Hospice Race 2007

Running in the Hospice Race

The hospice race is my favorite local race. I'm not sure why that is but I know it is a combination of the time of year (May), the course (one way, constantly rolling and beautiful farmland scenery) and the post race party (all the pizza you want!, and veggies and fruit too).

The hospice race is a 10k which is the shortest distance I enjoy running in a race. I usually don't start feeling good till after about 4 miles. At this race I see all my usual running acquaintances and some folks that I only see at this race.

Runners ride a bus from the Lewis Theater to the Greenbrier Valley Airport and then run the race back to the Lewis Theater along Fairview road. Last year my time was 46 minutes plus. I was hoping to break 45 minutes. We had a beautiful day. I had been out early that morning hunting turkeys. I had heard several but they wouldn't cooperate so I headed to Lewisburg.
The turnout was about normal for the last few years with almost 60 runners. I had several friends there, Lee (race director), Milton (ultra marathoner), Todd (Nice guy and super fast), and Kenny. My good friend Kenny was there. Kenny and I are bound by the fact that we both got into the running craze about the same time, lost weight, and are now well into the addicted phase of running. Oh and we both love our Garmin 305 GPS watches!


I carried my little $20 digital camera through this race. I lined up sort of near the front and we took off from the start. Kenny and I were talking and didn't really notice the race was about to start. We said our goodbyes after Lee's car horn signaled the beginning of the race. I was somewhere in the top 20 as we left the airport. Below you can see race director Scruggs and the runners at the start of the Hospice race.



I was really doing good on pace as I was trying for anything under a 7:25 min/mile pace. I was hanging at about 7:15 to 7:20 for the early part of the race. I caught up to Milton and we ran together for a little bit. Milton had already run from the Lewis Theater to the Airport as a warm up (6 miles!). I think he had also run a 50 mile race the weekend before. I was able to get around him and continued to pass a few folks till I finally settled into a spot.

About mile 4 I passed one guy who I had been struggling to catch. He was the young guy who had out sprinted me right at the end of the Great Greenbrier River Race the weekend before so i got a little revenge in. I then noticed I was chasing two guys and a young boy. There were a hundred yards or so in front of me. I wanted to catch them. Especially the boy. I knew he couldn't have been over 14. I thought he may even be 11. I found out later that he was 13. I kept thinking I know he's going to wear down but he didn't. The two guys that were with him caught him with about a half mile to go and passed him. So I finished several seconds behind a 13 year old. What a great talent he will be in the future!

I could see the race clock as I approached the finish it said 44:45 but it was too far away to make it there in 45 even. I took the picture below just as I finished the race. In the picture my Mom is taking a picture of me (right side). Thanks for coming Mom! I finished in 45:19, 12th overall, and first in my 30-34 age group (I think I was the only one!). The post race party was fun but soon it was time to head to my girls soccer games. Another enjoyable Hospice race in the bag.