2016 RUM RUN 10K RACE RECAP

The new starting line this year at Big Al's in Beaverton. The start of a hilly adventure!

This recap is way late and is going to lack detail because I was basically just running this race for "fun." I had decided a few days earlier that my knee situation was not going to resolve itself and I needed to get some help. I believe I ran at PRC on the Monday before and it really made me sore for a few days so I basically just rested up and knew this would probably be my last run for a long while. By this time I was getting out of shape and with my whole leg situation... I wasn't going to kill myself.

Anyways, Katie was also doing the race but she was doing the 5k, which started later. So I drove to the start line and picked up my bib and waited around for it to start. It was raining pretty hard for a while before the race, but luckily it cleared up for the race itself. When the race started I was happily toward the back of the pack and kind of just went with the flow. It was nice to have zero pressure for the race. Usually, even if I'm not trying to PR, I have SOME sort of goal. I literally had no goal for this race other than to finish under an hour.

No event pictures this year, so beer!

The location changed this year from Tualatin to Beaverton, which was kind of a bummer. I liked it being in my old hometown. That being said, it went from a 16 minute drive to a 4 minute drive, so that was nice. Unfortunately, despite Energy Events proclamations, the course was not "flat" or even "mostly flat." Motherfucker was hilly. Way hillier than the Tualatin course. It was fun-ish to have the new course, but in the end I prefer the old one. The parks of Tualatin/Tigard with the lake finish was pretty nice.

I settled into about an 8:50/mile pace and called it good. It wasn't the fastest pace I could have gone, but with my fitness it wasn't easy either. Starting at Big Al's in Beaverton, it quickly wound around some local neighborhoods before heading toward towards Roy Rogers and coming back on Bull Mountain Road. I told you it was hilly. Despite the very rolling hills my mile times stayed pretty consistent as the ups and downs seemed to balance out.

That is until Bull Mountain Road. I had a 10:18 mile climbing that thing. Not fun. Really wish I would have been in shape like when I ran a 1:46 at Bald Peak that one year. I would have sprinted up that thing no problem. Anyways, I got up it and didn't need to walk or anything like some of the people around me (who quickly burned me back on the downhill). I kind of enjoyed being back with the "common folk" ... it's a lot more fun! They tend to be chattier and you can distract yourself easier. Anyways, I couldn't take advantage of the downhills quite like I would have wanted because of my knees. Oh well.

Starting around mile four I had a really, shall I say, pressing, issue. I had to poop. Bad. Bounding down Bull Mountain didn't help. It got to the point where I was actively scanning for a port-a-potty. I was hesitant to go poop though because I knew my hour goal might be in jeopardy. I only had a couple minute cushion and that could make things very close. At some points I was checking out bushes and other areas I could dart off to. Around mile five I spotted a port-a-potty at a house with construction going on. I deliberated and even took a couple steps in that direction. I eventually decided I could hold it another nine minutes.

A very weakly poured mojito. Still good!

I was BARELY able to hold on. I had to slow my running down to keep it at bay. At one point I had to shuffle and clench. It was bad. I should have stopped. I was going to poop my pants. Luckily, I was able to make it to the finish line. I think I set a world record from the finish line to the back of the parking lot where the bathrooms were. Sweet, sweet relief. Once that was over I wandered around until I found Katie, who finished the 5k right behind me.

After that we had our beers and mojitos. It was fun. I always like this event, even when there are problems. Mostly I was just glad I didn't have an accident. Overall my running was alright. I averaged 8:58/mile and it was way harder than it should have been. I knew it was my last run for a while so I tried to enjoy it the best I could. In the end it was a fun time... I'm glad I did it and took a slightly easier pace and Katie was there to hang with afterward.

Official results: 55:06, 8:58/mile. 88/419 overall, 58/136 male, 5/11 M25-29.