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Running The 2019 BAA 10K

Over 7,000 runners showed up June 23rd to run the 2019 BAA 10K.

It was a great day for running with temperatures in the 70s and moderate humidity. A light breeze for most of the race was an added bonus.

This was the ninth running of the BAA 10K and I haven’t missed one yet.

Just like last year I drove in with my buddy Diarmuid Cahill, parked at my garage and walked over to The Boston Common.

When we arrived on The Common the crowds were still light. We picked up our shirts and headed for the Distance Medley VIP tent. Last year the BAA started offering some perks for Medley runners.

Boston Marathon, race series, medal, BAA Distance Medley 2012 Medal Display Frame
BAA Distance Medley and Boston Marathon medals – 2012

Medley runners pay full price to run the BAA 5K, 10K and Half Marathon. The benefit of paying upfront is you register for all three races at once and get an extra medal. Most of us have buckets of medals already.

When we got to the VIP tent we found out that they didn’t have a bag drop or porta-potties for us. They had porta-potties at the BAA Half last October and were hoping for the same at the 10K. That’s a feature worth paying for!

After I grabbed a cup of coffee I made my way back across The Common to the bag drop. Things went smoothly and in just a few minutes I was back in the tent.

Running the 2019 BAA 10K

Around 7:30 we decided to head for the corrals and one last pit stop. The Common was now packed with runners.

We never did find the end of a port-potty line and so pushed through the forest of runners and headed for the corrals on Beacon Street.

Durm headed up the hill and I tucked into the 9:00-ish corral. I didn’t see anyone I knew.

2019 Baa 10K, Boston RunningAt 8:04 someone sang The National Anthem and I found many flags to admire. In the middle of the song, American Airlines did a fly-over. It seemed appropriate!

Around 8:10 we started moving down the hill. As we approached the timing mats we broke into a light run and I started my watch crossing the first timing mat.

The road was packed! I made some headway and got into position for our first turn onto Boylston Street.

While looking out for runners I realized I needed to keep an eye out for pot holes. They were the foot sized ones that are often hard to see until you are on top of them.

In no time we were turning right onto Arlington Street. By this time I had passed a few people who were already walking! And not on the side of the road.

I was pissed and tried to keep quiet. I realize these races attract first timers, some of whom are doing fundraising for causes dear to their hearts. I get that. I just wish someone would explain the rules of the road to them before the race. Instead, I have to hold back on reading them the riot act while on the run.

Really Running a 10K

From Arlington we quickly turned left onto Comm Ave. The road is shaded but narrow.

More walkers and joggers. Even better – two or three across at times. Me and a whole bunch of other people wound our way through this obstacle course with great effort.

BAA 10K 2019 Course MapThe fact that no one face planted is amazing. Those people have no idea how lucky they were not to get pushed or tripped. None of us were happy about this situation. But being runners we adhered to the code of conduct and remained civil.

I’d get behind someone and we’d move up. Then I’d find a hole and people would fall in behind me. Sometimes the crowd would open up and I’d surge ahead.

The non-verbal communication among us runners was amazing. We were like a flock of birds or a school of fish. Anticipating and following each other’s moves.

At each water stop I got as far right as I could. At one stop people got water and then moved to the right side of the road in front of me to walk and drink! If looks could kill, I’d be in custody.

Kenmore Square opens up nicely and we were able to move along. But Comm Ave narrows again coming out of the square due to street parking.

I managed to find holes and pushed forward.

The heat began to increase as the sun beat down on a street devoid of any shade. I had a bottle of water with me which was now half gone. I decided to leave some for after the turn around as I knew I would need it.

I could feel the hill in my thighs as we made our way out to Agannis Arena. I knew this hill. It had had it’s way with me before, but not today.

My pace seemed to pick up. Or maybe everyone else slowed down.

It’s only about 29 feet elevation over a half mile or so, but it can really kick your ass in the heat.

I made my way through the crowd and looked for the top of the hill and the turn around. As I watched the returning runners there seemed to be thousands of them. Turns out, there were about 2,000 people in front of me.

I was focused and made use of each opportunity to move through the crowd. There were plenty of runners right in there with me.

As we approached the turn I was stuck in a group of runners with little room to make an efficient turn. I really thought, “WTF” my race is a mess with this crowd so, WTF. Go with it.

