Author: rrunnin234

I am a long time runner and coach and I'm here to write about it. I have blogged some before (years ago), but that site is now archived. My plan is to write some personal reflections skipping around the 40+ years of my running career, probably some race reports. However, I'd like to spend a fair amount discussing current events in the world of running, and likely dishing out on some coaching and training advice. I have some opinions--okay a lot--and like to share those. rws_58@yahoo.com Here are my obligatory PRs, all set way back in the 1980s and 1990s: 3K - 8:54 5K - 15:34 8K - 25:35 10K - 32:11 15K - 49:41 1/2 marathon - 1:13 marathon - 2:34 Now I'm a senior, yes a Senior (60+)! age group runner and here are my 60 and up PBs over the past couple of years: 1 mile road race - 5:15 (former American road record) 5K - 17:28 (USATF masters champion) 8K - 28:12 (USATF masters champion) 15K - 54:43 (Gasparilla 15K) 1/2 marathon - 1:17:49 (World Masters Champion)

US Masters 10K Road Race

“Think you’re escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.” 

I took a long trip away to run the James Joyce Ramble, and then we sold our home. It was that kind of week.

We planned to sell our place in the Rocky Mountain foothills this year, or at least look into making a move, but I envisioned that we’d close the deal during the summer. Or maybe we’d make the move next year. However, events took a life of their own as soon as we returned from a weeklong trip to Spokane, WA where we were planning to move.

Life sometimes throws curves at you. Two factors changed our destination. We bought our mountain condo in 2016, and all seemed pretty good, but the monthly homeowners association fees increased 10-15% a year and by 2024 it had doubled, while the services and quality of maintenance at the site declined. In a few more years the fees would be greater than our mortgage, and that would be financially unsustainable for us. Not to mention the value of our property would decline. At the beginning of this year we decided that moving out in 2025 would be better than 2026. That would mean having the condo on the market by spring.

Things accelerated from there. Realtors, you know. We were on the market on March 7, with open houses the on the following two weekends. So much for a relaxing beginning of spring! Had we not been selling our place I would have stayed the World Masters Championships in Florida to run the 10K road race on March 30, but I needed to get home to help take care of things.

Meanwhile, other events prompted us to rethink whether we actually wanted to move to Spokane. It checked a lot of boxes, but one issue was that it was no closer to our family, in fact further. In mid-March, just a week after the condo went up for sale, we decided that a move to the Midwest might suit us better. Three factors gave the edge to the Midwest. Housing is even more affordable, it’s closer to our oldest son (his brother lives on the West Coast, but it was still a 2 hour flight from Spokane), and access to cross country skiing would be better. We have decided to move to the Twin Cities this July. It beat out Spokane in 10 of 12 categories that we considered. The only two that it was better were location and landscape and size.

Enough of the preamble, now to Dedham and the 10K.

Post WMA Training

I had five weeks after the 8K cross country championships. Recovery from that race took longer than expected. I was completely washed out that first week, and it felt more like following a half marathon, indicating some life stress no doubt but also that the race in Gainesville was an all-out effort.

My weeks in April, leading up to the 10K at the end of the month were 47, 43 (with some skiing and cycling), 56, 43, and 39 miles. For me that’s kind of in the lower end of moderate mileage. I usually like 60-65 miles a week. With so much going on and the slower than normal recovery it was adequate.

Workouts were nothing special in April but I got in a couple of double threshold days, and some single workouts focusing on threshold or CV effort (essentially race pace). I guess my capstone workout, 10 days before the race, was an asymmetrical ladder with 2,3,4,5,6,5,2 on rolling terrain. Starting at threshold and then working toward low 6 minute/mile effort (CV for me right now). That workout went well enough, and I felt I could run under 6:20/mile in Dedham.

Travel and Pre-Race

I flew into Boston on Friday afternoon and visited my cousin and her husband in Brookline that evening. Saturday was very chill, I ended up spending the day on my own at the hotel in Dedham, with my only activity being an easy run to pick up my race packet at the course venue.

Race Day

My friend Jim drove down from New Hampshire Sunday morning and we visited for a bit before taking the short drive to the race. It was cool, windy, and raining off and on. More like day for a cross country race, but it wasn’t terrible and everyone would be facing the same conditions so it didn’t phase me much. Got in a 2-mile warm up jog with some friends, did my strides and stretching and before I knew it, we were lined up and ready to go.

The first part of these races is always a little frenetic, and I’m always surprised at how fast some runners shoot off from the starting line. I focus on staying on my feet but also try to be aware of my pace-effort, next is to survey the scene and to keep an eye out for competitors. Two local guys from my age group strode by in the first 200 m, and then a guy in the 70s age group! I couldn’t even keep track of how many in the 60-64 group were ahead, but it seemed like a lot. Then another runner (a future teammate from the Twin Cities) ran by looking light and fresh.

I was hoping to win the age group, but figured that even if I had a bad day, I would be top 3 in the age group. However, you never know and I’m always full of doubt in the early stages of these masters running events.

By the first mile (a bit too fast in 6:03) I had pulled away from the two local runners and had my sights on my new friend/rival from the Twin Cities who was about 30 meters ahead, who had thrown in at least one surge and was and looking strong. A hell of a way to introduce ourselves, I thought.

I gained some ground in the second mile, but when I got within about 10 meters he surged again and the gap had quickly opened up to 30 meters. I knew I’d have to keep focused and have good middle and latter part of the race to keep in contact. At about 2 miles we made a sharp turn to the right, and I could see him easing up some. I was in a good pack of about six or seven other runners and I went with their tempo. We crossed 2 miles in 12:12. This was faster than the 6:15/mile I had anticipated, but I felt it was important to keep in contact.

Just after mile 2, pulled along by the pack of runners, I eased past my competitor. This was mostly a flat mile, with a net downhill and I think the wind was in our favor. That split of 5:56 was my fastest of the day, as I crossed 3 miles in 18:08.

Then things got harder. The 4th mile is through a campus and it features two solid hills. The first one was 25 feet, not too bad, but after a short downhill the second hill climbs at 6% with a net gain of 40 feet. I really slowed on that one. My mile split was 6:22, the slowest of the day. The 5th and 6th miles were a grind, with lightly rolling terrain, the splits were 6:07 and 6:13. I was running out of gas during mile 6 and on the final turn, with about 1200 m to go, did a head check to see where my competitors were. I had about 20 seconds and although I was feeling uncomfortable I felt that I could hold the effort for a few more minutes. He’d have to have a blazing kick to run me down.

Course map with Garmin splits (probably about a second per mile faster than actual).

The last 500 m have a slight net uphill, with a final hill with about 350 to go. I threw it all down and closed in about 5:50 pace to hang onto a 38:17, good enough for 48th overall and 1st in my age class.

A final surge at the finish was enough to put me on the age grade podium, 3rd out of all runners/ages in the race.

That was a hard fought race–it’s going to be interesting once I get to the Twin Cities, with such strong and competitive teammates! Meanwhile, although we did not field a 60s team, the 70s team showed up strong and took 2nd place to a surging Shore Athletic Club from New Jersey. They rarely lose, but Shore is strong this year.

With BRR 70s team.

And speaking of future teammates, in the age grading category I edged another Twin Cities runner (early 60s) by 0.05% to score a 90.6% age grade, and 3rd place overall. That was probably the biggest achievement of the day.

