Clyde's 10K

I ran the Clyde’s 10K yesterday. It’s the longest race I’ve been in since running the Army 10 Miler last October.

Clyde’s is a fairly decent restaurant in the heart of “downtown” Columbia, Maryland. They’ve been sponsoring the Clyde’s 10K for more than 25 years. That a local independent restaurant can compete successfully against mediocre corporate establishments in the now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t business environment of Columbia is achievement enough. That they’ve continued to sponsor such a fun, well-organized event for so long is amazing.

The Clyde’s course is hilly. Very hilly. Everyone remembers that three-fourths-mile-long uphill on Route 108 between miles 3 and 4. But it’s the forgotten two or three shorter-but-steeper hills right after that do most people in. Myself included. All those hills and some early April warmth forced me to slow my pace and to take an unplanned one minute walk break right about 5 miles. I finished in 63:15. Much slower than the one hour I was shooting for. I was a little disheartened but there were untold numbers of comely female runners in running shorts and singlets to cheer me up.

But by the end, I found my second wind, the crowd was cheering, my kid was there waiting for me, the Clyde’s post-race brunch was wonderful, and there’s always next year.

Here’s hoping next year the 50 year old can break an hour.

Update 20 Apr 04
The results for the 26th Clyde's 10K were posted this morning. While I was the slowest person from Woodstock, MD, I was not the slowest 49 year old.
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