Saturday, September 12, 2009

Ollie Road Race

Today I met Mark Miller and his wife at their place in Keene. We headed down in the rain and hoped it would let up. It didn't before the start of the race but during it seemed to be quite manageable. I warmed up with the CMS crew and anxiously waited for the gun to go off. My goal today was to drop the watch again (I didn't want to know how fast or slow I was going), and run up front no matter who was up there and for as long as I could. At about a mile and a half in, Miller made a move going up the only hill on the course. I was surprised because he told me he was going to wait until mile three, but I guess he was excited. I couldn't believe how many people were in the lead pack. Even after the surge. As far as I could tell at least 30 people answered the call. By the time we hit a parking lot and hair pinned around a turn Joshep Koech made another move. This time it seemed to thin things out because we all lost contact with him and ended up in single file for a while. By 3.5 miles Me, Mark Miller, Mathew Kiplagat, and Patrick Mellea formed a chase pack. I tucked in behind Matthew and Patrick across the bridge and was able to avoid most of the wind. I felt like this was my chance to go for it and made my one and only move the whole race a little after the 4 mile mark. Unfortunately Patrick was ready. We pushed hard fighting each and reeling in the leader. It was going to be close. All three of us crossed the finish at almost the same time. Joseph held on and kept the lead and I couldn't stop Patrick from passing me at the very end. To me it was the most exciting finish I have ever been involved in. I wish the distance of the course wasn't screwed up, but I feel I ran as best I could and am still very excited to have run so fast (for me). Next up is the Lone Gull 10K.

4 comments:

  1. Great race, Justin. I like to hear that you "went for it at mile 4" - that showed a lot of guts because it got very windy over the bridge. On to the Lone Gull.

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  2. That is a SMOKIN' time. Great race JF!

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  3. Hello Justin,

    As you said in your first post it was really a super race. I've been involved with the race for the last 9 years and I've never seen a lead pack and finish like it. However, that being said we really messed up by not checking course measurements. While we believe the weather had a role in contributing to the issue the Ollie Road Race both regrets and takes full responsibility. Hope all of the posters will join us again next year for another great race and we'll make sure its conned properly this time.

    Thanks

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  4. No problem. I had fun, and other than the cones the race was run very nicely. I will certainly come back again.

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