As we made the turn I swung to the far right and possibly got too close to a few people. Not sure.

Where I could I cruised down the hill. The inside of my left knee hurt, but not that much. I could have made some awesome time flying down that hill.

To The Finish!

For the most part the run down Comm Ave was enjoyable. The crowd had held me back from 100% exertion so I had some mojo. Inbound to Kenmore Square we had more room and the crowd was thinning out as we approached mile four.

Mile 4! I felt pretty damned good. Usually at this point in a 10K I’m making bargains with my self. This time I had everything dialed in pretty tightly and was ready to push it for the next 2.2 miles.

At Mile Five we were on the home stretch and the road was wide. I took the road I needed and hammered my way home.

I wasn’t running an Olympic Qualifier pace or anything, but I felt fully capable of running at 100% for the rest of the race. I even had enough breath to say thank you to a spectator.

As I ran down Comm Ave I thought about how I felt the last time I was on this piece of road. It was the Boston Marathon in April. If I felt this strong at this point in the marathon, I would have been disappointed.

At mile 25 of a marathon you should be running on fumes and will power. If you run a 10K well, you should have some power for a strong finish. For these races it just happens that mile five and 25 are basically at the same place on the course.

I was passing all kinds of people on this last mile. Getting onto Arlington Street felt great. I made clean turns and moved across the road to get ready for the final turn onto Charles Street.

Charles Street had a lot of runners, but plenty of room to make my move. I cut left and passed some runners. Someone else was running right in front of me so I moved over a bit just in case I had a surge or they faded near the end.

I stopped my watch at 53 minutes and change, collected my ribbon and headed for the water and snacks.

I was pretty happy with my finish. I’m still shooting for 50 minutes, but I’m not quire there yet.

All Business After the Race

Durm and I planned to meet in the beer tent after the race. I picked up my bag and headed over to the VIP tent. As I approached the beer tent they were carding folks and I didn’t have my ID.

One of the unfortunate benefits of being middle-aged is that you often don’t need an ID. It’s pretty obvious you turned 21 when Ronald Reagan was president.

There was already a line for the Marathon Brewing 26.2 mile beer. I met a lady from Burlington and we had a good chat in line and while enjoying our ice cold beers.

Marathon Brewing is putting a fortune in to promoting this beer, but I don’t think it is going anywhere. It is slightly more flavorful that your average lager, but nothing exciting.

The appeal is too narrow and it probably sells at a premium price. There are too many really good craft beers that taste great to choose from. I see it as a novelty. But what do I know?

Durm showed up but wasn’t interested in a beer. They didn’t even give him any tickets on his way in. The lines had also quadrupled since I got my beer. And it definitively was not worth that kind of wait.

On the way out I gave away my last beer ticket and even found another in the grass to give someone else. It’s nice to play beer god once in a while.

We had a nice walk through the Charles Street neighborhood of Beacon Hill on our way back to Cambridge.

It really was a day that makes life worth living. Spending time with a good friend, running a great race and enjoying the beautiful Boston summer weather. Hard to top that.

Here are the BAA 10K 2019 full results.

Run well my friends and enjoy your summer!

Andy

Running BAA 10K 2018

This was the 8th time I’ve run the BAA 10K road race. I ran the inaugural race in 2011 and haven’t missed one since!

I’ve run with an injury and twice I’ve run the 10K and hustled off to run a 5K. One time I drove all the way to New Hampshire for my 2nd race of the day. Never again!

It’s a better experience to enjoy a race and hang out with friends afterwards.

Just like last year I ran with my buddy Derm Cahill and parked at my office in Cambridge.

Running the BAA 10K 2018 Road Race

We walked across the newly renovated Longfellow Bridge and over to the Boston Common where the race starts. We picked up our race shirts and headed for the Infiniti VIP tent.

Since Derm and I are running the BAA Distance Medley this year we had access to the Infiniti VIP tent. It wasn’t anything lavish but there was shelter from the elements and they had bagels, water and Gatorade. As a bonus they were giving out portable phone chargers. You can never have too many of those!

They let us check out the 2019 QX50 and let us sit in it. Derm had some good questions and the lady helping us out had an answer for each one. I was very impressed.

