This week, I ran the Last Chance XC Championship 8k. It’s one of the USATF-NJ team championship races, and it’s part of the USATF-NJ Grand Prix.
This wasn’t a big goal race for me. I’m still only five weeks out from Chicago, so I’m just getting my legs back under me. But I felt good at last week’s 10k race and in last week’s workout, and I saw this race as a good opportunity to push a little harder and see what I can do.
The Ashenfelter 8k coming up on Thanksgiving is one of my two goal races for the fall, and this is good preparation for that. Let’s see how things go.
Pre-Race and Warming Up
The race was about a half hour from my house at Oak Ridge Park. But it didn’t start until 10AM.
I woke up at 6:30, and I had time for a leisurely morning with two cups of coffee before I left for the race. I pulled into the parking lot and looked around. The start line and the registration area was on the other side of the park, so I jogged over to get my stuff.
I went back to the car to put my bib on. I used these bib magnets that I had gotten on Amazon for the second time. I used them at last week’s 10k, and they worked pretty well. This week, I was a little more adept at putting the magnets on, and I got situated pretty quickly. I’ll probably write up a review of these at the end of the season, once I’ve used them a few times.
The course map was very confusing, so I took the opportunity to jog the course. It’s a short loop, about 1.5 miles, and you run it three times. The loop itself was fairly simple, and it was clearly marked with purple flags. But there was a junction at one point, and it also looked like you looped back on the finish a fourth time.
After I got the lay of the land, I met up with my team. We took a picture and chit chatted about the course. I jogged the course a second time with one of my teammates, and this time there was a volunteer at the junction. He told us that we stayed to the left the first time, and we’d stay to the right the next two times.
That meant we’d run through the finish area. The first time, we’d connect back to the main loop for a third full loop. The next time, we’d take a turn to the left and loop back around to the actual finish. That final loop looked to be about a quarter to a third of a mile.
We lined up, and the teams were all clustered to one side of the starting line. The race director yelled at everyone to spread out and toe the line, and he attempted more than once to get a headcount of everyone lined up. It was a bit odd … but eventually, we started.
The First Loop – So Far, So Good
The gun fired, and we all took off. I didn’t sprint ahead with everyone, but I took off at a pretty good clip. Over the next quarter mile, as the wide line became a thin column, I moved up a few spots and settled in to the pace.
There’s one hill early on in the course – short but steep. We ran up and charged down. Shortly after that, there’s a tree with a sharp left turn. By this point, the field had settled in and we had all found our pace.
I saw my teammate up ahead, but I figured he’d finish a minute or two ahead of me. So I didn’t try and chase him down. I just kept him in sight for a little while before the leaders pulled away.
When I got to the one mile mark, I looked at my watch. 6:15. Yowza! A little fast.
My plan had been to start off more conservatively – 6:30ish – and then work my way down. Time to pull back a little and hope I didn’t overdo it in that first mile.
The back half of the loop is fairly straight over some rolling hills, and towards the end there’s another tree with a hairpin turn. As I turned around it, I heard some footsteps behind me.
We stayed to the left at the junction and we turned into the marked straightaway that ran parallel to the finish line. As I came through, a guy slowly passed me and pulled away. I recognized him as the same guy who had passed me – and beat me by a spot – at the XC 5k Championship back in August.
The Second Loop – Cruising Along
The guy that passed me was going at a much faster clip, so I didn’t try and hold on. Stick to the plan. Still got two full loops to go.
A little further on, two more guys passed me. But by the looks of them, they were younger, and they were probably in the 5k race – which happened to start at the same time. I checked the results later, and they were indeed in the 5k.
We charged up and down the hill and turned around the tree. At the two mile mark, I checked my watch – 6:40. Oops, a little slow. I felt pretty comfortable at this point, though.
Halfway through the back stretch of the loop, I heard some more footsteps come up behind me. A young woman passed me, and shortly afterwards two of her teammates – older women in their 50’s – passed me, too. The younger woman sped off into the distance, but I kept the two older women in my sights for the rest of the race.
We took the second hairpin turn around the tree towards the end of the loop, and I took the opportunity to look behind me. There were a handful of people there, but they were a ways back. As long as I kept up my pace, I should be good.
The three mile mark was somewhere around here – 6:38. A little slow, but oh well.
I stayed to the right at the fork, and I ran through the finish area to finish the second loop. I’d been gaining on a young woman in a red jersey, but I realized now that she was running the 5k. She stopped at the finish, and I kept on going to start the third loop.
The Third Loop – Hanging On and Finishing Strong
At this point, I was starting to get a little gassed. But I had less than two miles to go – time to bear down and finish.
I ran up the hill and charged back down. At this point, we were passing some of the slower runners. I saw a guy that I recognized from some other cross country races – he’s in his 80’s and still running. Every time I see him out there, it makes me smile as I pass him.
I took the first hairpin turn, looked back, and didn’t see anyone. Good.
I kept pushing, just focusing on getting to the four mile mark. It eventually came – 6:40.
Slower, but I made it. Time to push.
I passed by one of my teammates, and I managed a wave. I was running too hard to say anything. She cheered me on.
I was really huffing and puffing at this point, trying to finish strong. I could still see the two older women up ahead, but I couldn’t close the gap. We turned around the last tree one final time, and there was still no one there.
I took the right turn into the finish area, and this is where things got weird. As I ran through the finish, I nearly collided with someone who was trying to cross the course. As a spectator, it was hard to tell who was finishing – and who had to make the final baby loop.
I side stepped the woman, and I charged ahead. I knew I had about a quarter mile to go. I picked up the pace here, not quite to a sprint, but to the fastest I’d run all day. I turned left back into the finishing chute, and there was a crowd of other runners there who had come up behind me.
They still had the final baby loop to complete – so I went wide to the right and sprinted on to the finish. Came across in 32:23.
Post-Race and Reflections
After the race, I jogged over to my car to grab my phone, sipped on some Gatorade, and chatted with my teammates while we cheered everyone else on. Eventually, I left for home – where I enjoyed a nice hot shower and a nice long nap.
This was a decent race, and I’m happy with the results.
The time isn’t a PR over the 8k distance, but it was also a cross country course. Although it wasn’t super-hilly, it’s still a little slower to run over grass. I think I could have done a little better if I’d paced the first mile better, but my time was less than 30 seconds off my time from Ashenfelter last fall.
I placed 26/64 men and 3/4 for men 40-44. There were a lot of younger, fast guys, and not many guys in my age group. But I’m happy I only gave up one position in the men’s race.
Although looking at the results, I think the guy who passed me got confused at the finish. I know I didn’t pass him, and in the pictures, I can see him come through the third loop before me. But his finish time is about a minute slower, and I looked back through the pictures and he finished after me. So he might have stopped, realized he needed to do the final lap, and lost some time there.
I recognized some people from other cross country races, and my placement and time against them was similar to what it was in other races. So despite starting out fast and struggling a little in the second half, I still put in a solid effort.
Now it’s time to rest up for a couple of days, hit a few workouts, and get ready for Ashenfelter.