I was really happy with this race. Although I felt rough in that 6th mile in particular, I held on and didn’t lose much ground. Had I put my head down and stayed with the leaders of that pack I might have eked out 8 or 10 more seconds and been at the 91% range or age grading (and moved up a spot), but other than that I don’t think I could have gone much faster.

Bling!

World Masters Cross Country 2025: A Recap

Sisu. Finnish for strength, will, and determination.

Although we raced on just the third day of the spring, the World Masters Athletics (WMA) cross country championship was my biggest race for the spring or winter of 2025. Preparation this time was a little different, because I mixed in more cross country skiing (on average two workouts a week) for recreation and to supplement my training. The result was less running volume no more than 40-50 miles a week of running, compared to 60-65, and fewer workouts overall. The workouts I did were less intense and frequent than in years past.

Following US Nationals in January I took a four week break from tempo or speed workouts, and I resumed doing regular sessions in February. These sessions were nothing fancy. Typically, I would do a tempo or threshold session early in the week and a few days later something involving 5K to 10K effort. I did a couple double threshold days, but these were not an emphasis as they had been during the winter over the past few years. The routine was solid and I averaged about 8 or 9 hours a week of training since January.

This year’s WMA races were in Florida so I decided to include some heat training to prepare for warm/humid weather. Twice a week over the past five or six weeks I went to a community fitness center and spent 15 or 20 minutes in the steam room (the sauna was not functioning properly) and then donned a couple layers of running clothes and I ran on the treadmill for 25 to 45 minutes. This was nothing radical, but it seemed to serve me well in 2018, when I ran the Gasparilla 15K in Tampa.

I was prepared but heading into these championships did not feel as sharp as last summer, when I raced in Sweden, and not nearly has honed as I was in 2019 when the championships were in Poland. Noteabley, my recovery days of late have been much slower (about 30 seconds per mile) than in previous years. However, my workouts were close to what I had been doing in 2023 and 2024, and I felt confident that I could get another world medal and maybe a win.

I have never won a championship cross country race although I have done so on the roads more than a dozen times. Leading up to Sunday’s race, at the US cross country championship events I have had five podium finishes (2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025), and two bronze medals at the WMA championships (2019, 2024). A win would be nice. Here is how it went down in Gainesville.

Travel

I traveled to Florida on Thursday evening, but did not get to my hotel in Jacksonville until midnight. On Friday I drove to Gainesville and my first stop was for a shakeout run at the cross country (and throws venue), about 10 miles west of the city and the University of Florida.

It was fun to drive through the city with it’s storied running history going back to the days of Olympic Gold Medalist Frank Shorter and writer John L. Parker Jr., author of Once a Runner, which was set in a fictitious version of Gainesville. And more recently it has been home of the NCAA track and field champion Florida Gators, where the likes of Olympic Gold Medalist Grant Holloway and Olympian Parker Valby still train.

The 2K loop on a former golf course was mostly flat, with a few bunkers along the way to break things up, but lumpy and sandy. I would like to see more hills and interesting terrain but it was fair enough.

Course preview on Friday

On Saturday I returned to the course, after my easy run and a few strides, I spotted my friend Jukka from Finland. He won WMA XC in 2019 and 2022. Last year we raced in Sweden and I was 3rd and he was 4th. That day I wore spikes and he wore Nike Vaporflies, and that may a have been the difference. Before the race the other day he showed me his brand new Nike Dragonfly XCs and said “Now we are even!”

On Friday I ran into my friend and primary competition, Jukka from Finland.

Otherwise I was very boring and only ventured out from my Airbnb for essential trips. I’d like to go back Gainesville some day for a winter training camp, then maybe I would have some more time to check out the city and university.

Race Day

Friday and Saturday mornings there were surprisingly cool in the 40s, and it only warmed up late in the morning. But things heated up quicky on Sunday when it warmed up almost 20 degrees from 50 to 70 in just a couple of hours (and then climbing to 80 later in the day).

The temperature was already in high 60s when we raced, and about 70 by the finish. It was a little warmer than I would like but thankfully it was not oppressive.

The race had three five-year age groups combined, covering men from age 55-69. Each time I do one of these WMA races age range gets larger. In 2019 we just ran one age group at a time, so you knew exactly where you were. And last summer in Sweden we had two age groups of men in their 60s. Nevertheless the field this year was not big (70 runners in all three age groups and only 20 in the men’s 65-69 age group.

After getting yelled at and verbally abused by the official for a few minutes, typical for masters cross country, we finally lined up and the starter fired the gun. I immediately settled into to mid-pack and I counted three runners in my age group who went out faster. Three that I knew of at least: Jukka from Finland, a runner from Algeria (Alem), and another from Argentina. Jukka and Alem gapped me by more than 30-40 meters within the first 400, where we had our first turn. And that gap ended up making the difference on Sunday.

Even though they were well ahead, I stuck to my pacing throughout the first lap and reeled in a half dozen runners and I felt I was running about where I should be. My first mile was in 6:18.

Making my way through the field, end of lap 1.

By the end of the lap, Ricardo the runner from Argentina was coming back, but the runners from Finland and Algeria seemed to have increased their advantage over 40 m. I passed Ricardo early in the second lap and instinctively picked up the pace, and set to work on reeling the other two. The by midway through that lap, Jukka had pulled away from the Algerian, who had slowed down. I caught and passed Alem just after lap 2, and I surged by to discourage him from going with me.

I was getting thirsty and hot, but had run by the water table twice because they had placed it way off to the left side of the course just before a right hand turn. I didn’t even see the table on the first two laps.

Onto the final lap. One more to catch, Jukka, my friend from Finland. He was still about 30 meters ahead. At the end of lap 3 I finally spotted the water table off to the left side and decided to veer off the tangent to grab a bottle (it was beyond me why they put the table way out there) so I could get a sip and splash some on my head and arms. That felt great and I was rejuvenated, but I lost a few meters. 2K to make the gap 40 meters. Catching Jukka was possible but only if he would have to fade some. I did make up some ground before starting my kick with about 500 m to go. I got back to about 20 or 25 meters back. On the last turn, just 200 m from the finish I went into a full sprint a but then he also kicked it in and I finished 5.6 seconds back.

I congratulated Jukka, who could only mutter “I feel so bad right now!” We had pushed each other out there. This race was all about Sisu. Going against Jukka the Finn, he showed a lot of Sisu out there and would not let up. I’m half Finnish myself. I felt that also ran with guts and determination, I just did not quite have that extra gear on to reel him in.

I did not get the gold medal but did win an World Championship upgrade to a silver. A win would have been great, but I am not too disappointed. We won the team title (also did in 2024), so we got another medal for that. Avg. 6:20/mile, about 87% age grade which has been about where I have been landing for XC races over the past couple of years.

Men’s 65-69 age group individual podium at the WMA 8K cross country championships in Florida.

Individually it was close but not quite. Teamwise, which is why I chose this race instead of the 10K road race, we won easily. In fact we beat all comers (best of the rest combined), and would have been 2nd behind the American men in the 60-64 category, where he did have a half dozen teams.

Team USA taking the age group gold medal in the 8K cross country at the WMA championships.

