The Cold Spring Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day was the third and final race of the Triple Crown (see my race reports for the first, the Hub 5K, and second, the Castle to River 5K). While it was hard to find any positives from my performance, it made me even more thankful when I devoured a roasted bird later that same day. Nothing beats that feeling that you have earned your dinner. And a few drinks to wash it down.
I did a three mile warm-up taking in most of the course. I run in the village of Cold Spring most days of the week so it’s a familiar course, but familiarity does not make it any easier. It just means there’s no surprises. I had a slight niggle on my right knee so decided to run in my regular road shoes rather than my Adidas Pro 4 carbon racing shoes.
As I completed my warm-up I saw a runner – Mark Maguire, a 34 year-old from Denver – who looked like he was going to be hard to beat. I have been at this long enough to instinctively know who looks fast and is fast as well as who looks fast and is not fast. If you get me.
Within 300 metres of the start, as we exited the astroturf football field at Haldane, Mark already had a 20 metre lead. I was back in 4th, already trading places with 15 year-old Alex Zamrzla. The first mile descends steeply through the centre of the village and then heads down to the West Point Foundry Preserve. Approaching the Foundry I had three guys ahead of me and the first lady, Sophie Rivaz, alongside.
Just after the first mile, which I covered in around 6 minutes according to my Strava data, the race does a U turn in the Foundry parking lot. I gradually edged past Sophie and closed down Alex. And then we started the punishing climb up Wall Street and then Paulding Street. From the Foundry car park, just a few feet above sea level, to the top of Paulding Street, the course climbs some 200 feet, in less than a mile. I ground it out and managed to catch Alex and gap Sophie.
The final mile descends back to the Haldane School and finishes right where it started. Approaching the finish area Alex opened a small lead on then took a wrong turn. Until I shouted him back. He corrected himself and then went on to beat me to 3rd place! After finishing Alex (partly) redeemed himself with his gratitude for my correcting him.
I ran 17:57.5 for 4th place and 1st masters. Mark was more than a minute in front of me. The race results are here. I set a new personal record: Alex at age 15 was the youngest person ever to beat me. My previous best, Silas at age 16, had only stood for just over a month.
Thanks to Jacquie Henderson and her team for putting on this well organized fund raiser for the Haldane School Foundation. There were 244 finishers, around 100 more than the previous year.
One small request for 2026. The course is just short of 3 miles. A lap of the astro turf field at the end will make it a true 5K.
The Hub 5K was the first of a triple crown series of local 5K races, the second being the Castle to River 5K (see my race report here) and ending with a Thanksgiving Day 5K. Now this race is as local as local can get with the start line a stone’s throw from my home. I had run the 2024 race and decided to give it a go again, not least because it was in support of a great cause, Philipstown Hub.
I decided to warm up by running the latter half to be dead sure the route. There was a chance, afterall, that I might have to lead so did not want to run the risk of leading everyone off course. Turns out I went off course twice, once at the behest of a misinformed course marshall, the other more organic.
Almost a hundred runners lined up to start and within 200 metres of being flagged off I found myself 20 metres behind my regular running pal Luke McCoubrey. Luke has a tendency to go out hard so I let him steal a lead in the hope, or expectation, I’d close him down eventually.
Chasing Luke
The first mile winds its way from the lower village to the upper village with a few short steep inclines and around 200 feet of elevation gain. I was slowly closing Luke down and was 10 metres in arrears when a course marshal called us back at an intersection and rerouted us the wrong way. Fortunately, it was a minor detour that did not impact the course distance, but it did wipe out Luke’s small advantage and certainly rattled his cage.
At Foodtown on 9D, near the first mile point that we’d covered in 6:20, I edged ahead. During the next mile I gradually increased the pressure and started to gap Luke. While Luke and I train a lot together, this was only the seond time, the first being the previous year’s Hub 5K, we had raced each other. I covered the second mile in 6:20: flatter than the first it does include a number of 90 degree turns.
Entering Haldane School the race starts to descend. The third mile winds its way back down through the village to the riverfront, finishing exactly where it started. The gradient is just prefect – not too steep as to force you to break your stride, and steep enough to make it feel (almost) effortless.
I was using some new racing shoes for the first time. I had bought my adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4s back in April to use for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in D.C. (see my race report here) only they came too late for that race. For six months they had been collecting dust in my closet as I worked on paying down the debt incurred to aquire them. I clocked 5:10 for the third mile. I almost felt vindicated for buying them. Almost.
Some 600 metres from the finish – comfortably in front to the point of being ‘out of sight and out of mind’ for Luke. I took a wrong turn. While that saved me a few metres it did mean having to navigate a few vehicles, including a neighbor’s who bellowed some encouragement from the comfort of his car, at the intersection of Main Street and Lunn Terrace.
I crossed the finish line in 18:31 with Luke around 30 seconds behind. The race results are here and my Strava data here.
This was possibly my first (and possibly last) trail race. I may have run one before but there’s increasing amounts to remember and a decreasing capacity to remember.
The race would end with a few personal records – my slowest ever 5K race and being beaten by the youngest ever runner, someone 43 years younger (yes you read it right the first time FORTY-THREE). The age differential on the podium – had I been there to collect my accolade as 2nd place finisher but for my being on a warm down – was possibly the widest I have ever witnessed.
