Race Report - Riverbank Run 5K

Today was the 30th running of the Riverbank Run in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The main event is the 25K, which serves as the national championship for that distance and naturally draws some very fast runners.  I, however, ran the 5K in my quest to beat my 5K PR from high school, a 20:08.

You couldn't ask for better weather - when the starting horn sounded, the air was 52 degrees under mostly cloudy skies.  The weather coupled with the 30th anniversary of the race drew record field participation in all of the events: 25K run, 25K wheelchair, 25K hand-cycle, 5K run, and 5K walk.  If my memory serves, the announcer stated that there were about 6000 entrants for the 25K and almost 5000 folks doing 5K, plus 20,000+ spectators! 

At 7:50 the wheelchair race started; at 7:55 it was the hand-cyclers' turn.  Standing way at the back in the 5K corral a block up the street, I wasn't able to watch them start but I clapped anyway as the announcer kicked them off.  At 8:00 sharp the crowd went nuts as the horn blasted off the 25K runners and the street in front of me slowly emptied.  It took six full minutes for the 25K field to clear the start line!  Finally the 5K legion marched forward and I took my place at the 7:00 min/mile pace sign.  Very helpfully, the race organizers set up markers so that runners can start among others of similar speed.  My goal was to beat my last race time of 21:07, a 6:49 pace, so I figured I'd be OK starting with the 7:00 folks.  I didn't want to line up any further ahead because the 6:00 pace group was the first one! 

Finally the clock ticked down to 8:10 and the horn sounded for our start!  Right away it was clear that not everyone heeded the pace alignment and I had to pass countless runners in very crowded conditions.  The course began on a 4-lane downtown street and it was flowing thick with striding bodies.  I thought about mshobe and the difficulty he had weaving among traffic in his Chicago Marathon.  It definitely slows you down!  Within the first mile I was boxed in at least half a dozen times and forced to slow down and maneuver.

I reached the first mile mark at 6:55 according to my watch, but in 6:05 according to the clock they had stationed there!  No way was I running 6:05 and I knew it was wrong; however, two guys next to me saw that and said "Whoa we better slow down" and I felt bad for them.  Just after this point a little high school girl got boxed in to the left of me; instead of slowing down she jumped to the right, cutting me off!  I nearly came to a complete halt trying to avoid running her over.  That ticked me off, and she became one of my "marks" - I wasn't going to let her get away!

At the halfway point there was an aid station with water but I just ran through - I don't need to risk choking when I can barely breathe and 5K is short enough to do without anyway.  It was here that I finally passed the last of the "soccer boys".  At the start in the 7:00 pace slot was a group of six boys wearing matching soccer uniforms that looked to be about 10-12 years old.  I thought they were a bunch of punks, assuming they would run slowly but as a pack and clog up the start.  Four of them were indeed slow, but two of them were fast enough that they stayed ahead of me for half the race!  I was impressed.

Approaching the second mile mark I was still forced to maneuver occasionally around folks who were dropping off the pace, some of them even walking!  I can understand if a couple folks maybe pulled a muscle or had stomach issues, but 95% of they were simply tired.  It bugged me that so many people were running a pace way beyond their means, apparently just to impress their friends by starting out so fast.  In fact, that little high school girl encountered two such dudes who slowed down and she elbowed her way between them!

Mile 2 finally showed up at 13:50 - good for a 6:55 second mile - and once again the race clock was off by a minute!  It's a good thing I started my watch or I would've been very confused.  Climbing a slight incline my "mark" was right next to me - she had never been farther than 20 feet ahead - and I picked this point to pass her.  I never saw her again!  Satisfaction, baby.  Cresting the "hill" (it was only a baby hill) I used the slight downgrade to accelerate my pace knowing that I had less than a mile to go.  Boy was I feeling like crap, though!  I was so tempted to rest for a few seconds but my heart convinced my mind to shut up for the next five minutes. :)

Apparently my mind just shut off instead - I have no memory of passing the 3-mile marker and thus have no clue as to my split time there.  I was just trying to run fast - the faster I ran, the sooner the pain would cease!  The course turned a sharp corner, ran half a block and then turned again and suddenly the finish line was 100 yards away!  I dumped my last drops of fuel into the afterburner and passed several folks.  Then I had a decision to make... left or right?  There were two finish line banners because of the huge crowd of runners, and I was pointed right at the posts between them.  Fewer runners on the right, so I ran right.  Official finish time was 21:26.

While I was desperately catching my breath beyond the finish line, a guy next to me puked!  Ew.  I moseyed ahead to the food table and grabbed a water bottle, a breakfast bar, a bagel and a yogurt, then found a sunny concrete step to sit on while I ate the breakfast I earned. :)  Food tastes so good after a hard workout!

Although I felt good speed-wise, I didn't feel great.  Maybe having to dodge all the other runners in tight quarters slowed me down some, but even without that I might not have topped my adult-era PR from my last 5K.  I'm happy that I maintained my pace throughout despite feeling rather crummy for the last mile; my finish time equated to a 6:55 pace, same pace as each of the first two miles.  My legs had more speed than at my last race, but I think with more injury-free time to train properly I can go faster.  Always something to look forward to!

Looking at the results online I see that I finished 18/260 in my age group and 204/4867 overall - must be that all the fast runners were doing the 25K.  Speaking of which, after I called Amanda to let her know the outcome (she woke up tired and decided to sleep in rather than fight with the crowds) I walked back along the 25K course and watched the finishers for about an hour.  Some observations...  The top runners all had great form, smooth and powerful.  The next batch of runners - fast but not elite - was mixed with good form and a form I call the "leg beaters" who have a stride that seems wildly inefficient.  Some look like they're swimming, others stair-climbing, some are leaned so far sideways it makes me dizzy.  These folks have the stamina to be top runners but for whatever reason, aren't efficient with it.

I stopped at the mile 14 aid station (25K = 15.5M) to wait for some of the runners I know to come by so I could cheer them on.  One of the aid station volunteers was a colleague on my project who sits right next to me at work!  I wasn't aware that he'd be there.  It's amazingly fun to watch a running race and I'm totally sold on volunteering at one sometime.  One of the aid station dudes, rather than handing out cups of water, was splashing it on the runners!  Most loved it but a few got annoyed.  The faster folks are in general more serious - you can tell that they have a plan and they pretty much ignore the encouragement of spectators.  Slower runners more often will turn their heads when a spectator shouts out some good vibes, and some of them are mentally lost in space.  Here we were, 1.5 miles from the finish, and some were stopping to rest - not just walking, but stopping!  Just keep moving, people. 

Many runners were busy wrangling their earphone cords.  One guy going very slowly suddenly sprinted through the aid station like Forrest Gump and then collapsed in a pile of jelly legs.  Weird.  Another guy was dressed head to toe in a Spider Man suit!  I encouraged him to use his Spidey Sense. :)  One lady was clearly struggling with a look of sheer pain on her face as she reached her arm forward to the lady right ahead of her.  The woman in front must've been a friend, as she took the struggler's hand without even looking back and pulled her onward the way she might pull the leash of a stubborn dog!  It was a nice show of companionship - clearly they were going to finish together.  Less cool was the young woman who took a sip of water and then puked about six times before walking on.  She was clearly upset and I wanted to tell her "Don't worry, you'll feel better now!" but she probably wasn't ready to hear that yet. :)

Finally after cheering on almost everyone I expected to recognize (yet somehow I missed a few of them), it was time to go home.  What a fun event - both racing and spectating!