Race Report: MADD Dash 485 10K (2014)

"Run it Before You Drive It!"

The unique thing about this early November race is that it's held on a soon-to-be opened stretch of a new interstate loop around Charlotte.  It isn't the first MADD Dash, but it's the first I've heard of and it seemed like a great idea.  As far as I can tell, the NCDOT put on the race, with the support of some terrific sponsors.


Funds from the MADD Dash 485 5K, 10K, and Fun Run was an opportunity to raise money for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  Everyone I mentioned the race to was either interested in running or biking (there's also an option to cycle a portion of the interstate), or was at least aware of the event.

Going in, my expectation was that this would be a flat, fairly straight down and back course.  It isn't every day I run on an interstate, and was really looking forward to this one.  Chris also ran the race, his first 10K.

Course map.

Sunday races aren't usually in the repertoire, and we arrived a little behind schedule after a quick stop at Bojangle's (because nothing says "healthy runner" like chicken and biscuits).  I had a small mashed potato and some water, while the family enjoyed all the salty, buttery good stuff on the menu of this regional favorite.

At 12:40 we're still at Bojangle's (our young family takes a little more time), and I receive a text from Chris:  "Quite a hike to the race."  We had 20 minutes, and were about 5 minutes away.  It seemed like plenty of time, until we arrived.

I-485 is a parking lot.  Literally.

The MADD Dash 485 10K was apparently interesting for a lot of people!  464 runners finished the 5K, and 332 finished the 10K.  That's 796 runners + those that paid $5 to ride their bicycles on the new stretch of road + support and volunteers + fun runners = a lot of vehicles.

Oh look!  More cars!

We arrived and unpacked, and I had a luxurious eight minutes to reach the starting line.  Not a problem.  I fueled up on hugs from my support team and was off.

Support team hugs.
See that towering thing?
Start line is beyond that.

Someone walking by mentioned the start line was about a mile away.  Oh the wind!  I'm not sure if it was that far, but I jogged the whole way after my false start as I had forgotten my sunglasses.  At the registration table, there were two people that were trying to squeeze in a final registration and ended up running with a bib and a disclaimer, but no names.  It was cold, but I warmed as I jogged on.  Chris texted me - he was near the front on the left. We had a good one or two minutes to chat and take a picture, and then we heard the countdown:  8!  7!  6!  5!  ....

Ready to run.

And with that we were off!

Distance from the start at countdown.

For the first half of the run, the weather was absolutely amazing.  Sunny, slight breeze from the back, and a flat course made for a nice time.  Even with the PF pain (yes, it's decided to raise it's ugly head again - ugh), I was clocking around a 7:30 pace and having a good time navigating the crowd.

Crowd to be navigated.

I saw John and Elaine during the first half on the course, they were both running strong and looking good.  The 5K turnoff was clearly marked, and a volunteer was directing 5K runners to the left for the turnaround, 10K runners to the right to keep going.  I was feeling great, and enjoyed the first 5K quite a bit.  It's a little hard to see in the pictures, but most of the run is below the surrounding land, and we ran under a bridge or two.  The road opened up  as we ran all the way into the new I-485 / I-85 turbine interchange, and it was terrific to run over the traffic below.

Running over I-85

Then came the turnaround, and what a shock it was.  In the words of Jason Adkins on the 485K Facebook page, "...the wind was brutal coming back on the 10K!"  The 7:30 pace on the way down was aided by a tailwind, and now we were paying the price.  Did I mention most of the run is below the surrounding land?  It creates a wind tunnel that amplified the breeziness of the day.  I've not run in that much wind before, even during the Cooper River Bridge run earlier this year.  Runners were leaning into the wind, and many of us pulled up to walk for a bit.  It really slowed down the pace for all but a handful of strong runners that kept on chugging through.  I ended up walking a few times, and wish I had kept my pace.

Speaking of pace, on the back portion I found a few folks that could pace me, and ended up staying with one runner most of the journey in.  We must have passed each other 5-10 times on the back 5K as one of us would walk a bit or pick up the pace.  I had more stops and starts, and think she was in better shape than me for this run.  Another runner joined us for the last couple of kilometers, and think we all finished pretty close to each other at the end.  Based on the race results it was Melany Engman and Sam Garn.  Although we didn't speak, it was motivating to be with runners at about the same pace on the way in.  If you're out there Melany and Sam, thanks for the motivation and company!

What a welcome sign!

After coming through the chute and recording a time of 49:33 (8:06 min/mile), I was feeling a little winded but okay.  Just after running I caught a BIG whiff of diesel exhaust - now THAT was a real surprise!  After coughing and finding some water and granola bars, I worked my way back to where the family was waiting.  Elaine was there with her children, waiting on John to come across the line.  Both had nice strong finishes, and their family was sticking around to ride bikes on the new stretch of road.

Chris came across next, finishing his first ever 10K like a champ!  After Chris came Carolyn, who finished her second race of the day.  I saw Carolyn at packet pickup, and remembered that she had run a 5K earlier in the day, then was coming back to run this 10K.  If this is routine for her, I'm thinking she has an awesome t-shirt collection.

We tried sticking around for the festivities, but the support team was getting tired, and I was freezing as I learned how well those technical fibers really do wick and allow air flow on a very breezy day.  We saw the first few awards distributed, and then headed for home.

Hiking back.
Remember the towering thing from
the parking lot view earlier?
This is the other side.

So many things were themed for the highway.  The kilometer markers were actual printed street signs, the Governors Highway Safety Association was out reminding us to "Click It or Ticket" and "Booze It and Lose It," and there was a neat simple simulator called the "Seat Belt Convincer" to demonstrate the force of even a small fender bender.  Not to mention all of the awesome road building equipment and diggers along the route.

These were at every kilometer

Passing out Chap Stick - welcome on a windy day.

Step right up!
There's a seat behind the sign that stops
abruptly at the bottom.

This was a fun one.  I had a nice run, Chris ran his first-ever 10K, and everyone else ran strong on a course with a windy second half.  My feet weren't happy with me, but it isn't every day you get to run a race on an interstate.  I'd say this one is a repeat for next year, but there's only one small problem:  the speed limit will be 65 mph. :)


===  RACE DAY  ===
Race:  MADD Dash 485 10K
Location:  Charlotte, NC
Shoe:  Brooks Guide 7
Date:  11/2/2014
Distance: 10K
Time: 49:33
Pace:  8:06/mile
Overall:  48/332 (14.5%)
Gender:  36/133 (27.1%)
Group:  8/24 (33.3%)

===  LINKS  ===
Website:  Weebly, Facebook
Registration:  Active
Results:  Queen City Timing
Organizer Pics:  Flickr