I entered the Castle to River race for various reasons. It was a local race, raising money for a great cause (Friends of Philipstown Recreation). It was the second in a triple crown series of 5K races in my neighborhood, the first being the Philipstown Hub 5K (my race report is here) and the last a Thanksgiving Day 5K). Crowns are all the rage right now thanks to Strava and it being on the same weekend as the nationwide ‘No Kings’ demonstrations. And it was meant to be a gentle entrée to trail racing for a road racer like me. The ‘main course’ was a half marathon but that was well beyond my bandwidth.
Course map
My wife Sham was out of the country so I decided to catch the train from Cold Spring to Garrison and then run to the venue taking in miles two and three of the course (here’s the course map). It was perfect fall weather with the trails covered in leaves and the sunshine throwing shards of light through the tree canopy. I ended my warm up with some strides and then lined up in the starting corral. And then we were off.
And within a few metres (yeah metric – this was a 5 kilometer race afterall) I was chasing a 16 and a 20 year old. In the first mile, that passed through The Highlands Country Club with bemused golfers looking on as a hundred or so runners crossed their our fairway, they opened up a 30 metre gap. I clocked around 6:10 for that first mile, the last part of it steeply descending on a single track through some woods.
Just after the mile point the course then turned sharp left onto a relatively flat stone track, the Arden Point & Glenclyffe Trail. This follows the Metro North railway line heading south. I closed down and overtook the second guy, James Vandogen, but the first place runner, 16 year-old Haldance junior Silas Emig, showed no sign of giving up his 50 metre advantage. The course started to climb and around the two mile point, passed in 13:29, became a real trail race.
The single track trail was rocky, twisty, and undulating. The stuff us road runners love to hate. It was, however, ‘interesting’ in the sense of being varied and rugged. And you have to keep your ‘eyes peeled’ if you are to avoid ‘going arse over tit’. To make matters worse the final mile climbs steadily to the finish.
As I entered the last 600 metres I saw the leader some 100 metres up ahead. I rallied and tried to hold the gap. I crossed the finish line in 21:42, over 20 seconds in arrears. After congratulating Silas for beating me, and learning he’d raced a big school meet the day before, I then stood by a tree at the last turn of the course to cheer on fellow competitors. The biggest joy was to watch kids race, many beating their parents despite those parents trying not to get beat and trying not to look like they were trying not to get beat.
Tasteful wooden bling
Post race the race director Ben Drew asked me how it was. I congratulated him on an interesting course that was so well marked even I failed to get lost. While on my warn down it was suggested that maybe it was time I retire. The thought occasionally enters my mind. For a few seconds, only to get chased away.
Here is my Strava data (no crown today) and here are the Castle to River results for the 5K and half marathon.
The half marathon passes through the grounds of Castle Rock and affords amazing views of the Hudson River. This section of river is steeped in history, in particular the Revolutionary War when Americans were last fighting for ‘No Kings’. They won that time. Let’s hope they win this time.
by Paul Thompson (pictures by Shamala Thompson and Amandari Kanagaratnam)
For the first time in a many years I was pleasantly surprised with my race performance. But that feel good feeling was tempered somewhat by frustration – at not knowing what I know now at mile 9!
I love the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. It’s really tough to beat on so many dimensions – the race organisation, the competition, the course. I first did this race back in 2007 when I was a youthful 41. I won the masters category, placing 27th in 51:35. It was one of my all time best performances as a masters runner. Last year I returned and, as my race report explained, I found that while older and slower I was no wiser.
Race Expo
At the race expo the day before the race I had the honor of meeting a legend of endurance running – Bill Rodgers – who was a refreshingly candid and natural presenter. He simply rambled with little or no rhyme nor reason, speaking at tangents with little or no structure. Like me a friend said. But, unlike the politician that was the subject of mass demostrations in D.C. and across the country that same day, every sentence spoken by this running sage was loaded with emotion, integrity, and meaning. Bill is old school, the kind of old school to be treasured and well worth listening too.
Bill Rodgers (with a cold hence the mask)Stumpy (race mascot) at race expo, National Building Museum
Leadup
In the lead up to the race I was injury free and running some workouts – the occasional Mona Fartlek and mile repeats. But recent work travel to Georgia (the one whose capital is Tbilisi), London and Brussels had interrupted my routine and trimmed weekly mileage by around 20% to around 45-55. Let’s call this a travel tariff.
So as I stood in the starting corral with some 20,000 other runners – near the front thanks to a seeded entry earned off the back of my 2024 race of 60:04 (#422) – I had limited benchmarks. There were no familiar faces to follow aside from a couple of masters runners from the 2024 race. I had last raced the South Nyack 10 Miler over 6 months ago. With such irregular racing I’d long lost the knack of intuitively knowing what to do. So I set a target finish time of 60 minutes. Afterall my aim was to run a 60 minute 10 miler at age 60 (B-Day is 28 December 2025) so best I run close to that at age 59!
The race starts right next to the Washington Monument. It was humid and cloudy but, with only a hint of a breeze and temparatures in the high 50s, the conditions were almost perfect. I had warmed up by running or walking the 3 miles, with Sham, from Sham’s niece’s apartment in Columbia Heights to the start.