St. Patty’s 5K

I lined up for Saturday’s Sharin’ O’ The Green 5K hoping not to have a blow out. Not my shoes, and not folding in the stretch, I was concerned about holding my breakfast and yesterday’s meals in my intestine. This was my first bicarb (sodium bicarbonate) race experiment and I lived to tell the tale.

Other than some casual ski races in January and February, on the schedule for fitness more than competition, I had only raced once since November and that was 9 weeks ago. However, I needed a rust buster and test effort for the upcoming WMA cross country event this month. I also got my hands on some Maurten bicarb, which is all the rage this year, but like anything new in running that shows success it’s hard to get. Fortunately, one of my friends knows people in the company and was able to get package with four treatments.

Last week I listened to the Physiology of Endurance Running Podcast (they’re nerdy but it’s really good), and their recent interview with Dr. Andy Sparks a researcher who did much of the work on sodium bicarbonate in sport over the past decade. He’s now a research manager with Maurten. In that interview he told tales of their earlier research where athletes had massive diarrheal outbursts or upset stomachs after taking bicarb. But that was before they developed an encapsulated formula that releases the bicarbonate in your intestine, and at a slower rate, rather than your stomach. The issue is the acids in the stomach don’t mix well with the base in the bicarbonate, and that often leads to an upset digestive system.

For years researchers athletes and coaches have recognized the sodium bicarbonate can buffer the exercise induced acidosis in blood and muscles, but the trick was to find a way to get enough into an athlete’s system while not causing digestive upset. However, recently Dr. Sparks and others have shown that encapsulating the bicarbonate and taking it with a carbohydrate gel product, it can be consumed by athletes while not resulting in digestive issues. Indeed it appears to allow greater endurance by buffering the blood.

The trick is that you need to follow the protocol. It’s pretty simple. Eat a light meal a few hours ahead of your exercise (or race), two hours before mix the gel caplets into 200 ml of water, and then a couple of minutes later add in the encapsulated bicarb, mix and then slurp down the tasteless gel in one bout but without chewing the bicarb.

How did it go?

Saturday’s Race

We decided to drive the 80-90 minutes to Fort Collins on Saturday morning, rather than stay in a hotel overnight. I was a little nervous about the bicarb protocol and timing it right while we were enroute, but decided to go ahead with the idea that we would stop about half way there, 2 hours ahead of the race.

After 45 minutes of driving we pulled off and stopped at a service station where I mixed the goop, waited 5 minutes and gulped it down without gagging anything and spilling only a half teaspoon. Two hours to race time.

We arrived in Fort Collins about an hour ahead of the race where I picked up my bib and set about with the warm up. I had planned on 3 miles, but with porta john lines (especially important on this day!) I got in 2 miles with some drills, a short tempo, and some strides. We lined up and everyone one seemed to converge at once, and I could only get as far up as the 4th row, with 30 or 40 people ahead of me in a field that did not look deep.

The plan was to run about 6:08-6:10 over the first mile and then see how it would go on the bike path over the final two miles. My goal was run about 19:00 for the 5K, which age grades to about 88 %.

20 meters into the race, and slightly boxed, in you can see my hat and sunglasses between numbers 288 and 694.

We blasted out of the start and some from behind shot ahead. The pace over the first few hundred meters was faster than I had wanted (sub 6) so I eased up a little. I split the mile in about 6:02, which was a little fast. My breathing was okay.

We had a bit of a headwind as we turned onto the bike path just after one mile. I tucked into a large pack of about 10 runners and found myself near the front of the group. It was a little unnerving to hear so many footsteps right on my heals. I braked a few times because the leaders of the group slowed a bit, and also eased up once, at about half way because a guy was breathing so heavily, practically in my ear. That was a distraction and either I could pick it up and get a gap or slow a bit and run behind him for a bit.

On the bike path, about 2 km into the race.

I fell back to about 4th or 5th in that pack, trying to keep focused and in contact. By 2 miles I had moved back up some and the pack was dissipating by then. We split in about 12:10, so a 6:08 second mile. That felt about right and it felt like I could run about 19-flat or under if I could hang on.

However, I started to get the feeling that I might need to go to the bathroom. Hold on! Less than a mile to go. I got gassed (tired) at 2.5 and slowed down for a few hundred meters. Two runners went by quickly. They were younger and closed under 6:00 for the last mile. Then two more went by, but they were not moving as fast and I was able to maintain a better pace, about 5 meters behind them. We popped off the river and over a bridge at about 2.8 miles, and I was back onto 6:00-6:10 pace for the stretch. Over the last 200 or 250 m, just before the 3 mile marker (3 miles in 18:28), I threw down all I could and had a strong kick (5:40 pace). I passed those two and pulled away by 4 or 5 seconds. Officially finishing 19:17, but I think that was a little long. And my watch had me closer to 19:05+/-.

Finishing kick!

My intestines were okay, but I did seek the nearest bathroom within 2-3 minutes after crossing the line. No upsets or accidents. All was good.

Post-Hoc

This is why we do rust busters. I think my fitness is there, but the pacing was not perfect (see pace chart). The finish was crazy fast, however, and that’s encouraging.

Pace chart from Saturday’s 5K. Note the quick start. The big dip at 2.1 miles was actually going under a double bridge. Ideally I would have liked to hold about 6:10 pace from 2.3 to 3 miles, and hopefully can find that gear when we have the bigger races.

I finished top 20 and won my age group, and pretty much achieved my pre-race goals.

Age grade was 87% for the full time for 5K, if you consider that the course seemed long (3.16 miles) it was over 88%. I probably hit that first mile a bit too fast, maybe 5 or 6 seconds, and that’s why struggled some over the 3rd mile.

Age group winners at Saturday’s 5K in Fort Collins.

What about the bicarb? I think there is something there, that was my best kick in a 5K in a long time. Usually I drop a few seconds in pace, maybe 10-15 seconds per mile under the overall pace, but this was 30+ seconds, and I felt I could have gone another 100-150 meters at this sprint effort, instead of feeling utterly spent when crossing the line. So I am encouraged.

Masters 8K Cross Country Championship

Last weekend I traveled for the USATF masters 8K cross country championships in Lubbock, TX. I find racing in December or January to be difficult. I’m usually sort of burned out in December from the previous 8 or 9 months of training and racing and January is too early to have enough base behind you to feel that competitive. And forget about feeling sharp.

Our team has not traveled much in recent years. In fact we went for almost a year and a half, from June 2023 to November 2024, without fielding a full team. Injuries, burnout, lack of interest, and maybe personality differences all played into this.

But to Lubbock we went, with an age group team of four runners. Travel this past weekend was dicey and many athletes and clubs were not able to make it. Only about half of the entrants actually lined up to race. Although the fields were small, there was good competition in both the open and masters races.

We made it. Men’s team ventured to Lubbock for the masters championships. Many teams were snowed out.

It was windy on race day, 45 degrees F with sustained winds averaging nearly 20 mph, with stronger gusts. The wind was out of the west, which meant we would have a cross wind most of the way, with some short stretches of tailwind and about a km total of direct headwind on the 2.5 loop course.

Wicked winds whipping from the west.

The route was two and a half loops on a mostly flat former golf course that has been converted into a college cross country course. There were a couple of small rollers each loop and couple short steep bunker-type hills. It was real cross country and the wind added an extra challenge.

Course layout for 8K masters championship race in Lubbock, TX.

