Follow the Yellow Brick Road

First things first: I want to congratulate the female winner of the June 27 Yellow Brick Road 8K in Chittenango. I don't know if it was an oversight, but when awards time came, the race director mentioned male overall winner Andrew Foxenberg, but not Hillary Stratton. I sure hope it was an oversight. So, kudos to her!

This is yogic squat.

This is my Garmin.

And I'm pleased with my race time. Last year I ran this race in 47:35; this year, 45:56. To actually have run faster at a year older makes me happy. Even better, I ran the hills: no stopping and walking.

In addition, I tried something new during my warmup--knowing that tight hips contribute
to my odd stride and inefficient running form, I sat in a yogic squat for a few minutes to open those hips up. I think it worked, and I will continue to do this before every race. And race conditions were just about ideal--60 degrees, cloud cover, no wind and minimal humidity. I felt comfortable the entire time. 


That aside, a few observations about this race:

This is the Cowardly Lion.

• An 8K is a rarity in this 5K-dominated world. For those who don't have a calculator, that equals 4.97 miles. My Garmin registered 5.04 miles, possibly because I didn't cut the tangents tight enough.
• I enjoy how this race mixes up terrains. It starts our flat before heading west on the Old Erie Canal trail for 1 mile. Then it's back to the roads and some challenging hills.
• This race features one of the best finishes I've experienced--a fast downhill before enough of a flat to pick up steam as you cross the finish line.
• Considering that it isn't chip timed (no complaints; it's a small enough crowd that results still come pretty quickly, and no chip means a more affordable race fee of $20.)
• They offer some out-of-the ordinary door prizes, with winners selected during the race. When you get back, you see if you've won. Last year, I won a miniature tool kit.
• Thank you for the whole banana, not one cut in two. And for the yogurt. And for the water and Gatorade. They also served pizza, but my stomach could never, uh, stomach pizza after a race.

Now, about that awards ceremony. Most races announce the top three winners, male and female, before heading into age group winners. Those overall winners are then removed from their respective age group, so that everyone bumps up a place. I know I can be a purist, but it was odd not knowing who actually scored the top three finishes for both genders.

I had planned on racing Tinman on June 27, a 70.3 triathlon in Tupper Lake with, I just realized, another The Wizard of Oz reference. Since I was laid off May 8 I couldn't justify the expense of driving to and staying two nights in the Adirondacks. A shout-out to that race director for allowing me to defer my race registration until 2016. That's a rarity these days, and I greatly appreciate it.

I was happy to have this run to sort of substitute for that tri. It's a quirky, hidden gem featuring a costumed cowardly lion to further the Yellow Brick Road theme.