We put all of our stuff into one drop bag and I took it to the bag drop area. It was well organized and they let us walk in with our bags and leave them. In the past we had to give them to a volunteer and this caused congestion. We hit the porta-potties one last time and headed to the corral.

On the way over we met one of Derm’s colleagues, Jesse Lizette. She walked with us to the corral where we headed for the 8:00 to 8:59 section.

Melrose Running Club, BAA 10K 2018A few minutes before 8AM they had us move down from the sidewalk and onto Charles Street. Just before 8AM they had an A Capella group sing The National Anthem. It was great not having a recording but I couldn’t find a flag anywhere.

At 8AM they sounded the horn and we were off! We mostly jogged and walked to the start.

As we ran down Charles Street the road was not very crowded. They said there were 10,000 runners but it sure seemed like a smaller crowd.

We took a quick right onto Boylston Street and then a quick right onto Arlington before we took a left onto Commonwealth Ave for the long run out to BU.

Derm has been racing a lot and I haven’t run in more than two weeks, so we agreed to take it easy and that I would set the pace. While my legs were rested they were also not in great shape and my cardio was not up to par either.

As we ran down Comm Ave we made some pretty aggressive moves to get through the crowd. No pushing but we looked for every opportunity to move ahead. Before we even hit mile one, we had to contend with walkers!

We skipped the first water stop as there were too many runners and didn’t really need it.

About a third of a mile before the Mass Ave underpass we hit Mile One at 8:46. Pretty much where we wanted to be. Going under Mass Ave was crowded but things started to spread out as we headed down Charles Gate to Baystate Road.

Just like last year, BU was doing construction on Baystate so it was little congested. Just before Silber Way we hit Mile Two at 8:19. I was a little surprised at our surge and told Derm that our average pace was now way below our goal of 9 minutes.

We took a left onto Granby Street and I grabbed a cup of water this time. I pinched it, took a gulp and never brook my pace.

We had been taking our turns wide so as not to get caught in the curb-side crowd. It had been working well and we took a right back out onto Comm Ave.

At this point I was feeling pretty comfortable. My feet were landing nicely and I was running at about 90% of capability. We weren’t out for any PR’s so it was nice to run the race comfortably.

The Turn Pike over pass wasn’t too bad. It’s been under construction for a while and we had to run on steel panels. Thankfully they were nice and dry. Shortly after the bridge we began the climb up to the turn in front of The Agganis Arena at BU.

The lead runners were now running past us. At one point I looked over and saw Meb Keflezighi run by. He was back from the lead and seemed to be running with a group and not running for the win. He’s retired now don’t ya know.

About a quarter mile before the turn we hit Mile Three at 8:22. Not to bad for running up a hill. We moved to the right so we wouldn’t get stuck in the crowd making the turn.

Finishing the BAA 10K 2018 Road Race

We executed the turn flawlessly and were headed back to the finish. We had passed the 5K mark and the 3 Mile Mark, so the work was just beginning.

After the turn we had some downhill, which was nice. I moved to the left and opened it up a bit. I didn’t spend too much time looking across the fence to see who was running up the hill. Then I heard a voice call out “Hey you guys!” As I looked over my shoulder through my bouncing glasses I barely made out Regina Curran. If I hadn’t recognized her voice, I may not have recognized her face. We missed her before.

Coming back over the Turn Pike bridge wasn’t too bad either. I grabbed another cup at the next water stop and before we knew it we hit Mile Four at 8:15. Not too bad considering that part of that mile was uphill and a hair-pin turn.

Both of us were feeling pretty good and kept pushing it. I tried to hold things back but it’s difficult to do during a race. When you take it easy early in a race you often have an extra reserve of energy for the last part of the race.

I could feel my piriformus acting up and worried a bit about residual pain. I just drove for three days from Florida so my little ass muscles were not used to working.

We ran through Kenmore Square and took a left onto Beacon Street. More people were walking and we kept passing runners. From Beacon Street we took a right onto Charles Gate West back out to Comm Ave.

I was surprised to see some people still walking out-bound on the course. I felt pretty good for this stage in the race and knew that we were on the home stretch.

Just after the Mass Ave bridge we hit Mile Five at 8:05! Our average pace was now 8:20! Where was this coming from? I skipped the last water stop on Comm Ave, less than a mile to the finish.

