My first race in January is the Derry 16 Miler

This race is notorious for the hills. Each year it also seems to land on the coldest day of the year!

Lots of hills, freezing cold temperatures: now you’re talking New England Winter Running!

We are due for a few inches of snow on Saturday and the high for Sunday will be in the mid 30’s.

That means snow on the ground for race day. Just to keep things interesting!

With highs in the 30’s any sort of breeze will drive temps below freezing. While the body will warm up after the first mile, any exposed skin is at risk. Hands and feet can also get frost bite in these conditions.

I will be wearing sunscreen to help protect my face. For the body I’ll be wearing three or four layers, running mittens, balega socks and probably my Brooks Adrenaline ASR 10 GTX shoes.

Last year I signed up for this race but had a DNS due to a knee injury.

This year I have some tendonitis in my left thigh near my knee. The plan is to take it easy and see what happens. I don’t want to get my first DNF, I also don’t want to be foolish.

Even though I’m running 16 miles, I’ll give my self credit for 3.1 miles from this race.

I set a goal of running 50 5ks since I’ve turned 50. I don’t want to stop running longer races, so I’ll give myself credit for any race 5K or longer.

After the first 5K

I will be rolling, icing and taking some ibuprofen after this one. I haven’t run more than 12 miles since October. I’m confident that I’m up for this race. But I know that I’ll need to take care of my self afterwards or suffer the consequences.

They always have plenty of food for us after this race and a band. It’s a lot of fun and I enjoy hanging out with my friends from the club, runners I’ve met over the years and new friends.

The race proceeds benefit the Greater Derry Track Club Kids Summer Fun Run Program. The race is limited to 900 runners.

Do you have any races this weekend in the freezing cold?

Run well my friends,

Andy