So as I continued my weekend of running by doing two 5Ks in
one weekend, which by the way I would gladly do again and add another one for a
3 5K weekend, I rested and healed up my ankles, knees and claves for the Sunday
run. I pretty much just bathed in ice and Biofreeze as well as taking some
Aleve to heal and rest up for the next run.
So Sunday I ran the Yuengling 5K Octoberfest in Bethlehem
which started around 10:30 AM and attracted about 5000 runners, the biggest 5K
Ive done yet. The day before when I went to pick-up the race packet, which
included bib, shirt and beer mug…yes a beer mug, it was packed and took about
45 minutes to get everything. So I met up with my friend Tony, who does a fair
share of his own running, early in the morning before the race. It was extremely
cold, about 40 degrees, and it wouldn’t have been bad if it weren’t for the
wind which was giving a major chill to the bones. The biggest thing we wanted
to do was to make sure we were stretched and warmed up so we didn’t freeze up.
The level of runners were all over the place and I had heard
there were a number of people from other states who came in just for this
particular race. They had different areas set-up for the different running times
named after items associated with drinking/bars (ex. 7 min runners were station
at the Growler station and 9 min runners were at the Pitcher station, and so on).
Since I had run the day before and was still a bit banged up I decided to do
the 9 minute pace mile group.
The nice thing was each section had its own start time so as
to keep the groups from crowding on top of one another when running and trying to
get through the timing gate. So as we began running the pain in my right foot
subsided, which I think was due to help from the Aleve and the compression
socks, and I started to feel good about the race in general. I heard later from
Tony that about the 1.5 mile mark he lost sight of me and that he fell, but
managed to roll and keep running. There were only a few hills, nothing major I thought,
but all in all a nice flat run. The only thing during the run that was a bit
congested was the water station where a lot of new runners didn’t understand
the concept of keep running and grab, go and drink without stopping. There were
to many that just slowed down and stopped in front of people to get the water.
A bit frustrating, but I cant be to upset because they were new and didn’t know
any better.
As I ran through the mass of people I found a strange desire
to keep going and to keep pushing myself locking onto a person in front of me
and then passing them and then another and then another. When I saw that final
stretch I just started booking it as fast as I could to avoid those last few
seconds added onto my time. Of course right before the timing plate you crossed
over was a turn with smooth bricks, so all I could think as I ran past the
hundreds of people cheering was please don’t let me fall and look like a
complete idiot because that would be really embarrassing, lol. Thankfully I didn’t
fall and shaved some seconds off my time which when it was all said and done
turned out to be a better time than the one I did before, so I was pretty happy
for that. I will have to say that as I was running I also paid attention to the
person who was in the lead as he went passed us all and I have to admit that
his stride and form was freaking excellent, I was a bit envious, Im not gonna
lie, lol.
It was a nice flat route and once you made it to the end you
got a german gingerbread cookie as your medal it was nice. Now the race itself
and everything was good however the worst part came after the race when everyone
went to cash in their two free drink coupons you got for doing the race, I mean
after all it was an Octoberfest and was sponsored by Yuengling so it would make
sense. Now here is where the logisitics of it got bad. Imagine 5000 people
standing in line to get their free beer and the place to get this beer was the
size of two port-o-potties put together and only a few taps so you could be in
line for hours just waiting for your free beer. This wasn’t worth it for Tony
and I so we just bought our own, gave our tickets away to those braving the
line, grabbed some wiener schnitzel and potato pancakes and of course you need
applesauce with it. 
There were a lot and I mean a lot of angry people about the
whole situation and they let it be known to the event organizers. I will have
to say that the event organizers listened and even responded to everyone in an
open statement on their facebook page ensuring it would not happen again. I
know for a fact it wasn’t their fault as I have attended many races and music
events at this location and they have their own agenda and aren’t for the people
it seems like, well there will be a next time and Im sure the race promoters
will make sure its done properly.
Thank you and be safe running,
JB
No comments:
Post a Comment