BAA 10k

Sunday, June 26^th – 8am start

Inaugural Boston Athletic Association (BAA) 10k (6.2 miles)

Ran this one with City Sports friends Jan and Anna. Pretty convenient as this one was just steps out the door across the park. They made this a three wave start (4 minutes apart), so Jan and I planned on seeding ourselves in the first wave. After warming up and stepping in the starting corral, I glanced to my left and saw friend and fellow TMIRCEr Ray G. lined up and ready to go – he just showed up on-site and signed up that morning. I told him to move closer to the front of the pack, ha ha, he is fast. The gun soon went off, and unlike the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge (same start / finish, similar overall course except this race goes further down Comm. Ave. before turning around), there was barely any need to weave around slower runners. For the most part the “self seeding wave start” worked as Jan and I hit our stride pretty quickly. We stuck together until just about the turnaround close to mile 3 when I started to pull ahead a bit. It was great watching all the race leaders come back down Comm. Ave., one of the benefits of a turn-around type of course. On my way back I got to see friend Anna headed out for the turnaround, she had seeded herself in a later wave. And was great seeing Betty out there cheering us all on and taking pictures. Got to hang out post-race with several friends, Jan, Anna, Brian D., Ray G. and Carmel H. and made sure to visit AJ who was working the Adidas booth.

Another somewhat tough race as I continue to regain and rebuild my fitness. I averaged a 7:18/mile pace, coming in at 45:15. I’ve placed in the top 10% overall for all the other races I’ve run this year, but this day was a bit slower relative to the overall field coming in at 426^th place out of 3,040 runners, within the top 14% of the overall field. Well, maybe staying out a bit late the night before at a salsa dancing party wasn’t the best idea. Ah well, this day, first the BAA 10k then the Warrior Dash in the afternoon...

(Click on an image to enlarge)

Jan (green shirt) and I at Mile 2

Mile 4

On Boylston St. closing in on the finish line

Crossing the finish line

Nilesh, Jan, Anna

World Class Marathoners

Friday, June 24^th - 6:00pm

Leading up to the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) 10k road race, another inaugural event, three of the top marathoners in the world held a meet and greet at Marathon Sports on Boylston St. in Boston, MA just a couple days prior to the race.

Geoffrey Mutai (Kenyan)

  - 2011 Boston Marathon men's winner

  - the fastest marathon ever run - 2:03:02

Caroline Kilel (Kenyan)

  - 2011 Boston Marathon women's winner

Gebre Gebremariam (Ethiopian)

  - 2010 NYC Marathon men's winner

It was very inspiring to have met them, shake each of their hands, receive their autographed photos and hear them speak and answer questions about their training and racing. Both Mutai and Kilel would go on to win the inaugural BAA 10k that Sunday morning.

(click on picture to enlarge)

City Sports run club buddy Betty graciously let me jump in her picture.
(l to r) Gebremariam, Mutai, Kilel

Autographed photos.

Spectacle Island 5k

Saturday, June 18^th – the Inaugural Spectacle Island 5k (3.1 miles)

Signed up for this run with fellow City Sports run club veterans Anna, Betty and Jan. We were also joined by Jan’s wife who ran the 5k and their two adorable young girls who ran the kids run. Met early at the pier to hop on a ferry for the 15 minute trip out to Spectacle Island located in the Boston Harbor. Also saw my buddy and fellow TMIRCEr Adam S. at the pier who came out for the run as well. This was the day of the celebration parade through the city for the Boston Bruins' recent Stanley Cup win, so lots of black and gold through the streets before and after the ferry to the race.

There’s not much on the island itself except for a visitor’s center, two drumlins (small hills) and a mixed gravel / dirt path in and around the island. It’s a small, very peaceful island. In fact the island is so small, the 5k course required making two loops of the outer perimeter to cover the entire distance.

For an inaugural event, the race was well organized. No timing chips for this one, just simple, old school bib numbers. The course was pretty much gravel and dirt paths the whole way with a couple tiny hills / inclines. There was no tree cover either, and with the weather being so hot and humid this made me struggle. My first two miles were right around a 7:00/mile pace, but that third mile I slowed down considerably, closer to a 7:30/mile pace. Ouch, ah well – a couple people passed me that last mile or so which took me out of age group contention.

The deal for the race was pretty good: $25 got the ferry ride to and from the island, the race, a t-shirt and a bbq lunch (though the veggie burgers left something to be desired). They gave out awards to top overall man/woman and age group three deep. Adam S. took 1^st in his AG and came in 2^nd overall (strong work!). Jan also took 1^st in his AG (11^th overall), and Betty took 2^nd in her AG (20^th overall). Anna ran a great race and I came in 15^th overall, keeping me well within the top 10% of the overall field of 247 runners.

I wasn’t feeling myself fully that day, and didn’t prepare as well as I normally should have for a race from a nutrition and hydration standpoint, but had a nice outing with friends nonetheless.

Finish time for 5k (3.1 miles): 22:32 -- 7:16/mile pace

Pictures below (click on an image to enlarge).

Jan, me, Anna, Betty - ferry ride to Spectacle Island

Arriving on the island

Making my way to the starting line (credit Justin Knight Photography)

Coming around the island perimeter, Jan (bright green shirt) on my heels with
Boston Harbor and the John Hancock and Prudential tower in the far distance.
(credit Justin Knight Photography)

Runners make their way along the ocean side of the island perimeter.
(credit Justin Knight Photography)

Post-race shot