Race
The elite women set off 12 minutes ahead of us (so that it was considered a standalone race, good for the purpose of record ratification and USATF Championship placings). And then at 7:30am sharp we, lined up just behind the elite men (USATF Championship runners) were off. As I had an over-exuberant start in 2024 I positioned myself further back than in 2024 with an estimated 300 runners in front, around the position I expected to finish.
In the first mile we passed the Tidal Basin on our left and headed towards the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Despite starting slower than in 2024, once again I felt out of my comfort zone as though I’d set off too fast. A steady trickle of runners started passing me and continued doing so throughout the race: the race data shows 166 (202 in 2024) passed me while I passed 66 (27 in 2024) during the whole the race. I passed the mile 1 marker in 6:45 and mile 2 marker in 12:45. This suggested, and later this would be confirmed, that the mile markers were, literally as well as metaphorically, miles out! Or else the clocks at the mile markers showed the wrong time! Or both!
Like last year I scanned my fellow runners for anyone who might look like they might be in my age group (M55-59). And like last year I realized that I was older than pretty much everyone else! By a factor of two. They were old enough to be my grown up sons and daughters. They looked so young. This is, of course, a sign of advancing years. But unlike last year I felt a sense of pride that I could hang with these youngsters.
The course passes under the Kennedy Center where the race does a sudden U turn. A few hundred meters later I passed the 5K point in 18:13. Unlike the mile markers this appeared to be correct, it roughly corresponding with what my watch was telling me. And it confirmed, like last year, I was ahead of schedule and that I would pay for it in later.
Given the mile markers appeared to be inaccurate I stopped relying on them. I thought about focusing on what my watch was teeling but this of course tends to overstate the distance covered (chip to chip I think one can expect a watch to record something like 10.1-10.2 for a 10 mile race). In any case as one gets tired I think our maths (sorry math ;-)) ability deteriorates. 41:55 (minutes) divided by 7 (miles) is difficult at the best of times.
So I resolved to pace myself using other runners, in particular Chloe Connor #437 who, according to friends shouting from the sidelines, was “on for 60 minutes”. I also figured that women running 60 minutes for ten miles are, relatively speaking, much more experienced and able than their male counterparts running similar times. I’d keep Chloe in my sights for the rest of the race. Conveniently she was also slowing slightly throughout the race.
Mid race
By the half way point, reached in around 29:30, I was considering treating the whole thing as a “fast training run”. I kid myself with this idea, as I guess do many others, whenever I feel a race is not going to plan. But I’ve never actually used this option. So I kept grinding it out and tracking Chloe!
Soon after entering East Potomac Park, the pan flat peninsular opposite Reagan National Airport poking into the Potomac (and close to where the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision took place), I passed the 10K mark in 37:01 (36:51 in 2024). By now I reckoned I could get home in 60 something. I had, however, stopped competing with other runners. A steady trickle of runners continued to pass me and I did not attempt to respond. I simply kept Chloe in view and that seemed to work.
I reached the 9 mile mark in 54:50, suggesting I was on for around 60:40. As I exited East Potomac Park I had less than a mile to run albeit with a short rise in the final 400m. I heard Sham with 400m to go. And then the finishing clock came into view showing 59:30. The penny dropped that the 9 mile mark was off and that I was very close to breaking the hour. A few others around me came to this realization quicker than I and started sprinting. I was a little shell shocked and passed under the clock as it read 60:00!
Tracking Chloe Connor (#437) with 400m to go
Crossing the line I once again got to enjoy my favorite part of any race – when you finally release yourself from the pain cave and walk down the finishing funnel enjoying the fact that the pain is subsiding. Running is hard. Physically, mentally, emotionally. But that feeling at the finish makes it worth every minute. I was more pleasantly surprised than frustrated to run just outside the hour. That made ‘the fix’ better than ever.
The elite race proved to be perhaps the best 10 miler ever!. Taylor Roe ran a women’s world record in 49:53 and Charles Hicks, a dual US and UK citizen, ran a national record in 45:14. The full set of results are here orhere. The 2 minute WUSA9 news report below is a great summary of the day’s highlights.
I rendezvoused with Sham and niece Amandari in the shadow of the Washington Monument (and then bumped into Mary Wittenberg, former CEO of NYRR who’d got to experiece the race from the lead vehicle).
Amandari (R), Sham and I by Washington Monument
Sham seemed happier than I was with the result. And surprised I heard her shout at me with 400m to go (I rarely hear her shout to me in our house). She’s finding it harder to spot me while spectating, for those all important pictures and words of encouragement, as I get slower and so further down the field.
Mary Wittenberg & Alex Hetherington, Race Director for the Marine Corps Marathon
So what about the takeaways from this excursion to the nation’s capital. First, as we get older it gets harder. Second, getting slower makes it harder for our support crew. Third, I’m still on track for 60 @ 60! And finally it was my first race in which a world record was set.
by Paul Thompson (Photos by Shamala Thompson and Rockland Road Runners)
In the autumn (fall does not have the same ring to it) of my running career I have come to enjoy local low key races. This race, put on by Rockland Road Runners, under the capable tutelage of Bill Carpenter, is one of those races. I ran it in 2023 and vowed to return. So here I was standing on the start line, alongside Chris Fischer, with whom I’d trained throughout the first year of the pandemic. There was no start line gantry, no heavily policed corrals, no pushing and shoving. Just well behaved runners.