Derm was chomping at the bit and as we approached the turn onto Beacon Street I told him to take off. I didn’t really have a kick and just wanted to maintain my pace.

I hit Mile Six on the corner of Arlington and Beacon Streets at 7:57! Again, I was surprised. My watch was hitting the mile markers before I got to them. The last 0.2 miles turned out to be 0.32 miles and I ran at a pace of 7:31.

I finished just behind Derm with a time of 52:23. The BAA had a time of 52:18 for me. I had manged to run a negative split for this race!

Apre BAA 10K 2018

These races are notorious for being skimpy on the swag and food. You get one pass at the food tent and there is never much to choose from. But keeping people from filling up leaves plenty of food for the last runners who need it the most.

I got my medal on Charles Street, caught of to Derm and Jesse and we headed for the water and food tent. It was a quick trip through the tent. We headed to the bag drop, which was not busy yet and then to the Infiniti VIP tent.

BAA 10K 2018, Andy NagelinThey had fruit cups, bagels and Gatorade for us. Nothing too exciting but it was a nice touch. They also had two timing boards to take your picture with. To move things along they had someone to punch in your bib number, so you would have the correct name on the board for your photo!

We took a few pics with Regina Curran and Julie Smith Galvin and headed back to Cambridge.

Derm crossed the line 21 seconds ahead of me. My 2018 time was seven seconds better than my 2017 time, so I’m happy with that. Not my fastest finish but much better than my slowest few finishes.

 

Derm Cahill, BAA 10K 2018Instead of hanging out to see the awards ceremony, we headed back to Cambridge. I’ve been out of town for the past two weeks and had a lot of stuff to catch up on and I had to write this blog post!

Run well my Friends!

Andy

2017 BAA 10K race recap

 

 

Running BAA 10K 2017

The weather for the BAA 10K road race was just about perfect. When we started the race around 8:10 it was about 72° and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Just a perfect day!

The Melrose Running Club always has a good showing at this race. This year there were two other races and we still had 18 runners.

 

BAA 10K Travels

This race is a local race for me. It’s about six miles from my house and I have garage parking about a mile from the start. Durm Cahill parked at my house and we drove in together. With virtually no traffic at 6:30 in the morning, we got to our parking garage in about 20 minutes.

I brought a small bag of necessities, and left most of my stuff in the car. I was able to get my phone into my Amphipod belt and put my car key and Starbucks card in my pocket.

Longfellow BridgeAs we walked across the Longfellow bridge we checked out the construction. The side of the bridge going into Boston is finished, but not completely open yet. The railings are nicely painted and all four towers have been re-assembled.

The outbound side is currently being re-built. Entire sections of decking are missing and re bar is being assembled to support the new decking when it is poured.

As we walked down Charles Street we passed a Starbucks I hadn’t noticed before. The one we were headed to was only two blocks away. I guess in Beacon Hill you can never have too many Starbucks!

At the Starbucks on the corner of Charles and Beacon Street we got iced coffees and Durm got some breakfast. It was nice and cool inside and a small line formed for the restroom.

Running BAA 10K 2017

We really worked the timing nicely: We weren’t in a hurry and we weren’t too early. About half-way through our coffees we headed over to the common.

There were lots of race officials in their yellow shirts and credentials in lanyards. As we approached they checked out our race bibs and barely acknowledged us.

BAA 10K 2017, Durm Cahill, Andy NagelinThis was Durm’s first BAA 10K and he wanted to walk around and check things out. There wasn’t a lot to see and the crowd was still thin. We picked up our shirts and headed for bag check.

After bag check we headed towards the corrals and saw Jessi Jimenez from the club. We chatted a bit and went our separate ways. The lines for the porta-potties were now very long so I told my self it was just nerves.

For the past few years, they have had the corrals on the sidewalk in The Commons next to Beacon Street. We used to line up on Charles Street and then take a left onto Beacon Street. They have also been using the wave system with people self seeding in the proper corral.

Durm and I got into the 8:00 to 8:59 pace corral and waited. After the first wave went and they had us move up, and I felt crowded.

A Boston Police Officer sang the National Anthem and I found a flag on an old building on Beacon Street. I wondered how long a flag had flown at that building. How many stars were on the first one?