As we lined up the officials yelled at us like we were in middle school, “no more run outs! Line up behind the boxes!” And then “What don’t you understand about behind the boxes!!!?” And we were off, I sprinted about 70 meters before settling in.

Crazy hair day! (photo by USATF)

I run by feel in xc and don’t look at my splits much, but ran hoping to run about 6:15 for the first mile and see what I had. On the first loop (just under 1 mile) I felt better than expected and ran with a third pack (with the leaders way out in front at 5:00 pace, and a second pack of about 5-6 runners only 10-15 seconds ahead of us). I did check my watch that one time and it had 6:12.

Into the subsequent 2 mile loops I worried a bit that my early pace had been too hot. Our pack started breaking up by 1.5 miles and the second pack was still up by 5 or 6 seconds. Dan, my main age group competitor had just pulled ahead of that pack.

Decision time, hold steady and hang on, or surge to catch that pack.

I did the latter throwing in my fastest little stretch of the day, hitting sub 6 pace for a bit. I was a little gassed by the time I caught them, but that was just when we turned into the wind for a grinding 400 m stretch straight into it. We slowed way down, and I stutter-stepped a few times, biding my time and trying to catch my breath. We turned north and with a favorable cross-wind picked up the pace again.

I stayed with this group for the next two miles. Dan was only 15-20 seconds up in no-man’s land but I didn’t have the desire or grit to chase him down. On the windy stretch just after 4 miles, we slowed way down again as the wind tore at us. As we rounded turn over a bunker I took off an one of the runners from a different age group went with me. He went off in a sprint. I picked it up gradually over the last km and sprinted home. 15th place and 2nd in my age group. I got 2nd in age grading, and our team won by default because our rivals could not make the trip.

Age group winners, a bit squinty.

It was a good weekend and feeling so much better after feeling off for a few weeks was a pleasant surprise.

My next big race will be in late March, another 8K xc event (world masters) but I will do some xc ski races along the way (more casually than running) and probably a 5k-8K tune up road race in Feb or March. I’m not 100 percent certain, because I have done it two years in a row, but I think I’ll do the masters grand prix (best 5 races in the 8 race series) again.

Postscript: Controversy from Letsrun

You expect nothing but garbage and controversy on the website LetsRun.com and they rarely if ever disappoint. There is currently a thread on the site decrying the lack of participation at this championship. Indeed, it may have been the least attended ever. Only 156 runners (101 men, 55 women) in three divisions for each (Under 20, Open, and Masters) lined up and participated in the event. Last year there were 447 participating in Richmond, VA. Last year was a qualifying race for the World Cross Country Championships and World Junior Championships. So that was a big difference. Nevertheless, recall that half the field did not make the trip due to weather cancellations. So instead of the numbers down by 2/3, it’s closer to 1/3. That’s still a big hit, but factor in the remote location of Lubbock compared to Richmond, VA, and the fact that there is no championship qualification this year the difference is understandable.

Tell that to Letsrun! Those apes will moan, bitch, and caterwaul over anything and everything. Morons.

Update and a Training Race

Post-Marathon Recovery

My post-marathon recovery has been middle of the road, there were no setbacks and it hasn’t dragged on but there has not been a fitness boost. I find it interesting how some people come out of a marathon supercharged and they set huge 5K or 10K PBs in the weeks immediately following a marathon training block and race. That has never happened to me. Only once or twice have I felt decent within a month after a marathon. That just shows how everyone has their own physical and mental response to the long event.

Weeks 1, 2, 3: Recovery with a Big R

I took off a few days of running or aerobic activity other than walking the dog a few times a day. Then I cycled for a couple days. Ran on Day 6 post-marathon, so I had reasonable, but not extensive break. I got in about 14 miles in that first week.

Fortunately we got some early snowfall (in fact much of it while were away in Indianapolis for the marathon) and I was able to incorporate some cross country skiing for cross training (and for its own effect), with three days of skiing in November and now twice a week in December.

The air is thin at 9000 feet but it’s refreshing.

I rolled back into running on the second week back, with 43 miles of easy running and a short ski outing at Breckenridge. On the third week I put in 49 miles of running plus a 15 km ski at Frisco, my old stomping grounds (ca. 1986-87). I did my first tempo effort, just a short 15 or so minutes of effort at 6:50 pace or so on trails on the day before Thanksgiving.

I did have a bit of Turkey Trot FOMO, I kind of wanted to do a race on Thanksgiving but knew I was not mentally or physically ready to line up after a long 2024 campaign. Skiing that day was a good alternative. No traffic no crowds on Thanksgiving day.

Weeks 4, 5: Some Volume

I got my volume mojo back in December with a couple decent weeks. However, workout quality has been lagging.

Over the first week of December I ran 50 miles and got in two ski days of about 28 km (2.2 hours) for a weekly sum of just over 9 hours. I did a double threshold on the 4th. The AM part was actually a pretty stiff session with 4X 1 mile averaging about 6:30. That’s more mid-season level for me but I went with it. The PM part was a pretty mild 8x 30 second surge/30 second recovery on a gravel path. That day gave me some confidence so I signed up for a 5K for December 15.

The second week of the month (week 5 post-marathon) was more of the same, although truthfully I don’t think I felt as well as on the previous week. I did 43 miles of running and two ski outings of 12 and 21 km for a total of 9.3 hours.

My double threshold on Tuesday was a bit of a weather bust because we got several inches of snow overnight. I had to cut an AM treadmill session short when after 2X 6 min reps (plan was 4X) a guy with a cold lined up right next to me (3 feet away, no social distancing there!) so I bailed. And the second workout later in the day was supposed to be 8X 2 min at CV effort with a 1 minute recovery. But with the ice on the path it was 6X 2, 1X 3 and a fartlek within a fartlek because I had to slow down on the icy/snowy patches and then speed up on the dry stretches.

Running-wise the rest of the week was easy, but I did that 21 km of skiing on Thursday.

Training Race

On Sunday I signed up for the Ugly Sweater 5K in Denver. Silly theme, but overall it’s a well-managed race. Shoutout to Derek and Jessica for their series (although I miss the Winter Distance Series at Hudson Garden). Washington Park in South Denver is probably the best place in the entire city for a 5K to 10K road race. It’s almost flat. No traffic. And the road is wide enough to accommodate thousands of participants.

I kind of worked through this one, but was hoping to finish well under 20 minutes for 5K and to take home an age group award. It ended up being mixed on those goals.

The day was about as perfect as you can get here in December. It was cold overnight, and I was freezing on my 2+ mile warm up at about 30 degrees. But by 8:45 it had warmed up to the mid-30s and with full sunshine and no wind to speak of I suddenly felt overdressed with tights, double shirt, beanie and gloves. With 10 minutes to go I stripped off my tights and tossed the gloves and decided to be lightly dressed.

The plan was to go out in about 6:20-30 and then bring it down from there. I didn’t really stick to the plan.

I lined up in about the 4th row, should have been farther back. We started and I was almost immediately swallowed up by another dozen or two runners. I checked my watch at about 200 meters in, and saw that I was running at about 5:40/mile pace. Way too fast. So I eased up, and some more runners went around me. I tried to settle in. Checking again at about a half mile and it was still 6:10 pace. Still too fast. So I eased up some more. However, by then the damage had been done.

Start of the race, you can see my red cap between #1127 and the guy in the white singlet. Yeah, too far up at the start.

