2009 boy scouts of america 5k: race report

this was my fourth time running the boy scout 5k - one of my favorite events. the race raises money for a great cause, scouting, and has an equally great post-race party at mickey mantles. my only time goal was a sub-21 finish (to make up for my somewhat poor showing in 2008). the course begins on the 72nd street transverse and covers almost 2 full loops of the lower park. the only drawback, no mile markers.

weather-wise, the conditions were incredibly humid (with some light rain before and after the race). before the race, i picked up the healthy kidney 10k race bibs, chips, and shirts and then met up with emmy at the 72nd street entrance to the park. at race registration we met up with sal and chris. i skipped the warm up, but emmy and chris went out for an easy run before the start.

when the race went off i found myself in a small string of runners - two of whom quickly bolted to an early lead. i watched as chris overtook all but the first runner, as we reached the south end of the park. it wasn't long before chris caught the lead runner and took over the lead. at that point i was in 4th or 5th place and worked my way up 3rd as we turned north on west drive.

at the start of the second loop, i caught up to the 2nd place runner on the transverse. i passed him as we went south on east drive. chris was a good 40 seconds ahead, solidly in first place. by the time i turned north, back on west drive, i had slowed down a bit. i was primarily concerned with holding second place, which i did with a 20:41 finish. after a quick congratulations to chris, i grabbed my camera and got a shot of emmy finishing.

this was chris' second straight win, and emmy's third, at the bsa 5k! now it was time to celebrate at mickey mantles - where we also met up with bea, chris' wife. not only was there hot food and adult beverages, but each runner also received a gift bag at the end of the night.

don't pass up this great race next year :D

here are my race photos.