May 8, 2021. It was a last minute decision to sign up for a race in Manchester, New Hampshire. Also an opportunity to see my nephew Sam and just an nice overall getaway.
Manchester is a clean, seemingly safe spot to visit. We stayed only two nights but enjoyed the area for walking as well as running. It’s on the Merrimack River with walkways and trail paths to enjoy which follow the river.
We stayed at a TRU by Hilton which was clean, minimal formalities, and extremely convenient to the Anthem race venue, right across the street at Arms Park. We walked to nearby restaurants. Dinner at FireFly and breakfast at Resurrection Café.
The race itself was a charity run for the love of dogs which is a unique 501( c )3 non-profit founded in 2004 by Rottweiler lovers. They offered live GPS tracking through RaceJoy. Registration included a custom finishers medal, ¼ zip long sleeves shirt, a beer if desired and a free Playa bowl sample. The course is flat with a total 248 elevation gain. Along with the 10 mile run was the 10 mile relay and the 10K races.
The 10 mile race started at 8:30 am at Arms Park, right on Commercial St for a mile, then right onto Line Drive where runners would run across a long bridge to get onto the Manchester rail trail (Piscataquog to the Rail Trail at Goffstown). It was a straight and packed ground path. There were not so many runners that the course was crowded and maintaining social distancing was easy. We were assigned wave, bib and cone numbers to start. Wave 1 was the 10 milers and relay. I was bib 149 and cone 18.
I still continue to suffer from extreme race anxiety which translates to a very sleepless night, up and down at least 4 times. It’s frustrating as well as a huge deterrent when signing up for any race. I seem to always question if I really want to put myself through it again. Anyway, after that sleepless night, I got up at 5 am and ate a Clif Bar. I would have the Clif Bar then nothing else but a SIS energy gel before leaving the hotel at 8:10 to line up for the race at Arms Park.
There were quite a number of runners heading out with their dogs (it made me wish I had Zoey with me). No one got in anyone’s way and it was nice to run a race with the distraction of doggy runners. We started one at a time for distancing purposes. I headed out and was passed within a mile by a couple of runners. I had my PacePro Plan loaded on the Garmin for a 10 mile goal race pace so the earbuds would be my pacer. I was well ahead for the first part of the race. As usual, the first mile or so was the most uncomfortable but I was also running faster so I never really fell into a nice zone. It was work all the way.
Mile splits:
7:50, 7:49, 7:44, 8:03, 8:09, 7:47, 7:39, 7:41, 7:41, 7:46. 1hr 17min and 2 sec. Pace Pro was set for 1:17 so I was thrilled. Ave pace 7:42.
When I passed any runner along the course I wondered if it was a wise move and could I hold the lead over them to the end. There was one man inparticular who passed me at the beginning. I came up on him with about 2 miles to go thinking “I’m going to surge past right at the end” and I did. As I saw the turn into Arms Park ahead, I ran right past him.
First in age group “bling” received in the mail 2 weeks following the event.
This was a really good race in every way. The charitable cause, the swag, the course, the hotel location, it all fell into place just right. Highly recommended event for anyone looking for that mid range race or training run.
Joanne