I split the mile at about 6:15 and decided to just hang onto the current effort for as long as I could. A pack of about 5 or 6 runners had formed about 20 meters ahead. Otherwise I was in sort of a no mans land as we headed north through the park. And that’s pretty much where I stayed the rest of the way. Breathing was a bit hard, I passed one young runner who was obviously overdressed in a sweater and Christmas pajama pants and a Santa hat. I just hung behind that pack through half way and 2 miles (12:46). There are two small hills before the lap (2.2 miles) and I kind of eased up on those, falling behind that pack a bit. Over the last hill just before the lap I tried to gradually increase my pace. I caught one runner, a younger woman. And we had ourselves a duel for the rest of the way.

End of mile 2, feeling the pain cave.

Felt that I was just hanging on with about a half mile to go, as we were lapping the back of the pack walkers on the west side of the park. I surged with about 600 to go, pulling ahead of my female competitor, but immediately felt that in my lungs so let up and she passed again. I hung back about 5 meters and then threw in a final surge with 300 to go. That didn’t last either and she passed me back before the final turn (150 to go). From then on I just tried to hold form and not throw up.

A final kick.

Final result: 20:11 for 3.16 miles, the course was a little long, probably off by 60 or 70 meters. I’ll split the difference between my Garmin and official time and call it 20:00.

Nevertheless, I believe that’s my slowest time in a 5K road race (about equal to the training race I did in September, but that was a definite tempo-type effort, this was a more of a concerted race effort.

It was slow but I am not disappointed. It was about what I could expect for five weeks after a marathon. An 83% age grade at 5200′ elevation. (3rd overall in age grading). I’m not going to complain. I enjoyed the morning and appreciate the race management and work that went on to host this late season event.

Return to Indy Monumental Marathon

November 9

Background and Training

This was my fifth attempt to get on the five decades sub-3 marathons (aka 5D/S3) list. In my past I ran 2:34 in the 1980s, 2:44 during 1990s, 2:54 in the 00s, and 2:58 in 2018. The attempts the 2020s have been 3:02, 3:00, 3:01, 3:05.

Otherwise, this was a big year of racing with a 25K and two half marathons on the docket. I knew going in, that it would be a big ask to fit in a late year marathon.

In August I ran the world masters half marathon in Europe, got sick on the return, and it took a couple of weeks to get my legs back. Going back to the first week of September mileage was 50, 57, 70, 70, 61, 70, 64, 70, 68, and taper weeks of 36 and 31 miles. I got in four decent long runs of 19, 20, 22, and 20 miles, and a mid-long run of 11-13 on most of those weeks.  The long runs included progression efforts to marathon pace or just a little over, and most of the mid-long runs had tempo or threshold workouts.

The Race, How Did it Go?

I carbo-loaded a bit more than usual on Friday, but not too extreme. And for the race I had Maurten 160 in a handheld for the first 50 minutes and after that used Maurten gel every 30 minutes (so 480 calories for the race). That was about all I could take in.

After some delays I cut it close and got into the starting corral just minutes before the start.

The first 4-5 miles of this race are very crowded. We hit the first few miles a bit slower than race pace and the 5 mile split was in the 34:30s. Through 10 miles I felt heavy from the carbo loading, but not terrible. I kept clicking off 6:55s or so and was 68:40s for 10 miles. Then I fell into a funk, and was questioning whether I should continue with this return to sub 3 quest, and also wondering if I could maintain or increase pace, to keep o the sub 3 quest. That was not a good headspace.

We passed the half, a bit off pace and then 15 miles n 1:44, and knew that sub 3 was no longer on the table. I just resolved to keep on the pace for as long as I could.

My mantra for the day was to live in the mile, and that’s what I tried to re-focus on. And I also thought about resilience. The mostly the downhill 19th mile felt great! And I held the momentum for another mile. But then my pace fell off 7:05 -7:10s and the battle became less about time and more about just finishing. Came through 20 miles in 2:18. 10K to go. Once we got back onto the city streets after about 21 miles I focused by making it from stoplight to stoplight and that helped keep my head in the game.

The last few miles weren’t terrible, nor were they great. I could not ratchet my pace down to sub 6:50, that just wasn’t in the tank. But 7:05-7:10 was sustainable.

My wife and son (he’d just finished the half) were on the side of the course with about a half km to go, before the last couple of turns. With less than a quarter go however, my little toe blew up (ended up being a popped blister, and I’m certain to lose another toenail), so I had sort of a sprint-hobble over the last bit of the course, crossing in 3:03.

Post-race

I grabbed some food and got my medal and made my way to the gear tents, but soon after getting my bag I got nauseous and started throwing up. That only lasted for a minute or so, but it felt longer. Then I felt better. Lolled around the area for an hour or so until we all reconvened. Enjoyed some good meals later in the day a couple of beers in the evening.

With family, M&M who both set PBs in Indy!

Relaxing after the race.

Post Hoc, What worked and What Didn’t?

I’ll give the training block a mixed review. I did get an adequate amount of mileage, with long runs and workouts, but an 8-week marathon-specific build may not have been enough. However, I did have solid a summer HM block preceding that but it was hard to come back from a peak week (in August) in just a couple of months.

Fueling and hydration went okay. I did not bonk or cramp. That was more gels than I’m used to, but still it was less than some are now recommending.

My mental prep and attitude? Also mixed. I was probably less nervous for this race than any marathon I have done, going back 40+ years. That’s good. But I have never felt so off in the middle of a race—that time between 10 and 15 or so miles, I when I was questioning whether I should do any more of these, in particular another sub 3 attempt. Fortunately, I was able to pull out of that and get back into the mindset of just being in the mile.

The Future?

I don’t know. No doubt I enjoy distances, say 25K and under (down to about 5K) more than I do the marathon. What does that tell you? I would at least like to get NYC done to complete the North American WMM tour. And my son and daughter-in-law are already talking about doing Berlin someday. But breaking 3 again? Has that ship sailed?

Taper and Masters Cross Country

I finished my eight week marathon-specific block the other week without too much travail. Most importantly I got in the long runs, including three 20+ milers, and averaged 60-70 mile weeks mostly on single workouts. That’s one difference between this block and those in recent years where I did a fair amount of doubling on non-long run days. Then it was easier to do some doubles due to my work schedule. Now I don’t have to be concerned with that.

I would have liked to have had some extra weeks to prepare following the WMAs, but that would have meant running a different marathon (Philadelphia or CIM). I think/hope Indianapolis will be a good choice for 2024.

I didn’t get in any marquee workouts, but think that’s okay. Although most workouts were B or B- the 1:24 half marathon last month was perfect for preparation and as a fitness test. I’ll go with it.

That’s the good part. The first week of taper wasn’t so great, although the week did end okay.

I did my last long run a week ago Friday, 20 miles with a progression after about 8 miles, closing the last 3 in the mid-low 7s (approaching marathon effort on tired legs). However, the next week of mostly easy running, with one day off for recovery, were just blah. It was the worst I had felt all year. Every run started at 9:30 to 10+ minute pace and I was never able to shake out of feeling overtired, and slow, like 20 seconds per mile slower for easy pace (8:30s-50s), although my heart rate was kind of high (small caveat, dog ate my chest strap so using the watch band). I even cut back miles on some days, which didn’t seem to help.

