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The China Grove 5K Main Street Challenge is a fairly straight, fairly flat out and back course on Main Street in China Grove, NC. Salisbury Rowan Runners put on this race in support of the South Rowan YMCA Invest in Youth program.
A few of us were looking for a run to do together, and this one fit the schedules best. Jonathan, Stephen, Daniel, and Kaila were all running the 5K, and Noah, Noelle, and Charlie tried their skills at the Fun Run. Charles, Becky, Angie, and Natalie were out cheering us on. Also saw John and Elaine, Carolyn, and a few other runners I knew.
Walking to the start line, I was noticing that this field of runners seemed a little fitter than some other races, and it was a little intimidating. Two runners next to me were talking about their recent 5K times in the mountains of North Carolina and their finishes in the high 14-minute range - that's under a 5 minute mile.
What's bringing these people out at 9:00 at night? $200 to first male and female runners, $100 to second place male and female, and $50 to third. Seeing the super-fit crowd showing up was energizing, and I knew this was a fairly straight course. My mind drifted to a 5K PR (personal record) - the first time I had really thought about that. Stephen and Daniel both reminded me to just go out and have fun.
Everyone running seemed to have run this race before. It was a little surprising, because I couldn't find a web site for the race when registering. But here we were, over 400 of us spending time together on a Friday night in China Grove, a town with around 4,000 residents.
We arrived on time for the Fun Run and registration, but honestly couldn't find the starting line. It seemed to be clear to others, but it ended up being a rushed affair for us. In the end everyone got a medal and all was well.
The starting line of the 5K was much easier to identify - just follow all of those people that have run this before. The fastest-looking were in the front, and the rest of us found our places a little further back. I stayed close to the front with a PR in my mind and feeling pretty good. As the race began, I was thinking I needed to have been further up front, as I was navigating past several runners that were at a much slower pace than me.
I ran almost the first mile at a 5:30 minute/mile pace, which is amazing for me! The only problem was that 5Ks are 3.1 miles. So in the first six minutes of the race I used up all of my energy and had nothing left for the rest of the race. All of those "slow" runners behind me started passing me. Since it was a down and back I saw the race leader (who finished with a 4:52 minute/mile pace and was done in just over 15 minutes) bound by effortlessly. Then Stephen and Daniel, who are both faster than me anyway, bounced by with smiles on their faces. All of us made it through, and Kaila finished her first 5K ever!
At the end of the race everyone that knew where to go headed to the fire department for the awards ceremony. We figured it out by following the crowds, and found the porta-potties around back. There was plenty of finish-line food, and a few of us picked up some new shoes from Phidippides, a local running store that set up at the finishing area.
I'm an early to bed kind of guy, and this one was a little past my bedtime. Overall it was a really good experience. I can no longer claim to be a China Grove 5K Main Street Challenge newbie, was able to spend some time with people that are very important to me, and picked up a nice t-shirt to boot. Not sure if I'll run this one again, but not opposed either.
Wow. Those front runners were fast.
=== RACE DAY ===
Race: China Grove 5K Main Street Challenge
Location: China Grove, NC
Shoe: Avia Austin
Date: 6/13/2014
Distance: 5K
Time: 23:43
Pace: 7:40/mile
Overall: 114/416 (27.4%)
Gender: 90/218 (41.3%)
Group: 13/31 (41.9%)
=== LINKS ===
Registration: SportOften
Results: On the Mark Sports
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