2008 Riverbank Run

I ran in my 4th consecutive Riverbank Run this year. It is one of my favorite events of the year. The course is both enjoyable and challenging, and the distance is perfect for me. This year's weather was also ideal - fifties and sunny during the race.

This winter was so long and brutal that I didn't start my training until about 6 weeks later than I did last year. I also didn't focus on running until mid-April so I only had about 4 weeks of solid running before this year's race. As a result, I wasn't nearly as prepared as the last 2 years and it showed in my time.

I ran a decent race. I was consistent and stayed strong the whole time. I could tell by mile 2 that it wasn't one of those lucky, unusually great-feeling days so I didn't push myself too hard and just took what my body would give me. Here were my splits:

Mile 1 - 8:32

Mile 2 - 8:08

Mile 3 - 8:10

Mile 4 - 8:21

Mile 5 - 8:21

Mile 6 - 8:25

Mile 7 - 8:26

Mile 8 - 8:25

Mile 9 - 8:31

Mile 10 - 8:52

Mile 11 - 8:33

Mile 12 - 8:45

Mile 13 - 8:55

Mile 14 - 8:57

Mile 15 - 9:02

Final time - 2:12:47 for an average pace of 8:34 min/mile.

So the 2-hour club will have to wait another year. My ultimate Riverbank goal is to join that club, but reaching that speed will require the type of training I did last year. Last year I had run more than 400 miles by the end of April. This year I was closer to 200 miles.

My favorite moment of the race was running by my cheering section at mile 15. Evie watched her first Race and as I approached the group Erin raised Evie like Raffiki raised Simba in the Lion King. Evie's hands were high in the air so I gave her a high-five as I passed. Just what I needed.

Paul had an impressive debut at 2:03 and Rob reached hallowed ground at 1:59:31. Next year I'll join you Rob.

Jason and Darren have run with me all 4 years. This year we were much more spread out, all nearly a mile apart.. Jason finished in 2:06 and Darren in 2:29. Over the last three years we were within 6 minutes of each other from the fastest to the slowest.