I went into Saturday’s race feeling rather bleak. Home races are actually harder mentally than traveling, because here you have a target on your back and you don’t know who is going to come out of the woodwork.

Plus, there were some bigger implications for the Masters Grand Prix Standings. I was in 4th place overall, needed a finish to move into third (that’d be easy enough, just 5K), to win I would need an all out victory. Not likely with the hottest masters runner on the circuit now (named USATF Athlete of the Week recently, for setting the national record in the 1500 m and 1 mile). A second place would put me in a three-way tie for first, with final standings to be decided by tie-breakers (specifically head to head competition during the year and number of victories on the eight race circuit).

So yeah, I was feeling some pressure.

USATF Masters 5K XC Championships

My last two outings on this course were a disaster, including the 2022 championships, where came into the race with a head cold and faded to 6th place (healthy I think I would have been 2nd). And last year’s regional championship was even worse, coming off of the marathon four weeks earlier I just wasn’t ready to run hard. So that made me a little nervous.

Boulder Flatirons from the race venue, Harlow Platts Park.

Competition would be good, with four of the top five runners in my age group competing. However, at the last minute one of the runners had to scratch because his flight was cancelled. That was a bummer–although he had been saying that he was gunning for me (gulp!) I was also looking forward to a showdown on home turf. So make that three of the top five.

I drove the half hour to the park in Boulder, feeling a little nervous. 5Ks at altitude are always tough, and cross country 5Ks are all the more difficult. Add in the competition, the standings, and team bragging rights. I didn’t quite get butterflies (like I did in Sweden over the summer) but my chest was tight on the drive up.

Warm up was so-so. Just a slow jog for about 20 minutes and by the time I got my spikes on and found my teammates for a last minute check-in (we cut it close!), we were lined up. I only got in one 50 meter stride out, and maybe 30 meters on the way back.

Gentlemen check your watches.

The Race

After the last minute check in scramble we lined up, the starter gave a couple of quick instructions and without even a ready (or to your marks), the gun fired!

And we’re off!

My goal on Saturday was to to hold steady throughout and not blow up as I had in 2022 and 2023. We were quickly off the line and I was actually near the front for 50 or 60 meters before settling in. My teammate Mark shot ahead and Adam passed me. The pace felt fast on the slight downhill and I did not want to blow it in the first kilometer. I just relaxed. And that my mantra through the first lap. Dan, the age group juggernaut had 50 meters on me within the first half km. So I’d be fighting for 2nd in the age group. The field wasn’t huge (80 runners, compared to 150 or so in 2022) so I was able to find a spot with breathing room early on.

The two lap course at Harlow Platts Park in Boulder.

I decided not to look at my watch, or to minimize it, in this race and run by feel. After the hectic first km we circled back along the lake. I could hear at least one runner close on my heels, breathing heavily. Mark and a half dozen runners were about 30 meters ahead and I sort of sensed that there were a fair number of runners just behind me, so I was leading what the third or fourth chase pack.

We approached the hill at about 1.4 km, and my goal was not to charge up it, to stay relaxed. Those ahead gained some ground and the runner behind pulled up alongside me momentarily. It was Ken, who I had to beat today in order to get that tie in the overall standings. He’s from sea level and I figured I could outrun him over the stretch, but at the same time he’s a very tough competitor and I did not want to leave it to the end. So the crest of the hill (it’s about 10 meters of climb over 130 meters) I made the sharp left and threw in a surge (not in energy so much as just letting gravity do its work), and with 50 or 60 meters I could tell that I had dropped him.

No more footsteps from behind on this day. It was just a matter of hanging on and keeping that pack in sight.

At half way I was tempted to look at my watch but decided otherwise, and for the last time told myself to relax. I soon caught Mark and that pack and figured this would be a good spot. Don’t let them go! I led a few of them for a bit, but dropped back a little by about 2 miles (circling back by the lake again). My breathing was decent, turnover, okay and I felt I could hold this. And did just that.

Mark pulled away on the final hill but I was able to regain it on the downhill. We ran alongside into the soccer field area (0.5K to go) and I was able to get a few steps as we routed around the fields, and had enough to throw down a strong kick to finish in just under 19:30.

Final meters USATF Masters National 5k XC Championship.

I ended up 2nd in the age group, a full minute behind Dan, who is on a record breaking spree. Our team won, fairly handily against our cross-town/cross-state rivals. This was our first team win in two years and first time actually fielding a team since June of 2023. That was all good.

Post hoc analysis. It all worked out. My splits were fairly even (accounting for hills) and I managed my output just about right.

Next up, the marathon this weekend.

Update and Masters Half Marathon Championships

I promise that one of these days I’ll be putting up more content on training philosophy and such. Not just race reports. Soon. Soon I hope.

WMA Recovery and Subsequent Training

It took me almost a month to recover from racing and traveling to Sweden in August. I got sick and that took a few days to get over, and then just felt fatigued for a few weeks. So my mileage took a dip in early September. Not ideal for fall marathon training.

Wait, what?

Training profile since early August, low mark after I got back from overseas and had to take a few days off to recover from travel.

Yeah, I’m doing a marathon in November, date and location TBA! The three main race goals for 2024 were to run the 25K in May and attempt the American Record for my age (check), run at World Masters and medal in at least one race, win the cross country team title, and get a second medal in the half marathon (two checks out of three isn’t terrible).

Since mid-September I have been hitting 60-70 mile weeks with consistency and feeling okay. It wasn’t until the last week of September that I actually felt right again. The primary focus has been to build the long runs (from 15-17 miles over the summer, to 19+ miles). I have to admit that do not really like the long run, and maybe that’s the issue with my difficulty to break 3 hours again at this late stage of my running career. Anything over 2 hours is challenging, and I’m not sure it’s supposed to be that way or not.

I listened to Steve Sisson’s podcast last year and he went on and on about how the long run is the epitome of the training week. I get a little nervous for the long runs, counting minutes for the first few miles, then I might feel good until about half way through before feeling tired, sore, and often a little nauseous from the energy gels and sloshing belly. I conclude the day by feeling like a blob. A hungry blob, but a blob nonetheless.

Anyway, in September I did long runs of 16,17, 19 miles and felt best on the last one, which was about 10 days before last week’s half marathon. In this time I have not done many workouts, other than some tempo and pace work on the mid-long runs (10-13 miles with 4-6 miles of faster running on those). Other days have been either recovery (5 to 7 miles easy) or endurance (8 to 10 miles) with a few strides thrown in there.

Last Saturday I did 22 miles in 3 hours. That was a grind, but then again not terrible either. I felt better in the second half than over the first, and ran a pretty solid negative split (sub 8s) over the last 90 minutes.

My legs haven’t felt great, i.e., snappy or fast, since mid-August. But that’s marathon training.

The goal, again, is sub 3 to join that rare club of five decades sub 3 (5DS3), of which only a dozen or so runners have ever done. Let’s go!

USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships (October 5)

At six weeks after the WMA half I felt fairly recovered from that effort. Going into the race I had four solid weeks of marathon training in the legs and I was feeling it. The plan was to taper that week, and run maybe 50 miles total including the race, but unfortunately my main competition pulled out due to an injury. On paper at least, it looked like I could win this one fairly easily. So I kept the mileage at ~10 miles a day through Wednesday, and just ran an easy 3+ on the course on Friday, so I’d be a little bit rested. I don’t know how much good that did.

