Mutt Strut & Runway Race (5K) Report

This event is held on the runway at Houston's Intercontinental Airport. Actually on the runway. As a result, I'd recommend it very highly to anyone looking for a very flat course and a possible PR. Other pros included the wonderful post-race food (breakfast burritos), and if you have a dog, this is one of the few local races where it will be welcome. I must also say that they did a wonderful job in getting plenty of portacans. There were absolutely no lines, even 5 minutes before race start.

Cons are that it is a small race - not chip timed, long lines for packet pick-up on race day, poor instructions on access to the race and retrieval of times and photos after the race.

Now for my race. I went looking for a PR. It was a lovely morning - in the high 50's until the sun came out. I was a little uncomfortable with the initial line-up. The incredibly small size of the race plus the decree that people running with dogs had to line up at the back meant that I was waaaaaay farther in the front of the pack at the beginning than I am totally comfortable with. There also wasn't a large pack of runners at my pace like there usually is, so I went out a little fast (4:30 for the first half mile). Dialed it back for about 9:30 on the first mile.

The setting was very cool. They hadn't closed the adjacent runway, so you could see planes landing throughout the race. In the second mile, one came in right over my head. Very cool. Total time 19:45 after the second mile - where did my speed go??

At that point, I was a little concerned about breaking 30 minutes. I still felt like I could pull a PR, but I really wanted to break 30, so I put on the afterburners and started trying to reel people in. Crossed the line in 29:20. Broke 30 minutes and a PR!!

Still a shame that the thing wasn't chip-timed.

I'd also like to comment on running turns. I passed people on every single turn on the course because they'd slow way down and try to run it like a u-turn. Think of yourself as a race car. Don't slow down. Come into the turn with a tight line and then swing wide.

I also think that the flatness of the race played to my advantage in that I could see the finish line from 1.5 miles out. Somehow nothing seems all that far when you can see the end, you know?