Bill Luti 5 Mile Road Race

Yesterday I ran a road race – The Bill Luti 5 Miler in Concord, NH. Compared to the races I’ve been running in lately, it was a very small race… In other words, there were not 60,000+ people there like there were at Peachtree, but nonetheless it had a very fun atmosphere. A race sponsored by a local dentist and local restaurant chain, there was an inflatable tooth near the finish and registration and restaurant gift certificates given as prizes. A good amount of the participants had run for the local running coach legend Bill Luti, who fired the gun for the race. I had the pleasure of speaking to Bill after the race, who turns 90 this year. He doesn’t look any older than 65 and reminded me of the legends from my home state of Michigan who defy the aging process by staying active and engaged in the world of running and track and field. I’m referring to Kermit Ambrose (a coach and official in Michigan) and Red Simmons (coach that started women’s track team at the University of Michigan, and now attends every Michigan athletic event), who are 100 and 101 years of age respectively. It was pretty awesome to be part of a race dedicated to such a legend here in New Hampshire, and made me feel a little more like a local to New England.

Only an hour drive from Hanover, the race was a perfect distance to get in a good effort without having to use up everything in the tank. Broe wanted me to find a small race in the area, and this was the perfect fit. I took the race from the gun and ran 24:35 for the win and a new course record by 35 seconds. The first mile was downhill, but after that the course was fairly challenging as it presented a 600m hill right after the mile mark, and rolling hills the last 2 miles. Plus, I made a wrong turn at the finish! You see – the race finished at the High School track and they had a clock set up at the finish line. So when you turn off the road at the end of the race, a row of cones lead you around the fence that lines the outside of the track… So I’m thinking, ok, which gate is going to be open to let me in?? As I passed 2 gates, locked, I kept scanning the fence line and finally saw an opening around the 100m start line, so I took it. Now on the track, I finally look up and see that the finish is actually outside the track where I had just been running!! I checked over my shoulder and saw second place was still on the other side so I backtracked and ran the final straight properly. Everyone was yelling at me, but you know how that goes when you’re late in a race… I thought they were cheering for me, until that moment when I looked up and actually saw that I was running the course wrong… Then I just felt dumb.  It was definitely my fault for not knowing where the finish line was, but I could’ve sworn the announcer said the race finished on the track, not on the outside of the track. I’m just glad it didn’t come down to a sprint finish! I am also glad I learned my lesson for future tricky road races…

Happy Gilmore Check.

Next on the agenda for me is undecided. The most likely scenario is another local road race sometime in-between now and Falmouth, which is a big 7 mile road race in Falmouth, MA on August 13^th. There is also a mile attached the night before the road race, so maybe even a double..? I have to decide soon so Broe and I can properly adjust my training schedule, but all of what I’m doing now is geared toward the US 5k in mid-September. That will likely be the last race of my summer season.

-Lex