Gate River Run

This morning took part in the 31st Annual Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida. It's a 15k run (9.3 miles) that travels from the Stadium over two of the downtown bridges in a large loop.

This year there were 14,000 participants. Oh, yeah, did I mention that it's the largest 15k in the country? Can you imagine the downtown traffic trying to get there? I can personally verify that it's at least three times worse than you are imagining. We got to within three blocks of the arena an hour and fifteen minutes early, yet I got to the starting line a mere four or five minutes before the starting bell.

The run itself was pretty crazy. As you can see from the starting line-up there was some congestion on the course itself. For the first three miles it was more like trying to escape a sardine can than running. After that it thinned out slightly, allowing everyone to fall into a more natural pace.

I surprised myself by doing a pretty decent run. I'm not sure that I've ever run that far before, closest I've come was a 6.5 mile run I did about a week ago in preparation. The only point I really had a hard time with was the last mile and a half. Of course, I should mention that the last mile and a half was a long trip up and over the Hart Bridge (nicknamed the Green Monster for the purposes of the race). I had to pause on the way up for about thirty seconds to catch my breath, but other than that I ran the entire race (which was my biggest goal). Did I mention that there were forty mile an hour winds? It's like running uphill at an angle.

Then, when it seemed like the twists and turns of Jacksonville would never end, we were directed into the heart of the arena and the finish line.

I finished 5938^th with a time of 1:33:01. At the beginning of the morning I figured I could finish at around 1:15, but having run it now – I'm impressed I did it in 1:33. That's a little more than ten minutes a mile, averaged over 9 miles. Even as I sit here writing, feet propped up to relieve the pressure on blistered feet and sore joints, I still can't believe how much fun it was. I wish I'd gotten into running a long time ago, especially since this will be my one and only Gate River Run. Though I'm sure Hawaii has something similar, but I'll remember this one for a long time.

(No, they don't give out metals for 5938^th place. That's just for finishing.)

(Originally Posted 08 Mar 2008, Myspace)