So I ran a benefit turkey trot the day after thanksgiving. It's for an at risk youth group home in Monterey County. Course was at Manzanita Park in Prunedale and it was quite a challenging course. All sandy/dirt with a lot of uphills. It was more than I bargained for.I started out fast, everyone was aware that I was a marathon runner and most people barely ran more than a few miles a week. So I started fast and ran hard. My friend followed me and I kept encouraging him to keep up with me, he managed to stay within a minute behind me. There were 3 large hills in this, and they were quite a challenge. I was actually very happy about this because it gave me a chance to get some seriously intense uphill running in in preparation for my marathon next weekend.
The course was unforunately marked poorly at spots, including the final 1/4 mile where I made a wrong turn and wound up adding an extra 1/4 mile - 1/2 mile to my final time. The nearest person behind me finished just as I was getting to the finish, and they finished with a time of 19:45. I was easily in the 18:00 range. I still got 2nd place even though I really was the fastest. Oh well. I won a poloroid digital picture frame! it was sweet. 1st place was an ipod shuffle, which I have no need for, so all the better that I made the wrong turn. It was the best prize I've gotten for a race so far! Well... that bottle of 2005 Souverain Pinot Noir wasn't bad either.
I am totally looking forward to running this next year, especially with awesome prizes like that!
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