rob field

Peachtree City Classic 15K (25th Anniversary)

It was a cool clear morning, but unseasonably warm for October. Leaving from Roswell about 5:00, the drive down to Peachtree City only took about an hour and fifteen minutes, so we arrived at the race site just as everything was starting to get setup. We had plenty of time to get a great parking spot, find the restrooms, pickup race numbers, and scope everything out.

It was cold standing around waiting for the race’s 9:10 am start, but by race time, it had warmed up a little and the cooler temperatures were perfect for running. Poor planning on my part meant that I started close to the back of the pack, which with a thousand or so runners hurt my time.

I had not intended to push it, which shows you how poorly I know myself. As soon as the crowd started moving I went from, 'I am going to pace myself/worrying about finishing mode' to 'competitive mode'. At the first mile mark, my time was a little over nine minutes. That got under my skin and for the next few miles my pace was well under the 8:00/mi mark. I kept that pace to the 10K/6 mile mark. At about mile six, I started feeling the distance and I could feel my pace slipping just a bit. The last three miles were tough. I had to dig deep and focus not fall off the pace. I finished 32nd (of 88) in my age group (180th overall) with a time of 1:17:12 and an average pace of 8:17. The race winner’s time was 48:10.

The race was well organized and had a terrific level of volunteer support. After a few miles of blacktop, the course turned onto wide paved cart trails that wound through the woods. It was a beautiful course to run.

The only minor quibble I had was the foul tasting water at the finish. It tasted like an old garden hose, which was exactly what they were using to fill the cups. On the way home from the race we stopped at Rainbow for the perfect post-race organic vegetarian meal.

Mom ran the race with me and placed 3rd in her age group. (photo)

Website: PTC 15K