Runner's Den 5&5 or Double Nickel

Runner’s Den 5k & 5 Miler (Double Nickel)
This race represented everything I remembered about running when I lived back East (technically Ohio is not all that east, but compared to Phoenix). Several hundred not several dozen people showed up. Roads were closed; the local police worked the corners. It was a REAL race. Now I know that not all races can be big and this wasn’t what I would call a big race, more of a medium race. The half marathons I’ve entered lately have been BIG races. I really needed a medium sized race. The little races have been inconsistent due to weather or unscheduled course changes, etc.
This race featured something I’ve never done before…you can enter BOTH races they have. Usually this behavior is frowned upon and the start times are too close to do it even if you wanted to. However, the 5k and 5 miler start an hour apart with the 5k first. The starts of the two races were only feet apart but because you go two different directions to start they separate them; you use the same finish for both.
It had rained last night and the road was still wet so the 5k course had me a bit worried. The course involved not one, not two, but three 180 degree turn arounds; the first coming maybe a hundred yards into the race. I made it a point to start at the front of the 5k because of this potential bottleneck. I intended to run the 5k at a training pace, as did many of the other people I was talking to before the race. However, my competitive spirit kicked in at some point and next thing you know it I’ve run the fastest race of the season. The 5k featured a very fast field, I saw several dozen sub 18 times on the post race unofficial results. I’ll check later today to see just how many. Yesterday I ran a race where I finished 10th overall with a time in the 24 minute range, today I finished 11th in my age group running a 21:44! Oddly enough I don’t like being in front of races; I guess I’m not THAT competitive.
The T shirt was a simple but nice red cotton T that I will actually wear again. The double race, called the double nickel, didn’t require you to fully pay twice, you just paid six dollars more and you weren’t stuck with an extra T-shirt or two numbers.
The course goes through the suburban neighborhoods and other than the turns was pretty pleasant. The road was wet but in good shape otherwise. One thing I don’t miss about running back East is the pot holes and manhole covers. The races were timed with the D tag system and the production company was the one that has the TV monitor with results instantaneously. It was nice to finish, grab a drink and walk straight over to the scrolling screen to see who you placed. I’m a statistics nerd and this definitely feeds my needs!
This was my favorite race of the year and earned a solid A from me. I’m hopeful that my new city has more races of this quantity and quality ahead. I met some good people and I’ve added some more familiar faces. I’ll be hitting the road soon and logging some new locations on to my Half2Run account (google that if you’re not familiar with it, cool concept).