Back in February I laid out my 2016 running goal: finish in the top three in my age division in a timed 8k or 10k race. Since 2016 is done (at least for me for races I’m going to enter) let’s see how I did!
I registered for five races this year but only ran in four. I missed the modo Spring Run-Off 8k in March because I was coming off of a case of bronchitis. The four I ran were the Vancouver Sun Run (10k), the BMO Vancouver Marathon 8k, the Granville Island Turkey Trot (10k), and the Fall Classic (10k). Here are my times:
- Vancouver Sun Run: 48:11 (4:49 per km)
- BMO Vancouver Marathon 8k: 36:42 (4:35 per km)
- Granville Island Turkey Trot: 48:12 (4:49 per km)
- Fall Classic: 47:43 (4:46 per km)
Now if you read the original post you’ll see that I was targetting a top-three finish in the BMO Vancouver Marathon 8k, as the M40-44 times were rather slow. The fastest in that category last year did it in 38:07.
And look! I crushed that time this year! Beat it by 1:25! So I made my goal, right?
Well, not quite. You see this year for some reason the M40-44 field was tougher. The top finisher in my age category did it in 29:37, over seven minutes faster than me. He finished third overall! I ended up sixth in my age category, which considering the field, is pretty respectable.
In the four races my age category positions were 175/1667 (Sun Run), 6/52 (BMO 8k), 34/151 (Turkey Trot) and 9/58 (Fall Classic).
Two top-ten finishes, every race was faster than a 5:00/km pace, and the rainy Fall Classic was a personal best 10k time. I’ll take it!