Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Run 2018

Let me start by saying RunBucks does an awesome job organizing races. They tend to be not very expensive, and they cut out the junk, while having awesome food at the finish.

I also like this organization because I often bump into friends at the race.

Gabrielle and Sandra

At 4 miles, the distance is fun. It is a small stretch from my usual 5K (3.1 miles) training runs, but not such a stretch I have to do a bunch of extra training.

The race course is the same as it was in 2016 and 2017. One difference was this year Don did not run it with me. Last year the temperature was in the 20s. This year it was a seemingly 40 degrees at the start, but very windy (17 mph winds). On Friday we had a winter nor-easter, meaning lots of wind, but also some snow. Accumulation wasn't much, but the wind took down lots of trees, branches, power lines, etc. The organizers were kind enough to email us last night to say they checked the course. There were some small branches down (unlike the tree that blocked the 15K course last summer), and one puddle "that should be blow dried by the start," and indeed it was. 

My hope was the wind would be in my face for the "out" and at my back for the the "back." That was pretty true, except for the part on the canal was protected enough by the trees that I didn't notice the wind in my face, or at my back. When I did really notice the wind was during the last third of the last mile when we were pushing ourselves to the finish line. 

I set my personal goal of finishing sub-44 minutes. I passed the clock at the finish line and it said 43:50, but the official finish time was 43:55. My official chip time was 43:14, and my GPS said 43:20. The race sold out, but the day before the race they said they had a number of deferrals so people could buy a bib day of for $40 (cash). Hopefully soon they will post how many people actually ran it. Last year I was 43:40. I did not walk any part of the course this year, which is a small victory for me.

My biggest problem was I lost a glove on the course. Must have been on the way back because I would have noticed it if I ran over it on the way back. As I started to retrace my steps I asked a woman if she saw it. She said she did, and that she nearly picked it up but didn't. It was "less than a mile back." A mile back, then another mile back to my car, hmm... is it worth it for a "throw away glove?" Oh yes it is since one glove does no one any good, and since I hate to litter. 

As I found my glove, I also saw these beauties in the lake:

I was able to collect my glove and still make it home in time to take the girl to school in time for the matinee.

Unfortunately I also lost my Bondi band phone holder, but found two phone holders someone else left behind. I was encouraged to take one home. So if some reading this is looking for theirs, post a reply to this and I'll get it to you. If someone reading this found mine, I'd love to swap.

Three more comments:

1) The bathrooms, which have always been open, were not. The park ranger who drove by told us to "call maintenance" to see if they could turn it on. And how were we supposed to reach them on a Sunday morning? He then said they may have turned the water off because it was a really cold winter. Maybe? The race organizers thought the indoor plumbing would be open. At least there were port-a-potties.

2) A man trying to get on the Bucks County ticket for the next election was out collecting the 1,000 autographs he needed to get on the Democratic ballot. I thought that was a brilliant way to find lots of locals. Unfortunately he kept talking to people from New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Virginia.

3) The lack of water stops was odd. It was 40 out. I thought they had water last year when it was in the 20s, but I might be mixing up races. Seemed odd for them.

Get out there! It is definitely better than it was on Friday.