I should say first off that overall I enjoyed this race. I ran a PR in one of the race's previous incarnations a few years ago.
This year, the 5K took advantage of the new Beltline path. This was a plus and a minus!
We signed up for this one because it was so close to our new home. When we went to pick up our race bibs, a number of hiccups came up.
First there were only two places to pick up pre-registered race bibs -- something like A-M and N-Z. Even in other small races that I've participated in there are more than just two areas. So there were two huge lines that snaked back into a crowded staging area in front of the middle school. It might have been better for them to have used a good portion of the school's parking lot.
Next, it wasn't really clear where the start was. People assembled on the sidewalk in a huge line back. Virginia Avenue should have been closed off here, or at least half of it for people to gather before the race. We spilled over on Park Place.
Then the race began. I couldn't believe the other half of Virginia wasn't blocked off or coned off for cars -- it was just open space for runners and cars! This could have been dangerous.
As I mentioned in last week's blog on the Beltline 10K, the Beltline is a nice place to run but can get pretty congested with lots of runners.
The race course used the Beltline path for runners coming -- and going. I could tell the fastest runners were a little irritated that younger runners were in the same lane that they were returning in. But really no one could tell which part of the path people should run in -- it wasn't coned off for the return trip.
When the race came near the turnaround through the Old Fourth Ward park, it followed the sidewalk path, which made for a very thin space for more than three-wide.
Because it really was just a community fun run I don't expect things to be perfect. And it was a very enjoyable run. It was interesting to see these kinds of situations pop up when other small runs in the community seem seamless.
Time: 10 a.m.
Temp: 56 degrees
Gear: Technical T, short (Rock'n'roll Chicago 1/2 marathon), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 28/A.
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