When it was our turn to go we jogged slowly down the walk way and up to the starting mats. I started my watch and we were off!

BAA 10K 2017 mapThe race was crowded and slow through the turns. On Comm Ave we were still packed pretty tight and had to dodge slow runners and walkers.

It was frustrating at times and took a lot of strategic maneuvering as Durm and I continued to make our way. A crowded mile one came in at 8:29.

We went under Mass Ave and crossed to the right side of Comm Ave to make the turn onto Charles Gate East. The crowd seemed to thin in this large intersection.

Baystate Road was narrowed due to construction and we were congested again. Durm began to move ahead and I let him go; I was already feeling the heat and knew what was coming.

At Granby Street we took a left off of Baystate Road to go back onto Comm Ave. I barely broke my pace to grab a cup at the first water stop.

As we ran through Kenmore Square it began to heat up. From here all the way up Comm Ave to Agganis Arena there would be very little shade. As I looked up the road, I couldn’t see Durm.

On Baystate Road I hit mile two at 8:12. Not bad considering the congestion.

Going out Comm Ave we were in full sun and there was a slight incline. I hit mile three at 8:12 just before the Agganis Arena. That was encouraging as mile three is probably the toughest mile of this race.

Up ahead I could see the turn. I was on the left side of the road and knew I could get pinched as we made the hair-pin turn. There wasn’t much I could do about it and fortunately I was able to execute the turn well.

We were now headed down hill on Comm Ave. I was roasting and my legs were beginning to feel it. Sweat dripped off of my hair, so I knew I was hydrated. I just had to fight through fatigue.

I managed to pass a few people on the downhill but concluded I would not have a kick at the end of this race. I was burning it all up out here.

On more than one occasion I considered walking! I really did. I was pushing too hard, it was really hot and my training is non-existent.

Nothing hurt but everything was exhausted, including my willpower. When I got to the water stop with Gatorade, I grabbed a cup. I don’t really like the stuff but I needed it.

Mile four was down hill in the sun on Comm Ave. Even with the down hill I was beginning to fade and my mile dropped to 8:14.

Comm Ave was the long hot slog. I could feel my self slowing, but I kept passing people. Most people were more done than I was. When we went back under Mass Ave, once again I thought about walking as we went up the other side. We were almost to mile five, so how could I?

We hit mile five just after the Mass Ave underpass and I clocked an 8:29 mile. A loss of 15 seconds on the mile. The big fade was setting in.

I skipped the last water stop and wondered if that was a good idea. We were back in the shade and I was still sweating, but.

I passed the mile six sign on Arlington Street and checked my watch. I was running a little long. At the corner of Arlington and Boylston my watch chimed mile six at 8:45! A loss of 16 seconds on the mile.

It was nice to see and hear people cheering us on as we made the final turns. A few people passed me but I didn’t have the juice to put up a fight.

As I approached the finish I noticed that the course was still crowded. It wasn’t packed, but there were a lot of people finishing with me!

As we approached the announcer told us to look for Meb Keflezighi giving high fives at the finish. I didn’t see him.

My last 0.29 mile had a pace of 8:19, so I guess I had a little kick left in me.

Finishing the BAA 10K 2017

My official time from the BAA was almost exactly what my Garmin showed. Not bad.

My official time was 53:06. Just a little over my average finish time for this race, but nine minutes off of my PR for this race.

BAA 10K 2017, finishers medalIt felt good to be done! I kept moving away from the finish line and collected my medal. I looked around for other purple shirts, but saw none.

I went through the food tent, but they didn’t have very much. It was a little disappointing. I kept looking for people, but didn’t see anyone I knew.

I headed for the spot that Durm and I agreed to meet. There was a lift truck there and I layed down and propped my feet up on it’s axle. I was sweating like crazy.

Fortunately, no one came over to ask if I was all right. I hate explaining what I’m doing when I do this. After five minutes I got up and saw Durm.

He seemed like he was a bit dazed and I’m not sure he immediately recognized me. He told me he took two bottles of water and sat on the curb in the shade for a while. He looked okay, so I wasn’t worried.

We wondered around for a bit, but there wasn’t much to see. There were very few vendors and we didn’t see any of our friends from the club.

After a quick walk about we headed for the gate. On the way out we asked a guy inside the food perimeter if he would get us some water. He kindly came back with bottles for everyone.

