St Jude's Sweet Corn Festival 10K

I haven't run this race in a few years but since I go to this church it used to be one of my go to races. Things have happened in the last few years like work commitments etc.. that kept me from participating. Since the last time I ran the race, they had moved the race location from its former location to the local Catholic High School. This was a wise move as parking at the other location was horrible and the route was filled with traffic. I was happy to be able to participate this year. I registered for the 10K but since I am in the middle of training for another ultramarathon I knew I would have to make up some miles.

Bright and early race morning I donned my camelbak and headed out on the 7.5 miles from my house to the start of the race. I took it nice and easy just warming up prior to the race. It was nice to run down one of the busiest streets in town before the sun came up.

I made to the high school about 30 minutes prior to the 0730 start and I used the facilities, picked up my timing chip and milled around. I saw my friends Brian and Kris and they let me stash my camelbak in their car for the race itself. Eventually we all moved towards the start where the national anthem was song and an invocation was given. A color guard was provided by the Knights of Columbus which was cool.

The 10 K route followed the 5K route and then we did another loop before finishing. At the start we headed out the school parking lot and took a left for about 200 meters then another left to follow a residential street for about 1.5 miles. We then took a right and headed uphill for another mile or so through a business park eventually turning right through a large parking lot. This is where the one aid station was located. We then took another right and headed back downhill for a little over a mile. I really tried to let it go on the downhill as I was feeling pretty good during the race and wanted to give a good effort. At the bottom of the hill we 10K participants had to repeat this loop. I  passed the 4 mile mark in under 30 minutes. As we headed downhill on the second loop we had to veer off into a neighborhood for about .4 miles to make up the 6.2 mile distance. They had thrown a little mental surprise in for us and this little jog off route was mostly back uphill. No big deal though as eventually it was back down the hill and a right into the parking lot to the finish. I finished in 44:47 which is a 7:13 minute mile average and my fastest 10K for the year.

 I hung around after the race a bit and cheered my friends on. Brian set a 10K PR and Kris came in second in her age group, excellent work. I talked to them for awhile then I grabbed my camelbak and ran the 7.5 miles home then added about 3 miles of trail running in Beverly Park to finish off for a total of 24 miles for the morning. I really liked what they have done with this race and will run it again next year.