USATF Masters 12K Championships By Hook Or By Crook

Part of the USATF Masters National Grand Prix, this race was comprised of such fast masters talented runners. What was I thinking?!

Sandy Hook, NJ the Gateway National Recreation Area officially Highlands, New Jersey presented the landscape for this course.

It was flat and fast. The race was a late starter at 9:30am with packet pickup the day prior or morning of. There were a lot of teams represented however you didn’t have to be part of a team and could run independent which is what I did.

Not a big swag event. We got a nice t-shirt and if you were fortunate enough to place top 3 in an age group, you got a medal. Two bibs required for this event: your number and your age. Lets start with our arrival in Long Branch, NJ.

We had beautiful weather and the hotel, Ocean Place Resort was perfect for beach, pool, tiki bar, live music, boardwalk, restaurants, you name it. Perfect!

It was off season and there were no lines, no waiting although we were wise to make dinner reservations well ahead of our stay.

Saturday morning, I went for a 40 minute shake out run down the boardwalk. Another perfect day! I ran into a race just outside our hotel. It was the Beauty and the Beach 5 mile, 5K, and a walking event. It was fun to spectate rather than have to run.

We found breakfast within walking distance and it was so good! Egg white omelet no cheese as it was a “healthy choice” meal.

From breakfast we changed and enjoyed the beach until early afternoon when we drove to Rory’s Pub for packet pick up. Since there were limited options for lunch, we went just a short distance down the road and enjoyed a shared brewski (Blue Moon) and a medium sized lunch. I had grilled shrimp on top of a healthy salad.

We walked a bit, relaxed a bit then went for an Italian meal just down the boardwalk. The food was just ok, the atmosphere loud and crowded. Not our favorite place but it did the trick. There was a lot going on Saturday night so we listened to the music and watched people enjoy a beach wedding.

Race Day – Sunday

Even though the event didn’t start until 9:30 and we really didn’t have to leave the hotel until about 8:45, I was restless. Awake but stayed in bed until 6 am. At 6:15 drank the 5-Hour Energy. At 7 am, ate a Clif Bar. At 7:20, I went for a warm up run for 2 miles down the boardwalk. We left for the race at 8:15 am.

As soon as we got to the starting parking lot (E), I knew this was going to be a challenge if I wanted to keep up with the crowd. Note that keeping up with the “pack” was not in my cards. The timing would be by chip time and age graded. The goal was 80% age graded pace. Looking around, there seemed to be quite a few F55’s as my competition and they looked small, sleek, fast and fit. Made me feel frumpy (😊)

It was hot, sunny, no shade, and heading out, we had a 14 mph wind. “Ready, set, GO!” right at 9:30 am. It felt hard right from the start but I kept telling myself there were no hills and it was only 7.42 miles so I stuck with it.

The last few miles I was running with a M75, just trying to keep up with him. He made a few comments about my loud expensive shoes, etc, then as I began to fall back in the last mile, he said “hold on and try to increase your cadence” I did just that and it worked for a bit but couldn’t maintain. Still finished with a PR of about a 7:29 pace in 56:10 which was just under an 80% age graded pace. It was 79.91%.

I’m happy with how I hung on in this run. I even improved from the 20K I ran two weeks ago when that was just barely a 79% age graded run. As for this event, it was very well handled with easy packet pick up, on time start, and plenty of water stops. Just a bit scaring for the competitive runner who isn’t quite THAT competitive. Still, we keep going, keep trying and never, EVER give up.