I finished mine before we left Boston Common.

We were a little slower as we headed back over the Longfellow Bridge to Cambridge, but we felt great about the race and the beautiful day in Boston.

Run well my Friends!

Andy

BAA 10K 2015

What a day for a race! I awoke at 1:30 AM to the sound of rain through my open windows. I knew Tropical Storm Bill was coming, but had remained optimistic that TS Bill would somehow miss us.

I finally got up around 5:30 and started my routine. I had gathered my gear Saturday night, so all I had to do was get dressed and make a mug of tea with two tea bags. I had a bowl of cereal as I checked the BAA web site one more time for any updates.

“Bring it” seemed to be the phrase for the day. We’re hearty New Englanders, we know Jack. Jack Frost took his best shot at Boston and TS Bill was no Jack. “Bring it” Bill and we will run through it. Just like we ran through Jack.

BAA 10K Travels

Boston Marathon, running, BAA 10KI work in Cambridge at the Cambridge end of the Longfellow Bridge. It’s an easy drive on a Sunday morning, but I hit just about every red light.

I had to get to another race, so I parked in front of my building.

I took my key, a CLIFF bar and a bottle of water and headed over the bridge into Boston. Due to construction, the bridge was completely closed to traffic.

It’s about a one mile hike to the Boston Common. I stopped to take a few photos on the bridge and then stopped at Starbucks on Charles Street.

The place was full of runners and cops getting out of the rain. The locals looked at us kindly but as disruptors to their Beacon Hill Sunday Morning routine. Between ordering my coffee and heading into their bathroom, I must have had five conversations.

While standing at the window drinking my coffee I spoke with a local guy who was running the race for the first time. I also spoke with a guy from the UK. He was on a two-week holiday with his wife and they just happened to be in Boston for the weekend. He was looking for things to do and found the race. He actually registered at the race!

What a lucky guy. He knew nothing of the race before Saturday and fortunate for him the race had not sold out. Right place, right time.

Let it Rain

BAA 10K 2015, father's day raceI headed over to get my race shirt and futilely tried to keep my shoes dry. There were puddles everywhere. As I walked over to the bag drop area the rain intensified. There were smiles and laughs all around.

What could we do? We just came through the toughest winter in recorded history and a little rain was going to ruin our fun? Fat chance TS Bill.

As I approached the bag drop area big heavy drops ran off of the tarp. I waited until I could walk in and not get stuck under the heavy drops. Under the tarp was a few moments of relief. The volunteers handed out the bags and zip ties for us to affix our tags.

Many of us labored slowly in order to maximize our shelter time. I could have stayed there until race time. Alas, my tag was affixed and I slowly made my way to the exit. Now without my jacket, I was completely at the mercy of Mother Nature.

BAA 10K 2015, fathers day raceWhile walking over to the usual meeting spot, my clothes approached saturation. Upon arrival at said meeting spot, I found no one I knew but plenty of people to talk with.

If we stood tight against the building and turned our feet side-ways we could avoid the drip off of the roof. It wasn’t much shelter, but it was something.

About 7:50 I headed over to the corrals. Instead of lining up on Charles Street they had us line up on the wide sidewalk on The Common along Beacon Street. I stood under a tree to get some shelter and spoke with two young ladies. Then I did some stretching and got into the corral.

We were all soaked to the skin. Now and then, the rain would intensify and then let up, giving us moments of hope. Much hilarity and good spirits were evident. We may not have been in the first corral, but we were hard-core and all in. We were going to have a good time.

Tom Grilk, BAA Executive Director, was the MC, but we could hardly hear him. Someone sang “God Bless America” and “The Star Spangled Banner”, but we could barely hear them. After the singing but before we moved up we could hear the PA system shorting out from the rain. No one seemed too concerned by the odd noises coming from The Common and I did not see medical staff rushing to the scene.

BAA 10K 2015 Start

We moved up after the first group went. We bunched up on the sidewalk heading towards Charles Street and then we walked onto Charles Street. I could see Tom in the MC booth. He thanked everyone for showing up and said some people told him no one would show up under these conditions.

He said no one should expect to run a PR race today so just have fun and enjoy the experience. If we saw lightning we were to seek shelter immediately. I could envision 1,000 runners jammed into a hotel lobby or convenience store.