The 2023 race was my first real, in-person, race since we had gotten locked down. A combination of an over exuberant first few miles – I put that down to lack of race practice such that my auto pilot malfunctioned – and a sweat fest of a day left me with 61:30. This year I figured I was at a similar level of fitness but ought to run faster with smarter pacing, with help from Chris, and great conditions. My plan was to run even pace and get under 60 minutes. I’d run 60:04 in a poorly paced Cherry Blossom 10 Mile in Washington D.C. in April so I thought this was in my wheelhouse. Chris decided he’d run with me and, depending on how he felt and whether there was anyone worth chasing, then put the hammer down.
Warming up. The only time I was in front of Chris and able to talk.
The route is an out and back course from Franklin Street Park in South Nyack. You can view the elevation change interactively on this Strava Route. The first mile descends 100 feet to River Road. The next 7 miles, out and back to the tip of the Piermont pier (where the longest railroad in the US terminated and from where US troops embarked to Europe in WWII as this video explains) are flat and fast with just a few sharp turns. After re-entering South Nyack, from mile 8.3 to the turn onto the Esposito Trail at mile 9.1 it climbs about 120 feet. The last mile is a gradual downhill on the trail. Not that you’d notice.
After a fast first mile in around 5;45 Chris and I settled into an even pace of 6 MPM along River Road. Chris was keen to race a few people so we started duking it out with one guy. We passed 5K in around 18:20, substantially slower than my opening 5K in the Cherry Blossom but not appreciably easier. Chris seemed to be cruising and said he was keen to stay under heart rate of 150 BPM. He regularly shared HR data – at first I was confused as I thought he was sharing splits – and I reciprocated with less favorable data of my own. I said I’d be lucky to keep mine under 170: it read 168.
When we use to train together we use to share the talking, waxing lyrical about anything and everything. We both like to talk and while training could do a lot of it. On many training runs I felt like we were two runners talking, no runners listening, the whole way. This time Chris enjoyed the lion’s share of the airwaves. By default. At the U turn at the end of Piermont pier I said I had lots of knowledge about the pier but he’d have to wait to hear it all blow by blow at the finish.
As we headed back through Piermont at around mile 6 Chris sensed we were slightly off our 60 minute target – given the climb in the penultimate mile. – but was content to run with me until the closing stages and ensure he did not get overtaken by a guy, likely masters, who had been tracking us for much of the race. Chris is an M40-44 runner and was keen top that age group. The leading masters runner was 53 year old Art Gunther, a highly decorated collegiate runner, who was out of sight and, almost, out of mind.
Miles 6 through 8 gently roll along River Road. The road has a great surface and is especially bike friendly. To our right we could see the Tappan Zee Bridge spanning the Hudson River. At mile 8.3 we passed under the bridge and started the climb to mile 9.1. I dug real deep on the climb, deeper than I remember.
As the climb ended and we turned hard right onto the Esposito Trail, essentially the long finishing straight, we got caught. That triggered an immediate acceleration from Chris who went on to run 60:53, comfortably ahead of the guy and 9th place overall. I crawled across the line in 11th place in 61:09. Another hard day at the office, made harder by the disappointment of running outside 60 minutes. Sub 60 is proving elusive but I still have 60 at 60 as a target for 2026. We must never lose ambition!
Last gasp
Chris and I loitered around the finish area for a while. I was trying to make sense of it all as well as get my free stuff – whippy ice cream cone with Oreo sprinkles, a paper cup of lager, and bagel. Post race I can eat anything. Almost.
Chris won the M40-44 age group and I the M55-59. We each got a small gold medal for our efforts, awarded to us my Bill Carpenter who, as it happens, hails from the same county as me in the UK (Northamptonshire, abbreviated to Northants). That made it feel like I was back home when he called me up to collect my medal in my native accent.
Chris and I have a taste for gold.
So at long last I got to race with Chris. Throughout the pandemic we had logged countless miles together and filled the airwaves with our running commentary on the pandemic. As we had lunch with Chris’ fiancee Amanda and my wife Sham I was able to dominate the airwaves once more, making up for the silence Chris had to endure throughout much of the race. Bummer that I forgot about that pier!
The full results are here. Matt Politis edged out the 2023 winner to win in 52:18. Art Gunther was first masters in 58:45. Abbey Kimbrell won the women’s race, for the third year running, in 62:37. The official race day pictures are here. I failed to start my watch so have no Strava data to share. Suffice to say most of the race I was running just outside 6 MPM and my HR was over 160!
This was the closest I had come to quitting in 20 years of racing in the US. Aside that is from dropping out of the Brooklyn Half Marathon back in May 2018 due to a hamstring injury. What got me through it was the advice of Deena Kastor at the race Expo the day before.
