55:10

This past Friday was the day of Nike’s Human Race.  The event took place in 24 cities around the world, including Ohio State University’s campus.  The other two US locals were USC’s campus in Los Angeles and New York City.  The average pace time for the 3,500+ people who participated in NY’s run was 1:02:55, so I was above average!  My time was 55 minutes and 10 seconds, not a fantastic feat as track and field goes, but for me I was completely stoked.  I’ve never been a runner, and the furthest I’ve ever run in one go was just over 3 miles.  A 10k is equivalent to 6.2 miles, more than double my longest run ever.  My goal was to break the one hour barrier (and to beat Tom’s time in the Brisbane 10k from earlier this year), and I accomplished it at a 9 mph pace!

Note: This picture taken before the pain and misery of that last mile

Several members of Psi Omega from the house did the run together.  It began almost a month ago with the announcement of Columbus being one of the 24 worldwide cities for the race.  The first several hundred participants to sign up were given a one-piece full-body red jumpsuit to run in.  For our $10 entry fee we also got a t-shirt, and a racing shirt with our own number on it.  Quite a deal for $10!  And there was an after party and lots of Nike promotions leading up to race day.  Check out Nike’s overview on OSU’s performance.

The forecast for the day was 100% chance of thunderstorms during race time, and it had rained off and on throughout the day.  It appeared like the rain was going to hold off for the race until we had just crossed the starting line.  At that moment the heavens opened up on us and it absolutely poured for about one minute.  After that though the rain let up and the rest of the night (and 6 miles) was nice high 50s/low 60s weather.  But the only reason this race was so much fun (and the only reason I was able to finish at 55min) was the people I ran with.  Our group made sure we had a great time running, and we kept each other going.  We also had some great fans on the sidelines watching us and cheering us on, thanks!  After the race, the rest of the night became a huge party celebrating our victory over the 10 kilometers, and more good times ensued!  Maybe I’ll do another one of these races if I’ve got a good group of people to run and train with, but not for a while.  I am terribly sore.