The start mats were just after the MC booth and we started jogging as we approached them. I started my Garmin and we were off.

It was totally jammed down Charles Street, Boylston Street, Arlington Street and even on Comm Ave. I told the guy from the UK that things thinned out on Comm Ave. I also told him last years start route. Damned Yank, he must have thought.

The rain seemed to be letting up as I began to make my circuitous way down Comm Ave. I skipped the first water stop on Comm Ave; It was way to soon and I wasn’t worried about dehydration.

We went under the Mass Ave bridge and took a right onto Charles Gate East and then a left onto Bay State Road. This runs through Boston University’s residence properties with a few businesses and private homes mixed in.

This early in the race I began to realize that when I passed a person I was really passing ten or more people each time, we were so bunched up.

We took a left off of Bay State Road onto Granby and then a right back onto Comm Ave. On Granby I grabbed a nice, full cup of water. I drank half, the rest landed on my chest. I worried about my phone in my running belt. Why had I kept it with me?

We saw the elite runners on their way back and then the rest of the lead pack began to fill in.

As we crested the Mass Pike Bridge I looked up to see the formidable, long hill out to the turn around. I felt pretty good and knew I could move up that hill.

I moved around as best I could but the road was narrow here and maneuvering was a challenge. Some people sounded terrible, some people were walking. I pushed up the hill and got into position to make the turn.

It’s pretty much a hair pin turn and you have to do it right or risk having to slow down. I moved to the outside a bit and was able to keep my speed.

As we headed down the hill that we just climbed many people were not taking advantage of the decline. My legs felt pretty good so I opened it up a bit. My speed kept getting better throughout the race. Mile four came in at 8:04. With the down-hill I managed a 7:39 mile five.

As we headed down Comm Ave to Kenmore Square I was holding my own with many and passing some. After the water stop on Comm Ave I found my friend Bill Ozaslan and then Rowena Hakkaoui. I skipped the last water stop on Comm Ave and focused on weaving through the crowd. As we approached Arlington Street I got into a good position for the turn and immediately headed across the street to get ready for the turn onto Boylston Street.

I felt pretty good and was running it in. I made a good turn onto Charles Street and pushed hard for the finish. As I approached the finish line the announcer called out my name and got the pronunciation right. Very cool.

The clock said 1 hour, but I was in the second wave and we had to wait and walk. I got my medal and did a fast walk towards the water and food. I found my other friends Paul Locke and Jeff Rushton as we headed towards the food tent. I had to move quickly as I had another race to get to.

I grabbed a bunch of food, said my good byes and headed for the bag drop. It seemed like utter chaos in there, but the volunteers were helping sort things and one of them saw my bib and pointed to my bag. Fantastic! They made us show the bag tag and our bibs before we left the tent. Another obvious but brilliant idea.

As I headed towards Charles Street I saw my friend Gail Severt and her husband Dave walking onto The Common. They came over and we chatted for a minute. It was Dave’s first 10K. I was headed to my next race and had to run. Literally.

I did a quick time down Charles Street and headed for my car in Cambridge. Everything smelled wet.

My official finish time was 51:34, 1,498th overall and 68th in my division.

Full Results Here. I’ll have my 5K recap on Tuesday.

Official 2015 B.A.A. Women’s 10K Results:
1. Mary Wacera (KEN) 32:07
2. Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 32:15
3. Diane Nukuri (BDI) 32:23
4. Caroline Kilel (KEN) 32:49
5. Tomomi Tanaka (JPN) 32:56
6. Elvin Kibet (KEN) 33:38
7. Kristen Zaitz (Broomfield, Colo.) 34.58
8. Heather Cappello (Somerville, Mass.) 34:58
9. Jennifer Rhines (Boston) 35:42
10. Katie Moraczewski (Boston) 35:58