I first, and last, did this race back in 2007 when I was a youthful 41. I won the masters category, placing 27th in 51:35. It was one of my all time best performances as a masters runner. Seventeen years later here I was again on the start line of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile. Seventeen years older but, as it turns out, slower and no wiser. With no hope of eclipsing (sorry I could not resist that) my previous attempt at this race.
In the lead up to the race I was injury free and running some workouts thanks to training pal Luke McCoubrey. But recent work travel and wet weather had stymied consistency. I had seesawed between 40-50 and 60-70 miles per week. I ran almost 3.3 miles in a 20 minute Mona Fartlek 10 days out that gave me some encouragement.
So as I stood in the starting corral with some 20,000 other runners – near the front thanks to a seeded entry – I had limited benchmarks. There were no familiar faces to follow. I had virtually no race experience since 2019. And I had no idea how my aging body would hold up. When I last raced on a regular basis back in 2018 my body and mind just seemed to intuitively know what to do. This time I had no idea. So I set a target finish time of 60 minutes.
The race starts right next to the Washington Monument. Bathed in the first light of the day it was quite the backdrop. The skies were clear and in the shade it was cool. We had been waiting patiently for 20 minutes in the corral, in the cool shade. So much for the three mile warm-up!
Good morning Washington Monument
The elite women set off 12 minutes ahead of us. I assume a requirement they race with some separation from the rest of the field for the purpose of record ratification and USATF Championship placings. And then 15 seconds before 7:30am the elite men were off. My final thought before the gun went was how odd the faster elite runners get a head start on the slower runners!
And then we were off. I was perhaps five rows back from the front so had some 100 runners ahead of me. After a short slight rise we then dropped gently, passed the Tidal Basin on our left, and headed towards the Arlington Memorial Bridge. I immediately felt out of my comfort zone, shell shocked. It seemed like I had set off too fast and yet a steady flow of runners was passing me (the race data shows 202 passed me while I passed 27 during the whole the race).
I missed the one mile marker so had to wait until the two mile mark on the crest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, the highest point of the course, before I could confirm I had set off too fast. It read 11:30, 5:45 minutes per mile (mpm) pace, 15 seconds a mile faster than my race plan. So there went my plan. And the damage was done. It was too late to make amends.
My next epiphany was the sudden salutary realization that I was older than everyone else! They were old enough to be my grown up sons and daughters. They looked so young. I felt so old. I had that ‘over the hill’ or ‘time to hang up the shoes’ feeling rather than some sort of accomplished feeling.
The course passes under the Kennedy Center where the race does a sudden U turn. A few hundred meters later I passed the 5K point in 18:05. Further confirmation I was ahead of schedule but would pay for it in spades later.
By the half way point, reached in around 29:15, I was wrestling with the idea of dropping out. I was clutching at reasons to keep at it. And had no real reason for dropping out. I was not injured or ill. Simply suffering from after an over exuberant start and not enjoying it! At this point I needed a sudden injury as good reason to bail out. But of course we never get injured when you most need it. My lower back was nagging me but I knew it was not enough to justify dropping out. If I could not persuade myself it was a good idea to drop out it would have been harder to persuade others.
Entering East Potomac Park, the pan flat peninsular opposite Reagan National Airport, I saw Fiona Bayly walking off the course. I yelled out and she looked back and yelled support. Fiona is one of the best US female masters distance runners having been rarely beaten since turning 40 some 15 years ago. She had started with the elite USATF Championship women and had stepped on a rock and twisted her ankle. She pulled out to avoid serious injury. Seeing her was strangely a source of motivation to keep going. She’s not the sort to bail out without a good reason. And I did not have one.
I passed the 10K in 36:51. By now I was deep into survival mode. Get it done. I had stopped competing. And started running outside 6 mpm. Runners were still passing me though the torrent was now a trickle. I knew that I could finish and maybe even close to my 60 minute target. But I was well past crunching the numbers using my watch of the mile clocks. Math is so hard to do in the final phase of a race. Even when the target is 60 minutes for 10 miles: 6 minutes per mile or 10 miles per hour, the easiest math in the sport of running.
In the pain cave at mile 9.5
As I exited East Potomac Park I had less than a mile to run albeit with a short rise in the final 400m. Over that last half mile I managed to hold my own against the runners around me. Crossing the line I once again got to enjoy my favorite part of any race. When you finally release yourself from the pain cave. And then spend time in the finishing funnel enjoying the fact that the pain is subsiding. Running is hard. Physically, mentally, emotionally. But that feeling at the finish makes it worth every minute. Who needs cannabis when you can get a runner’s fix anytime. All you have to do is pay with a little pain.
While it was nice to finish 2nd in my age group it was sobering to know the 1st guy Shane Anthony was three minutes ahead of me in 57:04. The age group awards are listed here.
Sham sauntered over to me as I waited in the shadow of the Washington Monument. She asked if I were happy, unsure how I would feel so far down in the field (284th male and around 50 women ahead of me). I said I was mainly relieved. It could have been much worse. And happy overall. Afterall I now have to expect increasing numbers to eclipse me (sorry again). That makes spotting me while spectating, for those all important pictures and words of encouragement, harder she said.
So what about the takeaways from this excursion to the nation’s capital. First, as we get older we get slower but not necessarily wiser. And second we make life harder for our support crew.
