1999 Great Western 30k
Great Western 30k
St. Charles, IL
May 2, 1999
I ran the Great Western 30k in St. Charles, IL, last Sunday. My goal for this race was to enjoy it, start out conservatively, and not kill myself, as this is the longest distance I've run since October--I was treating it as training for the upcoming Madison Marathon on May 30.
The race started at 8:00am, with about 215 runners there. The weather was mild, sunny, and cloudless, but at least there was a nice breeze. The course is on the Great Western Trail, which is mostly made up of crushed limestone, with portions of the trail made up of asphalt, and is out and back (the GW trail actually lasts 17 miles going west to Sycamore from St. Charles). It is slightly hilly--the hills are actually the bridges that go over busy roads, but there enough of them to make your legs more tired and cranky. I started out slowly, slightly disappointed that the rest of the runners were pulling away, with me as the tail end. 8-( I was going at about an 11:15-25 pace, a nice comfortable training pace for me, and I was convinced that I'd be passing people during the second half.
Nonetheless, it sure is discouraging to know that the lag bike person is right behind you. 8-) I was good, though, and held back, and this technique would pay off. After the 4th mile, I passed one woman, who was actually running/walking--she would shuffle for about 30 seconds, then start walking, repeating as such probably for the duration of the race. The sun was hot, but it was at our backs for the first half, and I was worried that it would be bad on the way back. But I ran on, comfortably, noticing the beauty of this trail, which provides quite a bit of shade. The trail is sort of elevated, with sunken meadows/wooded areas on each side. It's neat that you get to see the trees at their prettiest perspective--looking at their spring foliage instead of their tree trunks. The trail also goes along the backyards (but still separated by trees) of a sprinkling of beautiful homes. There are also the horse trails that not only are along the side of the limestone/asphalt trail, but also through the meadows. I actually passed some horse riders on the way back.
I pass a couple more people before I get to the turnaround point, feeling great, having fun encouraging those who were already starting their journey to the finish, and having a good run in general. I get to the turnaround, and pass a couple more runners. Luckily, even though I'm facing the sun, there is a headwind--just breezy enough to be pleasant. The miles go by, I noticed that the mile 11 marker is way off--there was no way I ran a 14:42 mile! And of course, I ran the next mile in 7:29, which was obviously off. :-) I pass more people--some are walking now, probably affected by the warmth.
At about mile 14 is when my legs started to feel a little heavy--I knew my distance training hasn't been ideal--but I did not let myself waver. I knew that if I took a walking break, that it would've lasted longer than anticipated, and running again would be much more difficult. There were encouraging/funny signs in the last miles of the course: one said "Getting tired yet????", another one said "Almost there :-("--which probably should have read "Almost there :-) :-)"! I was determined to finish without fading. I passed more runners, suffered through the couple uphills (not really that bad, but after 18 miles...) and was able to see the finish line when I was about 20 seconds away from it. I sped up as much as I could and crossed the finish line amid the cheers of runners who had stayed around to see the back-of-the-packers. My time was 3:28:29, and my pace was actually faster at this race than last weekend's Lake County Half Marathon. Unfortunately I couldn't make it a "negative" experience, with my second half 1min40sec slower than the first half. Good enough, though. :-)
I received my medal, got my results card, and went over to get my finisher's shirt. The long-sleeved shirt is a dusty blue with Great Western 30k glitter-lettering on it with a fox below it (the fox is for the club that organizes the race, Fox River Trail Runners). Neat looking shirt!
I highly recommend this race, it's beautiful and well-organized (albeit the messed up mile markers). I'm sure I'll be doing this one again.
Happy running,
Kelly
St. Charles, IL
May 2, 1999
I ran the Great Western 30k in St. Charles, IL, last Sunday. My goal for this race was to enjoy it, start out conservatively, and not kill myself, as this is the longest distance I've run since October--I was treating it as training for the upcoming Madison Marathon on May 30.
The race started at 8:00am, with about 215 runners there. The weather was mild, sunny, and cloudless, but at least there was a nice breeze. The course is on the Great Western Trail, which is mostly made up of crushed limestone, with portions of the trail made up of asphalt, and is out and back (the GW trail actually lasts 17 miles going west to Sycamore from St. Charles). It is slightly hilly--the hills are actually the bridges that go over busy roads, but there enough of them to make your legs more tired and cranky. I started out slowly, slightly disappointed that the rest of the runners were pulling away, with me as the tail end. 8-( I was going at about an 11:15-25 pace, a nice comfortable training pace for me, and I was convinced that I'd be passing people during the second half.
Nonetheless, it sure is discouraging to know that the lag bike person is right behind you. 8-) I was good, though, and held back, and this technique would pay off. After the 4th mile, I passed one woman, who was actually running/walking--she would shuffle for about 30 seconds, then start walking, repeating as such probably for the duration of the race. The sun was hot, but it was at our backs for the first half, and I was worried that it would be bad on the way back. But I ran on, comfortably, noticing the beauty of this trail, which provides quite a bit of shade. The trail is sort of elevated, with sunken meadows/wooded areas on each side. It's neat that you get to see the trees at their prettiest perspective--looking at their spring foliage instead of their tree trunks. The trail also goes along the backyards (but still separated by trees) of a sprinkling of beautiful homes. There are also the horse trails that not only are along the side of the limestone/asphalt trail, but also through the meadows. I actually passed some horse riders on the way back.
I pass a couple more people before I get to the turnaround point, feeling great, having fun encouraging those who were already starting their journey to the finish, and having a good run in general. I get to the turnaround, and pass a couple more runners. Luckily, even though I'm facing the sun, there is a headwind--just breezy enough to be pleasant. The miles go by, I noticed that the mile 11 marker is way off--there was no way I ran a 14:42 mile! And of course, I ran the next mile in 7:29, which was obviously off. :-) I pass more people--some are walking now, probably affected by the warmth.
At about mile 14 is when my legs started to feel a little heavy--I knew my distance training hasn't been ideal--but I did not let myself waver. I knew that if I took a walking break, that it would've lasted longer than anticipated, and running again would be much more difficult. There were encouraging/funny signs in the last miles of the course: one said "Getting tired yet????", another one said "Almost there :-("--which probably should have read "Almost there :-) :-)"! I was determined to finish without fading. I passed more runners, suffered through the couple uphills (not really that bad, but after 18 miles...) and was able to see the finish line when I was about 20 seconds away from it. I sped up as much as I could and crossed the finish line amid the cheers of runners who had stayed around to see the back-of-the-packers. My time was 3:28:29, and my pace was actually faster at this race than last weekend's Lake County Half Marathon. Unfortunately I couldn't make it a "negative" experience, with my second half 1min40sec slower than the first half. Good enough, though. :-)
I received my medal, got my results card, and went over to get my finisher's shirt. The long-sleeved shirt is a dusty blue with Great Western 30k glitter-lettering on it with a fox below it (the fox is for the club that organizes the race, Fox River Trail Runners). Neat looking shirt!
I highly recommend this race, it's beautiful and well-organized (albeit the messed up mile markers). I'm sure I'll be doing this one again.
Happy running,
Kelly
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