\jeff{krimmel}

Santa Anita Derby Day 5k

Yesterday, Ariele and I went down to the Santa Anita Race Track with Bert, Katie, and Ted to run the Derby Day 5k. I had never run an organized race before, so I imagine I was looking forward to the race a little more than most of the others out there.

We showed up at Santa Anita around 7:30am, and the open 5k race began at 8:15am. After shooting the bull and hanging out for a little bit, race time came, and a few volunteers set up behind the starting line with different paces written on them. The idea was that the fastest runner should get near the starting line, and the slower runners should move toward the back. It helps relieve congestion at the very beginning of the race.

I ran into Jen, a girl in my research lab, out there with one of her friends. It turns out the three of us have very similar paces, so we hung out around the 9 minute per mile pace group sign. The starting horn sounded, and in about a minute or so, we passed the starting line. When we did, I started my watch, because we weren’t given timing devices for the race managers to record each of our times individually.

The course itself was very pretty. We started in the Santa Anita Park parking lot, and we ran out onto Baldwin Ave. and then into the LA Arboretum. We ran through the Arboretum, back into the Santa Anita Park parking lot, into the Park itself, and we finished the last quarter mile or so on the race track itself.

The first mile went fairly slowly. Jen, her friend, and I ran it in about 10:25. There was a lot of bobbing and weaving involved as the faster runners passed us and we passed the slower runners. The second mile was my toughest, but we picked up the pace slightly and ran it in about 9:55. As we neared the end of the race, Jen and I started to pick up the pace even more, and I was damn near sprinting the last 100 yards or so. I ran the last 1.1 miles in 9:54 to finish in 30:14.

My first goal for the race was to run the whole thing without stopping. That goal was accomplished. My second goal was to break 30 minutes. I was 14 seconds shy of that one. Still, I declare the race a resounding success, and I hereby guarantee I will break 30 minutes in the next 5k I run.