US 10km trail championships

I headed down to NC this weekend to act as the USATF liaison for the 10km trail championships. The Continental Divide race in Laurel Springs NC also hosted last year and I was the liaison so I was looking forward to going back. Last year I had just started running after my stress fracture, this year I was doing “slightly” better…running a small amount after the return of my plantar fascia woes.

Anyway, I headed down on Thursday night and spent a fair amount of Friday seeking out some county high points and fire towers and driving a chunk of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I got to the race site in the early afternoon and checked in with Jason Bryant. Jason and his wife Alison had completed everything and there wasn’t much for a liaison to do other than relax and give the race a try. I had decided mid-week that as long as my PT gave the okay, I’d give it a shot. Bob gave me a thumbs up and a “2 day tape job” when I saw him on Thursday so I was set.

Race day was foggy, humid, but not particularly hot and TiVO and I headed out with Jared Scott (Flagstaff, AZ) for a nice easy 2 mile warm-up. I had already taped up, so a quick change into my Inov-8’s and a mile of loosening up and I was ready to go. I got in the second row at the start and off we went.

The first half-mile was mostly downhill and mostly very run-able. I kind of eased into the race and by the half-mile was around 25th place. Then the climbing started, and I moved by a few fast starters. This course was either up or down, there were very few moments of flat ground. I prefer all uphill races where you can get into a rhythm but this course was so much fun with twists and turns and massive ups and downs. I got passed on the downhill and that would be the only person to pass me after the first half-mile (and I ended up passing him back). We rolled along and it was good to have someone a little in front of me to key off of. Greg Kotzbauer (Saxapahaw, NC) would pull away on the flatter and downhill stuff and I’d pull him back in on the climbs and more technical stuff. There really wasn’t anything all that technical, certainly nothing that scared me (which if you know me means it was pretty good indeed).

We passed a couple of guys in the second half of the race and I took him on the last steep climb to move into 14th place. All in all I was pleased with the run. My foot seemed no worse for the wear, although my hip, quads and Achilles were both sore afterwards. TiVO had an excellent run, he is definitely on a roll, taking the top 40+ spot and 5th place overall. I exceeded my goal of 50 minutes running 48:58 and just missed money (top 3 40+) with my fourth place in the masters. I did take home a silver medal in the 45-49, my second silver of the year. I lost to Andy Ames (Boulder, CO) who also beat me at Mt Washington.

The race was well directed, there were no glitches in timing/scoring, the course was well marked, and there were tons of awards and plenty of food available. I hope they get the bid for next year, I’d definitely go back!

Top 3 45-49

Continental Divide 10km
USA National 10km Trail championship
08-28-10 Laurel Springs NC

1 41:59 Bobby Mack Raleigh NC
2 42:31 Ryan Woods Boone NC
3 44:22 Ryan Moravec Belle Vernon PA
4 44:51 Jared Scott Flagstaff AZ
5 45:25 Tim Van Orden Bennington VT CMS 40+

14 48:58 Dave Dunham Bradford MA CMS 40+

Masters
1 45:25 Tim Van Orden Bennington VT CMS 40+
2 45:45 Chad Newton Pisgah Forest NC
3 47:35 Andy Ames Boulder CO
4 48:58 Dave Dunham Bradford MA CMS 40+