This has been a long time coming. My first competitive road race in four years (thanks to injury, COVID, and other more lame excuses as explained here). It’s felt almost as long to get round to doing what I used to do immediately after every race – tapping the keys to write a race report while it was fresh in my mind. Even my new running buddy, fellow Cold Sping village resident Luke McCoubrey, was asking where’s the report! So to keep the tradition alive – me racing and then telling everyone about it – here goes.
Before COVID
Let me first roll back the clock to the year 1 BC (Before COVID). In 2019 I was starting to have more than my fair share of ‘issues’, the ones aging runners suffer from. Nagging injuries, likely from over use and lack of TLC, made worse by stubborness. And then broadcasting it to fellow runners. Notwithstanding these issues I was still able to maintain a near full training diet. And on 2 September 2019 I ran the New Haven Half Marathon finishing second in 1:14:35 to my much younger training pal Mo’ath Alkhawaldeh (who ran for Jordan in the marathon at the World Championships last month in Budapest).
Since that race I’d done the Bushy 5K Park Run on 28 December 2019 (my 52nd birthday!) in 16:55 and the virtual Britsh Masters Virtual 5K Road Champs in June 2020 in 16:48. So for the 10 mile race in South Nyack was more than 4 years since I last did a ‘full blown’ race. I’ve been injury free for many months and getting in 50-60 miles per week including the occasional workout. Training was not ideal in the final few weeks. On vacation in Switzerland my training routine got messed up.
To make race day as simple and stress free as possible Sham and I collected my race packet the previous day from Dick’s Sporting Goods at the Pallisades Center, a monster mall from a bygone era – big box retail with wrap around parking lot.
Race Day
Race day started as usual with an alarm call that I had already woke up for. Amazing how we set alarms but then our body decides it will wake up just before. If we did not set it we’d just sleep through. Life is strange. I quickly settled into my tried and tested routine – coffee with oatmeal, bathroom stop, shower. And then we were off. We arrived in plenty of time for the start so I got a few miles warm-up done followed by strides and stretching.
Relaxed start
As it had been such a long time since I last raced two things were nagging me. One how would I cope entering the pain cave again. No matter how hard we push in training, racing is a whole new level of hurt. And what pace should I start out at? As habit would have it I had three goals – if the stars aligned (58 minutes, enough to get me into top 5 in UK M55 10 mile rankings, that’ll do nicely (60 minutes, a nice round number) and that will do (61:30ish, the time for my first ever 10 miler at age 19, 38 years ago).
Problem was finding a runner or pack of runners to help me pace: I’d never raced on the West Bank (of the Hudson River) aside from Jersey City and further afield so I knew no one! But as chance would have it the first runner I spoke to – Dave DiCerbo, a 43 year old who had done 2:51 in April’s Boston Marathon – said he was aiming for 60 minutes! The course is fast, mainly flat, but the weather was brutal.
The humidity was like the tropics, comparable with my days in Singapore. By the conclusion of my warm-up, 2 miles jog then some easy strides, I was already sweating profusely. NYRR races start in seeded corrals with runners packed like sardines and many trying to eke out a few feet advantage over others. This race was very different. I simply sauntered to the front line, unimpeded. Such a polite and courteous lot.
And then we were off. The first mile dropped away from South Nyack’s town center to River Road. A group of runners, including those who would secure the top four positions, quickly opened up a gap. I scrambled to find my usual rhythm, if there is such a thing as usual when you haven’t raced for years. I passed the first mile with DiCerbo in 5:49. It felt faster.
River Road is a gently undulating, straight residential street 3 miles long that closely follows the river with comfortable residential Stepford wives properties, one deep, between the road and river. The road surface was perfect. I gradually lost ground to the leaders but was keen to keep them in sight as long as possible. I traded places with a few others but then settled into 8th. Given the humidity I decided to drink at water stations. There were a number, each with a number of volunteers. I got into the knack of grabbing a paper cup, squeezing the neck and sipping from the corner.
By mile 3 I had settled into running around 6 mpm pace, my target pace to close it in 60 minutes. The Piermont Pier, around the half way point, came into view on the left. At mile 4 the race passes through the centre of the quaint Village of Piermont before heading onto the pier – this website explains:
“Hand-built in the mid-1800s, the 4,000-foot-long pier originally served as the terminus of the Erie Railroad; passengers disembarked from trains onto boats bound for New York City. During World War II, some 500,000 GIs stepped off the pier onto troop ships headed for Europe, earning it the nickname “Last Stop U.S.A.”
At the end of the pier the race U turned and we then retraced our steps back to the finish, all bar a short out and back at mile 9. As I passed through Piermont around mile 6 it dawned on me that I would struggle to maintain my pace. Despite hydrating I was chronically dehydrated and starting to tire. I had a flashback to my last 10 mile race – the Bronx 10 in 2018 where I ran 54:29, the fastest M50 in the US and UK that year. In that race I incrementally increased my pace from mile 6. I realized then that I was not the same athlete.
And so it proved to be a long hard day at the office. From mile 6 onwards my pace drifted to around 6:15mpm. I did, however, pass a runner. The others were so far ahead I could only glimpse them on long straight aways. The ninth mile proved the low point. This mile was essentially the reverse of the first mile and as such was mainly uphill. By now I was treading as well as sweating water.
