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Penn Relays Distance Classic 20K Recap

April 17, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

4/17/11

12.5 miles

1:46:10

8:30 avg pace

I used this race as a pseudo-marathon paced run.  I’ll explain the “pseudo” part later.  I didn’t want to go all out with my marathon just 2 weeks away.  This race is very odd but fun at the same time.  The last time I ran it was 2009.  Instead of boring you with a play-by-play of the race, I’ll just give you a few race highlights.

  • There were about 100 people running the 20K.  I swear.  It’s the smallest race I’ve ever done.  There’s no chip, no spectators, no pictures, and 2 water stops on the course.  Hard core.
  • The people that run this race are FAST.  I have never seen people go out so fast at the start of longish race.  I’m talking 5K pace.  I wanted my overall pace to be 8:30 (hence the pseudo part…my marathon pace is around 8:40) so I succeeded in that respect but I went about it all wrong.  I wanted to start out running 8:50 and then take it down from there; just like I’ve done on every training run and exactly what I plan on doing come marathon day.  Riiiight.  Since everyone took off like lightening, if I would have stuck to my 8:50 plan, I would have been at the back of the pack.  It’s crazy.  So my first mile was 8:23.  Boo.
  • My miles were pretty consistent after that but I much prefer starting out slow and picking it up during the last few miles.
  • The best part of the race is the stadium finish.  I LOVE a stadium finish!  You get to run the last 1/4 mile around Franklin Field, where the Penn Relays take place.  It’s incredible.
  • I’ll probably know my official results in about a week, if I can find them online.  Like I said, this is a super no frills race.  I’m pretty sure it’ll be 1:46:10 since I was at the front when the whole “ready, set, go” went down.
Here are some pics.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous.
Early morning at Franklin Field
Franklin Field
This is where we entered the stadium for the "grand" finish!
Another pic of Franklin Field post-race with the sun shining.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 20K, goal marathon pace, NJ Marathon, Penn Relays Distance Classic

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kara says

    April 17, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    The marathon I did last month was like that: no chip timing, no frills, and FAST. I was all the way at the back of the pack and I was running 9:15 miles at first. Crazy!

    Great run, you are going to rock that marathon!

    Reply
  2. Julia says

    April 17, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    Great race! I hope I can find a stadium-finish race to do some day…they seem so awesome! Getting excited for your marathon!!!

    Reply
  3. LeeAnn says

    April 17, 2011 at 4:35 pm

    Congrats on a great race!

    Reply
  4. Ken says

    April 21, 2011 at 9:55 am

    Hey are you the girl that was wearing the orange shirt? I’m the black guy you were running with and we talked about how fast everyone was going. Wasn’t it insane?! I finished at a 1:45ish or so. Not bad for a a guy pushing 190lbs. The only thing I took from this race is that I need to DROP WEIGHT cause I know I’m stronger than alot of those runners out there…just too much junk in the trunk I suppose. 🙂 Good luck on the marathon! I’ve got a 50k at PennyPack park and a 50miler in early June.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Week 15 Recap « Run The Long Road says:
    April 19, 2011 at 8:40 am

    […] Penn Relays Distance Classic 20K Recap […]

    Reply
  2. Random Thursday « Run The Long Road says:
    April 21, 2011 at 6:45 am

    […] Penn Relays Distance Classic 20K Recap […]

    Reply

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