Official 2015 B.A.A. Men’s 10K Results:
1. Daniel Salel (KEN) 28:09
2. Stephen Sambu (KEN) 28:21
3. Leonard Korir (KEN) 28:26
4. Phillip Langat (KEN) 28:27
5. Arne Gabius (GER) 28:36
6. Yonas Mebrahtu (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 28:51
7. Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 28:53
8. Takehiro Deki (JPN) 29:22
9. Parker Stinson (Eugene, Ore.) 29:24
10. Griffith Graves (Blowing Rock, N.C.) 29:31
11. Ethan Shaw (Allston, Mass.) 30:22
12. Cole Atkins (Blowing Rock, N.C.) 30:35
13. Louis Serafini (Niskayuna, N.Y.) 30:49
14. Christopher Stadler (Burlington, Vt.) 30:54
15. Andrew Erskine (Brighton, Mass.) 31:26

BAA 10K @ 8AM

Heading into Boston for the BAA 10K @ 8AM

This is a great race that I have run each year since it began. I’ve run it alone, with one friend and with a crew from the club. This year I’m running alone with 8,000 of my closest friends.

Running,racing,

Out of 8,000 runners, I recieved bib number 782. Not sure how I got that number , but it’s pretty cool. My bib also has my name on it, just like it did when I ran the BAA Distance Medley.

After I run the BAA 10K, it’s off to new Hampshire for the Smuttenose 5k. I may not have a chance to run that race as it may be over by the time I get there!

The adventure today is to try and run two races in two states in less than three hours.

Run well my friends, for I will surely be trying my best to do so.

Andy

Double booked – again

Have you ever registered for two races on the same day?

I don’t mean sitting at your computer registering for a bunch of races during lunch. I mean signing up to run two races on the same date. I did this once last year. I was signed up for the Smuttynose 6K and got an email about the AIDS Walk Boston and 5K Run. The AIDS run raises a lot of money for much-needed research and my employer is a significant sponsor. So I signed up for the 5K while at my desk at work and when I got home I realized I had already signed up for Smuttynose on the same date!

I ended up giving my bib to someone else to run the AIDS run, and I went to New Hampshire to run the 6K and get my Will Run for Beer jacket. I made a donation to a good cause, and hopefully made someone happy to be able to participate in the AIDS run. Double good karma.

Well, I’ve done it again. In January I decided to run the 2014 Will Run for Beers Series and go for the jacket again. Two years ago I ran enough races but did not sign up for the jacket. Since I knew I was going to run the races this year, I decided to get the jacket for the extra $5.00. As a result, I signed up for the Will Run for Beer Smuttynose 5K on June 22nd. It turns out, that is the same day as the BAA 10K.

I’m a streaker for the BAA 10K. This will be my fourth BAA 10K and it is the 4th year the BAA has produced this race. It is hard to be a streaker because life gets in the way, you forget to sign up etc. There were “only” 8,000 bibs available on May 1st at 10AM, so I made sure I was ready.

I was so nervous while filling out my entry that my hands were shaking. This is an important race to me and one that I enjoy. My hands were shaking because I knew the race would sell out in hours or less. If I had some sort of error or if something timed out, I may not get a second chance to register.

But I digress.

I am now signed up for the Smuttynose 5K in Hampton, NH and the BAA 10K in Boston. *&%#! The 10K starts at 8AM. My 10K PR is 46:29 on a hilly course. The BAA 10K is in the Back Bay and out Comm. Ave to BU’s Agannis Arena. There is about a mile of hill out to the turn around at BU, then down hill back to Kenmore. If I am un-injured I should be able to run this race in 46 minutes or less. That will leave me with 45 minutes to get to my car in Cambridge and drive to Hampton, NH.

The distance is 47.64 miles and should take an hour. I’m thinking that on a Sunday morning travelling at just over the speed limit I should be able to get to Hampton in 45 minutes. If all goes well I can get there just as the race starts. Part of all going well is finding a parking spot as the last guy to show up, getting my bib with minimal fuss and getting to the starting line.

road trip, runner, shoes

It’s only a 5K and I’m not worried about my finish time. I just want to run the race and collect my jacket. Do you think I can make it? Is this just totally nuts? Even if I start 10 minutes after everyone else, it doesn’t matter to me. It won’t be the first time I was the last person to cross a starting line.

I’ve all ready run 5 races in the series, which qualifies me for the jacket. Even if I miss the race I can still enjoy the party, hang with my friends and pick up my jacket. No sense getting a speeding ticket or worse.

It’s a logistical challenge. I know I can get there in time for the post race party. The question is, can I get there in time to run the race?

Run well my friends.

Andy

© 2014 anagelin