Just after mile 9 the race jumped onto the Esposito trail for a short out and back segment to make up for a route change prompted by an over-height tractor-trailer taking out the South Broadway Thruway overpass 10-days before the race. It was a trail too far for me. The closing few miles I simply hung on slowly losing a grip of things. And then it was all over.
Closing in one the finish line
Post Race Analysis
And then I remembered this is why I do it. For the release from the relentless pain, the relief of knowing it was all over. And now it was time to refuel, binge style and chill out with and soak up the camaraderie in a kind of runner’s kumbaya.
Collecting bling for first M55
I ended up 7th of some 300 runners in 61:21. I finished second M50 (first M55) to 52 year old Art Gunther. Can you believe I last raced this guy in the NYRR Scotland 10K in April 2005!? And just like then finished behind him. The overall winners were Robert Guidicipietro (55:47) and Abbey Kimbrell (67:07) for the men’s and women’s divisions respectively. My official race results are here. Race photos are online at the race website (#158) with searchable results and pictures.
Fortunately I seem to have come through unscathed. My old injury shows no sign of coming back. The race was an altogether great experience. A well organized, competitive, local community race rather than a big NYRR cookie cutter race. This year the South Nyack 10-Miler celebrated its 35th year. And for $35 I got free beer, a bagel and a banana – and whippy ice cream. Hats off to Rockland Road Runners. I look forward to next year’s race.
Next Up
I finished writing this shortly after spectating the New Balance Bronx 10 Mile where Luke ran his best race to date – 63:59. I was more than a little envious. Of him competing, and competing well, in a race I love. Reflecting on the day I am left trying to rethink and refocus. The days of running under 55 minutes for 10 miles are long gone. What can I now hope to achieve? Maybe sub-60 ten mile at 60? Even if much less than before I still love running, runners and racing! Watch this space.
OK this blog is a bit of a sob story. About me and my estranged relationship with running. And how to avoid realizing the prediction of my mate Karl Mobbs who penned the cartoon below in my 30th birthday card (from 1995!).
When did I last race?
It’s now three years since I lined up in a ‘real’ (or what us Brits would call ‘proper’) race. By proper I mean one with a number pinned to my chest, starters gun and finish tape, and fellow competitors in the flesh rather than online.
Some of you may be wondering why I’ve not raced since. Actually I have completed two ‘events’ that many don’t consider count as proper races – the Bushy Park Run on 28 December 2019 (my 53rd birthday) in 16:55 and the British Masters Virtual 5K Relays on 20 June 2020 in 16:47 (on the North County Trailway, the only competitor logging a run outside the British Isles).
For most of the past few years I was saved from having to make excuses for my lack of racing. The pandemic truncated the race calendar for long periods. But now the pandemic is behind us, or rather we are kind of ‘living’ with it or trying to forget its there, I have some explaining to do.
Well I’ve not retired. At least not yet. But I’ve gotten close. Very close. And I keep getting closer. I have not been able to race for love nor money. At least not been able to race at a level I would have been happy with. And those that know me know that I’m hard (impossible) to please.
What’s the problem?
Since late 2019 I’ve wrestled with a nagging and debilitating injury. Essentially left leg glutes that fail to fire with all sorts of knock on effects like tight hamstrings, swollen knees, and exhausted quads. An injury that I’ve thrown every at. You name it I’ve tried it. The physical therapy, the stretching, the rolling, the resting, the strength work, the icing, the acupuncture etc. An injury that has crimped my training and crushed my spirit. But an injury that has not killed my love for running and racing.
For most the past three years I have continued, as far as possible, to train. In late 2020 I described Running Through a Pandemic. For much of 2020 and 2021 I trained with the inaugural Abbott World Masters Marathon Champs in London in mind (after three deferrals these took place in October 2021). My running log shows for much of this period I averaged 50-60 miles per week with long runs and workouts.
In late summer 2021 my resolve finally buckled. I told Coach Troopy that I’d forgotten what it was like to run pain free, that every mile of every run, no matter how ‘easy’ was not actually easy but hard and uncomfortable. Slow without the easy. I reluctantly scrapped plans to run London and dialled it back. And my log shows that in late 2021 and during 2022 the miles have slipped away and long runs and workouts are almost extinct.
I have ‘flirted’ with the dark side (aka cycling) – thinking I might make good at duathlon like my old mate Dave Smith. Right now I’m cycling more than running. But cycling, or a hybrid, is a poor substitute. It’s a great way to stay fit and ‘socialize’ with fit friends but the feeling, the buzz, just isn’t the same.
Why is this such a big deal?
I have enjoyed years of injury free running. It’s been a huge source of pride, satisfaction, and joy (as well as pain and diappointment!). Through running I’ve experienced many amazing places and met many good people. I’ve won countless accolades. And as my mother use to say when the chips were down, “there’s always someone worse off than you.” So why is this such a big deal. Well it’s because running is what I do and a runner is what I am. And for that reason I’ll keep on wrestling with it.
