Today was the mostly flat annual Charles run of 7.5 miles along with a 5K run. It brought out about 1400 runners on a beautiful sunny morning in the high 60's.
I had run the last 2, so I wanted to compare my times (since I've been running slower and slower so far this year). Marj opted out for a 10 mile training run and would meet me at the finish. I picked up my packet yesterday afternoon at their expo and had a chance to talk to Bill Rogers who was handing out autographed pictures of himself (crossing the line at one of his Boston wins) and autographed race posters. Bill is a very friendly guy and, while others waited 'patiently' in line we reminisced abut mutual friends and races of 30 years ago.
This morning we jockeyed for a parking spot and I lined up at the back with a few other 'vintage' runners. We started out with the 5K runners and diverged at the 2 mile mark. I kept a fairly steady pace slowing down slightly on the one minor hill.
I finished 19 seconds faster than last year and 2 minutes faster than 2 years ago!
After the race there was a BBQ, but beer was available for purchase (it took place at an American Legion post). Marj and I stood around with Mary and Ted T. and Robin Travers (none the worse for her trail adventure yesterday).
Awards were one deep (traditional) for that race. But when the got to the 70+ age group (no women in that group today) the RD acknowledged all of us (I was 3rd out of 4) and even bought me a beer. All finishers in the 7.5 received an attractive medal. Unfortunately, they ran out and the back of the pack didn't get one. However, the RD, promised to send us an e-mail and buy more for those who missed out.
So, all in all, another wonderful day of road racing in New England.