NAME: Four on the Fourth.
COURSE: Caperton Trail, Monongahela Boulevard past the WVU Coliseum, down Beechurst Avenue to the Seneca Center, turning at the end of the center and finishing back on the Caperton Trail.
RACE: It was overcast before the race started at 8:30 a.m. Then it got hot and humid quickly. While the trail was shaded, the rest of the race was on some of the busiest streets in Morgantown, W.Va.
This was the first time the race was held, and Morgantown Running did a great job organizing it.
The second and third miles were clearly marked, as were the turns.
The trail lead to two hills, first a small one with moderate incline. The second was a long incline that in truth was slightly steeper than the first hill. It looked like a monster hill but it wasn’t as bad as it looked. The third mile was mostly downhill with a flat at the end.
This races was part of the 2013 Morgantown Area Grand Prix series. It’s a challenging addition to the series that I hope grows in popularity.
The race included a two-miles walk, which started a minute after the run and went in the opposite direction. This was nice as the runners didn’t have to jockey for trail space with the slower walkers.
A one-mile fun run for the kids followed. According to the race information, the first-place boy and girl were to win a free pair of Brooks running shoes.
Random prizes where given out during the four-miles run and two-mile walk.
HOW I DID: Negative splits! I admit I walked up part of the monster hills. I shouldn’t have, but it helped me gather my energy for a last push at mile three. I was two seconds behind someone I tried to catch, I just needed five more feet and I would have got her.
This was a personal record over my August 2012 four-mile run, which I walked. I’m very proud of my time, because I didn’t start out too fast and pushed myself at the end.