Antony Scott, President, Founder and Head Coach of Marin County Track Club (MCTC), asked me some questions about running through the pandemic. The picture was taken by my wife Shamala.
Describe your training through Covid-19 and the main challenges
Going into lockdown I was coming out of injury. As my physical therapist (PT) James Lynch said in February “you’ve got a whole lot of issues”. And for most of 2019 I’d gone from one ‘issue’ to another and raced just twice. As lockdown loomed I was also in the final phase of preparations for the inaugural AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championship race that was due to be held as part of the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon in late April 2020. At 54, oldest in age group (AG), and ‘not firing on all cylinders’ I was glad to see the race deferred to 2021 when I’ll be 55 and so ‘young’ for my M55-59 age group.
So these past 6 months my focus has switched from scrambling to get ready for a spring marathon to simply maintaining base fitness and using running as an anchor of normality during a crazy time, a way to get away from the madness.I enjoy running with others, especially long easy ones where we can debate war and peace, as well as competition which gives me targets to shoot at. The main challenge was adjusting to running solo for months on end with practically no competition. I’ve stuck to Coach Troopy’s weekly schedules.
Withno access to my PT who I’d been seeing regularly just before lockdown I’ve resorted to DIY TLC, largely band work inspired by Stephanie Bruce on her YouTube channel.
How long were you not able to train in your usual group?
I live in Peekskill, 40 miles north of New York City, work remotely and usually travel a lot to and from and within Europe. So the pandemic did not totally upend my routine. It was just the trips to Europe for 1-3 weeks a time every other month that fell by the wayside. My last group run was in Central Park on 15 March 2020. At the end we said our goodbyes and their was an air of inevitability – that we would not be doing another group run for some months. And so it proved.
I’ve run just 3 times with one other person in 5 months. My sojourns to Europe, where I typically run alone but get to run in a variety of places, have ended – for now. I’ve maintained weekly volume in the low 60s, built around 2 workouts, a long weekend run and a mid-week semi-long (see log here). I’ve spent more time, usually recovery runs, on local trails, to avoid other people and get other to parts other runs do not reach.
What has been your mindset amidst the global pandemic (has it affected you negatively or have you remain in positive spirit)?
I think like most runners I know it’s ebbed and flowed. One week I feel lousy and demotivated with no mojo. The next, possibly triggered by a better than expected workout, I snap back and regain the mojo. Right now I have it, after recently running a 2 mile time trial in 10:20 and a 17 mile run @ 6:25 pace, but by the time you read this I may not. Importantly no matter how demotivated I’ve felt I’ve talked myself into getting out and getting it done, no matter how mediocre the Strava data looks.
You were scheduled to compete in some key races over the spring and summer. Could you tell us a little about that?
Well as I mentioned previously the cancellation of the 2020 London Marathon and World Masters Athletics (WMA) Champs 2020, originally planned for August in Toronto, has forced me to focus on 2021. And in 2021 I’m 55, a spring chicken for the M55-59 age group. So my sights are now firmly set on making hay at the London Marathon on October 3, 2021 and the WMA 2021 tentatively planned for next summer in Finland.
While I miss competing I quickly adjusted to train solo only mode. But then in May virtual races, essentially self-timed time trials, became flavor of the month. Initially I could not see what all the fuss and fanfare was about. However, my UK based brother Stephen peaked my interest and convinced me to run for my UK club Kettering Town Harriers in the UK National Masters Virtual 5K Relay. I scoped out a flat course and on one hot and humid morning ran 16:47, good for 8th M50-54. Virtual races can never beat the real thing, as they are just a time trial, but it was good to compete with others in some way. I rarely get to run ‘in the flesh’ British Championship races but being virtual meant I could do it anywhere, anytime over a 7 day period.
With no races on the calendar, how have you been able to stay focused (what targets/ goals have you set)?
My focus is now on 2021 when I will be 55. I have no plans for 2020. While the WMA in Finland in August 2021 and the London Marathon in October 2021 are way off they’re enough to ensure I don’t lose interest and come off the rails. In Finland I have in mind a medal in the half marathon to go with the silver I got in WMA 2018 – I’ll need me to run around 1:14. And in London, assuming its also the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championship I hope to be top 3 in the AG. To help stay motivated I’m keeping a close eye on my main rivals on Strava.
Has the pandemic cloud provided any silver linings for you?
Yes, many. First, as I explained previously was not ready be competitive as a 54 year old in London and Toronto. I am now able to focus on 2021 when I’m 55, youngest in the age group. Second, lockdown has encouraged me to explore my local neighborhood, especially the trails, and I’ve discovered to great new places to run as a result. Third, my wife Sham and I did a staycation in early August in Ithaca, gateway to the Finger Lakes, where I got some great mileage in on these rail trails like this one.
Fourth, thanks to Strava I have gained some new running mates – in particular, Tram Cranley (Bethesda MD), Sam Lagasse (Ithaca) and Frank Filiciotto (Peekskill) – and formed Peekskill Community Runners. Fifth, I’m not flying regularly to Europe so the old body, especially the glutes and hips, is not complaining as much. Sixth, I’ve had some extra time to invest in TLC and for the first time since late 2018 I’ve been injury free for more than 3 months. And finally, I have some time to write this article.
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