Buckeye Classic 10K Recap

Race: Buckeye Classic 10K
Distance:  10K, 6.2 miles 
Date:  November 13, 2011; 9am start time
Finish time:  1:27:19/14:05 min/mile
What sets this race apart:  The Cliffs of Insanity


Many thanks to the Lucky 13's who came out to cheer and volunteer during this race...and who are responsible for the majority of these photos.

The Gang waiting for the start

Starting line!  Are we ready to get serious yet?  Nah...

The Buckeye Classic 10K is another race put on by M3S Sports.  It's a smaller race, the field is capped at 500 runners.  It takes place in High Banks Metro Park...and involves running what a few fellow runners on dailymile have dubbed "The Cliffs of Insanity."   Put it this way, one hill is steep enough, that it is actually STAIRS.


According to my Garmin, the total assent for my run in the Buckeye Classic 10K was 1993 feet. 423 feet of that were in mile 2.  Only the 1st mile and the last 0.2 miles involved less than a 200 feet elevation gain.   In short - the perfect place in Columbus for me to be practicing for the Knoxville Half Marathon and for my Mt. Rainier climb.

Loving the cross-over point and the pavement!

I don't typically do trail runs, I'm more of a pavement gal.  Give me clear and sturdy footing please!  That being said, I actually LOVED this course.  Yes, it was a trail.  Yes, the footing was precarious if you weren't paying attention - lots of loose rocks and leaves and forest detritus.  And yet, it was absolutely beautiful!!!  Part of the trail takes you along the river, almost all of it was in the woods.  The hills were TOUGH, but the scenery was worth it.   

More pavement - that's where all my photo takers were

I was VERY glad that I brought my larger handheld water bottle.  There were only two water stops on the course...and the first one didn't come until partway between mile 2 and 3.  


So, how did I do?  Better than I expected given my current conditioning.  I still say that I was peer pressured into this race.  HA!  I ran out strong the first mile (12:15 min/mile).  The second mile was the start of the big hill, and my first walk.   In the end, I walked all the steepest hills, pushed through running all the smaller ones as well as a few of the medium to large ones.  I tried to always run on the downhill and flat sections.  In the last mile, the ball of my foot where it meets the toes started burning, however, and I had to add a bit of walking to stay mobile.  I did manage to sprint the last several hundred feet or so - getting down to a 7:32 min/mile at the end!  
Mile 1: 12:14 
Mile 2: 15:29 (enter the hill!) 
Mile 3: 15:47 
Mile 4: 14:31 
mile 5: 14:04 
mile 6: 13:08 
0.21: 10:07

Running hard to the finish!

My parents were visiting Avery this weekend and ran the race too.  Avery, Mark and Cassie came to cheer.  (I even stopped during one of the crossovers to give Avery a kiss!)  My stepmom, Janette, was 1st in her age group and my dad finished the race in 50 minutes!

Dad, Janette and Me

Some day soon I will be as cool as them.

As usual, no real swag for this race:

Shirt and medal are both pretty cool though, and the price wasn't bad for a 10K.

Bottomline:  I'm already talking about running this again next year and improving my time by 15 minutes.  And I'm talking about hikes and training runs on these same trails.  Luckily, I already have several who have said they will do it with me - if you're reading this - I'm holding you to those promises!!!

Me and Deb after the race