The course wound through Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park, outside of Indianapolis. Race day was as good as it gets, mid-50s with a light breeze.

Half marathon course and part of the profile.

I expected the course to have two decent hills (of 80-90 feet) at about mile 3 and 10, but otherwise to be flat. The race profile showed that, but in reality bigger hills were more like 100 feet plus, and there were rollers the entire way, so instead of under 200 feet of vertical (fairly fast), it was more like 400 (and not terribly fast). That was okay, everyone had the same course and I generally do pretty well on hilly courses. I went in still thinking I could run under 1:24 and score an 90% age grade.

The Race

I knew from the very start that my legs weren’t feeling rested, there was no bounce in that first mile and the knowledge crept in that this might be a long day. The going was little tight through that first mile (which had six or seven sharp turns) but we strung out by the time we reached the rather long descent into the park itself. I was kind of leading a group of a dozen or so runners, including several in their 60s and two very fast masters women one 60+ and the other in her late 50s. We split the the mile in 6:22, which is about where I wanted to be, so I settled in through 5K (19:47). I was feeling okay through that point, and that was about it for feeling decent!

On the first big climb I fell back from the three or four leaders of that group, and could tell it wasn’t going to be a breakout day and that sub 1:24 (6:24 pace) would be tough to achieve. Nevertheless, I did fight back for a couple of miles, including a couple pretty decent drops and inclines on the four lane thoroughfare. They eventually pulled away, I thought I was slowing down, but that wasn’t the case. I was holding onto 6:20-6:25 pace but they sped up to 6:10 or so. Good on them. I ran much of the next 4 or 5 miles in my own private no-man’s land, although at about 8 or 9 we had a couple of spots where we switched back, and wow, there was quite a string of runners not far behind, and a big pack of 15 or so, going with the 1:25 pace group. At this point I was still on low or sub 1:24 pace (59:37 at 15K), but the big (1 mile long) hill, including a quarter mile at 10% grade called “Kill the Hill” was looming ahead.

A couple of runners caught up between miles 8 and 10 and we had a semi-pack strung out over 15 or 20 meters.

Knowing it would be a grind I eased up as soon as the grade increased a bit and held an easier stride until we reached Kill the Hill, where I shortened my steps and tried not to lose any more ground. I did not want more of those runners behind me to catch up and pass. I hung on but the damage was done with a 6:45 11th mile. There went sub 1:24.

Therein over the rolling last 2 miles I just kind of hung on, getting passed here and there by someone closing faster, but they were in the open race. My secondary goal with this race was to run strong but not dig too deeply–I did that in Sweden and will need to do that again next month in the marathon. I think I accomplished that. The 12th mile was a grind with a number of small hills and a net elevation increase (6:33). The last mile was out of the park and back onto city streets, smelling the finish, I could pick it up some and covered the last 1.1 at about 6:20 pace to finish in just under 1:24:30. 1st in age group and 89.5% age grade (2nd overall).

Maybe a little short of what I had wanted but still a good day, and haul (medals and cash). I went home pretty happy with the effort.

Moments after the finish, with Rick the 60-64 age group winner.

World Masters Part II: The Half Marathon

The last time I competed and at world masters we had five days between the cross country race and the half. This time it would only be four. For the rest of week I only ran short-easy runs on Wednesday and Friday, took Thursday off and got a massage that day. That helped, but would it be enough recovery?

The half marathon course would be challenging, 4 loops in the park each with two large hill climbs plus several rolling hills. The entire course is 90% up or down (with over 1000 feet of vertical for the 13.1 miles).

I thought the best strategy would be to go easy the first lap and then work my way into a good position in the second and third laps.

100 meters into the race.

I was probably about 6th place through the first couple of miles, but it was mass start with all age groups, so it was hard to tell. I could see two competitors 15 or so seconds ahead, I kind of knew that the favorite (Paul Mingay of Great Britain) was up ahead and out of sight.

The pace and effort were slightly faster than I had planned on, just under 6:20 for the first 3 miles, but I did not want these guys to gap me too much.

It was windy and I spent a lot of time hiding behind the larger Scandinavian runners!

I caught a few runners in my age group in the first loop, and had moved into what I figured was 4th place as I passed the timing mat. Soon after I passed Jukka from Finland and my friends soon confirmed that and said I was in 3rd for my age group. The guy in second, a Ukranian, was only about 10 seconds ahead.

The pace on the second lap was slightly faster than the first. Was I burning too hot to catch my competitor? Would I build enough of a gap to fend off any advances from trailing runners that were moving in the field.

I didn’t notice at the time but this where I caught the fast-starting Spanish runner (end of first lap).

The hills were tough but I hoped to be able maintain the pace. Toward the end of the second loop (between 9 and 10K) I crept up the 2nd place runner.  In hindsight perhaps I should have just hung back 20 or 30 meters, out of sight, and wait to pounce later in the race. However, I kept my effort the same and passed. He fought back and looked super fit. And so we played cat and mouse over the next lap and a half. Early in the third lap, after taking a drink and gel, he fell back and I seemed to be clear. But I don’t think he was ever more than 5 or 10 seconds back. At about 15K, on the second hill and near same point I had crept up on him on the previous lap, he caught up.

We had a fight going on and by now my legs were feeling combined effect of the hills, the pace, and Tuesday’s race.  

We stayed together through lap 3 and beyond, but with 2.5 miles (4K) to go I hit a funk and found that I was struggling to hang on–the hills and pace had taken a toll, so I eased up a little. He (and the same 60 yr old Finnish runner I had battled for several laps in the cross country race) gapped me by about 5 seconds.

That would cost me in the end, and looking back I should have fought through that and kept with them.

The last time I went up the steep hill it felt like I was crawling up the steeper hill, but according to my teammate the gap according to my teammate the gap was only about 8 seconds. I felt that maybe I could close that over the long downhill sections that followed. Once crested I picked up the pace back into the low 6s, but with 2K to go my calf started cramping and I had to ease up. To avoid worse cramping, and maybe even having to walk, I felt I no longer could I pursue the Silver medal. My hope was just to maintain pace and not allow the 8 to 10 second gap to grow.

I knew might be vulnerable, that there could be someone closing faster than me, but I had to find that balance between pushing, more cramping, and maintaining a decent pace. Up the second hill on the loop, for the final time, I was almost there! Just a km to go!

I started to slow from the effort but felt a group of runners coming up from behind me, my sense was to not let them pass because there might be someone in my age group closing in. That sense was correct.

Over the top, some 700 meters to go, I recovered for a few dozen meters and shifted into a finishing gear that I felt I could hold (about 6:15/mile pace). I felt good about my chances to hang on for the bronze, and I did not think there would be anyone near me who could close faster than that.

If I had eyes on the back of my head, about 600 meters to go the Danish runner (in red singlet is closing in).

However, suddenly with just 400 or 500 meters remaining, a Danish runner in my age group, shot by and gapped me by a few meters. I was in shock and a bit of dismay, and it took me a few seconds to regroup. With 200 m to go we came off the bike path and onto the finish area, crowded with spectators. I threw in the best sprint I could muster and was gaining on him, maybe just a second back. He put in one final surge to hold is spot held on and I would finish a close 4th At the end only 9 seconds separated those of us in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. (note that the 5th and 6th runners in the age group were 1.5 to 2 minutes behind us). That was a heck of a battle for the medals.

