. I finished 1st with a time of 11:57 (this is a surprisingly hilly course and the hill near the first mile of the course takes it out of you). The award for finishing first. I received an Energizer battery and a loaf of bread. I know in the picture of me holding the prizes that there are 3 kids looking on in admiration, hoping that they one day would win these awards, but to be honest, I don't get the battery idea. I will say the loaf of cranberry walnut bread was very good. I would have rather had a couple loaves of that instead.

Baldwin-Woodville Uff Da Run

This was the 3rd time my wife and I travelled to Woodville, Wisconsin for the Uff Da Run. I love the half marathon. Being completely on trail, it is easier on the feet. It was an atypical year for the 5K race. I have been used to having several 5K runners at the front of the pack running with the faster half marathoners, but this didn't happen. The 5K race was much slower this year. The speedy runners must have all done the half marathon. The race was won by a younger guy who finished around 1:12 something. I was near the front of the pack and since the course is out-and-back, I was at mile 6 when I crossed paths with the eventual leader (who was at 7.2 miles). My time was 1:26:59, which was three seconds slower than my record time for that distance. Had I known I was that close, I would like to think I could have increased the pace. I finished 6th overall and 2nd in my age group. I also am probably ready to retire the Injinji socks my brother gave me. They have been well used. I must say they are wonderful for long races. My wife also ran the half with a friend of hers. We are both in training for Grandma's Half Marathon next month.

Spring Fever 2 mile

The first running race of the year was the same as last year, the Spring Fever race in Altoona. My goal going into the race was to improve on last year's time. Last year I won the race with a 12:15 effort, but I wanted to finish under 12 minutes. I started out with a 5:34 first mile and then finished with a time of 11:44, which was an average pace of 5:52 min/mile. This is my fastest average pace in a race to date. I finished fourth overall, as three college runners from the area came and finished with times in the 10 minute range. Still for me, I was happy with my finish as it laid the groundwork for a great start to the spring running season. There is definitely room for improvement. It was a beautiful day, which was perfect for racing.

Stomp the Swamp

The Stomp the Swamp race was a great race at Nine Mile Ski Area near Rib Mountain in Wausau, Wisconsin. With weather conditions supposed to be extremely warm and with so much snow gone, there was still plenty of snow in the woods to play on. This set the stage for the last snowshoe race of my season. The race course consisted of a 6K course or racers could do two loops to achieve a 12K distance. I finished the 12K course in a time of 1:01:39 and had the fastest time of the day. I posed at the finish with fellow snowshoer John Kann and the snowshoer known solely as "Braveheart" to dedicated snowshoe racers in this part of the state. Supposedly, he will run in shorts and short sleeved singlet as in the picture in most races. I didn't fare as well as Braveheart, as ice built up in a very heavy layer on my socks, and at the end of the race I forgot to peel it all off. Well, it turned into frostbite on the side of my legs. I learned a lesson and won't do that again. Perhaps some gaitors might be a better idea. My wife also participated in the race and I was able to get a nice picture of the two of us at the finish. The postrace meal was awesome. There was homemade soup, hot dogs, many homemade bars, Leine's beer, and many other things that made this postrace meal unique compared to many others I have participated in. I loved the course. The hills on this course were relentless and the course was over 90% singletrack. The race organizer, Jay Punke, has put on a wonderful race which was very well organized and well-run.