At the finish line, 4th in my age group!

Man, it was tough to come up short on this. In the middle sections of the race I felt that silver was there if I could just hold on, and on the last lap that the bronze was mine to lose. In the end I fell short on both accounts.

I did spend some time second guessing myself, my pre-race prep could have been a little better–I probably should have had more water in the hours leading up to the race, and maybe taken in more fluid at the aid station (there was only one aid state per loop). If I could do it all again, I would have backed off a little more on that second lap, and ran 10 or 15 seconds slower. A little extra energy may have paid dividends in the end. And that lapse at 17K when the Ukrainian got a 5 second gap, then 8-10; that was key and probably made the difference. In the end, since he didn’t pull away anymore after the hill, meant that he was probably hurting just as much as I was.

Nevertheless, I am still happy with the race, I age graded an 89.3% on a tough course, put myself into medal position, and fought like hell to the end to hold it. None of the top 3 had raced on Tuesday, although two of them had done the 10K two days before that. No excuse, just a fact. Some days your tactics workout better or you just don’t have that extra gear at the end.

But what a week it was! A 3rd, a 4th, and a team win.

Tale of Two Races: WMA Championships Cross Country

I have just returned from a too-quick (9 day) trip to Sweden for the World Masters Athletics (WMA) championships, and it has take three days to recover from jet lag, race fatigue, and a cold that I came down with on the morning I left.

The outdoor WMAs are held every other year, and these are the premier events for masters runners and track athletes, age 35 and up. I ran in the indoor version in 2019, running the 8K XC and half marathon, winning three age group medals. It was probably the most thrilling week of my running life, and I felt that my performances that week were at a once-in-a lifetime level. In the half marathon in particular, where I ran away from a star-studded field and scored an upset victory of sorts.

You can’t beat that, and going to Gothenburg last week I felt that I shouldn’t try to meet that, to let this competition be its own clean slate. That’s not saying that I didn’t hope to medal in both events, but just not to have expectations built on the last time. For one I’m six and a half years older (new age group) and just a different kind of runner–the years do catch up. And for another, this being the summer championships, and during peak travel season for northern Europe, not March in Eastern Europe, I thought the competition and depth would be greater this time around.

I planned my training all summer around these championships. Peaking at about 70 miles a week, and except for a taper week and recovery for US Masters Track and Field Nationals last month, almost all weeks were above 60 miles. Very consistent.

In the end I was well prepared (maybe a less so than in 2019 for the indoor WMA championships), but had a very solid summer with no setbacks.

I arrived in Gothenburg on Saturday evening after nearly 24 hours of travel time (not to self, make the logistics less grueling the next time, maybe even break it up) in cars, shuttles, jets, and trains.

My first race would be Tuesday, the men’s 8K cross country event.

Part 1 Cross Country

The cross country race was on a 2K loop in Slottskoggen Park (formally the King of Sweden’s forest estate). Each loop featured two hills (one gradual, 2-5% over 500 m) one steeper but shorter (5-7% over about 200 m), and it had number of twists and turns, some roots and mud to navigate. This was real cross country, but it wasn’t technical. Just about right for a masters championship. The course, mostly on turf was in good shape. Road and sidewalk crossings were softened with strips of artificial turf or wood chips. There was one section in the trees that some bare ground and roots, and the downside of the second hill was intermittently wet and muddy for a couple hundred meters.

Course layout, 4X 2K loops.

With Dan and David, I knew we had had a very good team and we all felt that we could win the overall title if we all ran well. We also had back up with four other Americans, should one of us have an off day (three score). The potential to win was a great prospect–it was the main reason I went on this trip and trained hard this summer–to win the team title.

However, I was also nervous before the race–more so than usual for cross country–because I did not want to have a bad day and let my team down. Plus it’s not every day that you run for your country as team. This was my most important race of the year, more so than the 25K age group record attempt last spring, more than the half marathon in the same park four days later, and more than my upcoming sub 3 marathon attempt scheduled this fall.

David, Dan, and I did a leisurely 3K jog through parts of the course, and made last minute preparations. Weather was about 70F, with a good breeze (up to 10 mph) coming from the south. The sun was out and it did feel a little warm, but overly so.

The race itself played out better than I could have dreamed of.

We were off, about 100 runners, with the 60-64 and 65-69 age groups combined, and after a little jostling and hollering by a couple of competitors off the line, I found myself running along with my teammate David Westenberg in the top 20 overall, and maybe top 5 or 6 in our age group. Dan was fighting for the overall title and was up ahead, going after Alex Stienstra of the Netherlands. The lanky Stienstra had just won the 10K two days prior, and the 5K the previous week.

Startline anticipation.

The goal for me on the first lap was to pace reasonably with David and to stay out trouble on any tight spots. At the end of the first loop (which we crossed in 7:40) and we were in about 15th place overall and top 5 for our age group, while Dan was already 15 seconds ahead running a few seconds behind the tall Dutchman.

David and I early in the second lap.

We were in good position, but I thought the Dutch and British might have some depth and strong runners ready to strike on the later laps.

After passing the lap banner, and then navigating the long steady climb for the second time and I could see that our age group competitor Jukka from Finland was not too far ahead, running in a group of four. By the time we were reached the high point the group was only 10 or 15 meters ahead of me. I surged a bit to catch them, but David did not follow, he stayed back some 15 meters.

I stayed with the group (three Finns and German) for the next lap. I felt pretty relaxed, like I wasn’t running all out. However, I had a near disaster when my foot got tangled in the marker tape that was billowing in the wind, fortunately I didn’t trip, but did snap the tape! We crossed the 2nd lap in about 15:30.

Early in third lap, my teammate Chris said Jukka and I were were tied in 3rd place. (but I heard 4th!). I was feeling solid and thought this would be a good day to medal. So picked it up the effort on the incline and the pack of five that we’d had for a lap broke apart. Only one of the other Finns went with me but he was in the the younger age group. He shadowed me for the rest of the afternoon. I did slow down once and glance back to see where my competitors were, but start chattering in Finnish. By the I realized that indeed I was solidly in 3rd place for my age group, and also by this time I wasn’t losing ground to Dan and Alex: they were about 20-25 seconds ahead, and would remain so for the rest of the race.

Start of Lap 2, running with the pack.

I crossed the mat for the 3rd lap in 23:21. Jukka was 30 seconds back, and David was in pursuit not far behind him.

Me and my Finnish shadow on lap 3.

My goal on the last lap was to hold onto my spot, and hope that Dan and David would do the same. The going did get difficult on the last lap but I held form over the final hill and sprinted across the line in bronze medal position (11th overall). My Finnish shadow did outkick me over the final 80 meters but it was a moot point. For the second time, I had scored a Bronze medal in cross country at the WMA championship!

Dan had pulled away convincingly over Alex Steinstra on the final lap to take Gold (his second in cross country), and David hung on for fifth place, behind Jukka. 1, 3, 5. We easily won the gold medal!

Yes the team gold meant more than winning an individual title in the half marathon. So etch a shelf for the new lifetime highlight. Maybe someday I can line up with Americans and do this again, but this was my first team win, and the experience just can’t be beaten.

Favorite picture of my favorite moment of the best running day in my 48 years of running and racing: Team USA celebrating the 65-69 age group win at the World Masters Championships with David (left) and Dan (middle).