RKR tackles wind, hills, mud, and … roadkill
Sunday, November 10th, 2013. The Robert Trent Golf Course at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. While Josh was off running a paltry road 5K this weekend, the real men raced over hills and mud to bring glory to the Roadkill Racing name. 125 men and 73 women braved the cold, blustery weather to partake in the fourth race in the Pete Glavin Upstate New York Cross Country series, and the USATF Niagara Open XC Championships. Roadkill Racing, having been plagued with a dearth of able racers this season, once again joined forces with High Noon Athletic Club to instill fear in the hearts and souls of our competitors.
After warming up on the course, the three Roadkill Racers, Kenny, Joe, and Matt, realized that fast times were out of the question. The wet conditions made for soggy terrain, and the biggest hill I have ever seen appeared roughly at the 4.5 mile mark of the 8K course. We decided to run tough and see what scalps we could pick off. Our spirits were buoyed when we were told that there was a dead raccoon spotted on the course. Obviously, this rural form of roadkill was an omen, albeit a sad, macabre omen.
The gun went off and we took off as quickly as our soaked spikes would let us. Kenny, fresh off a recent 15:51 PR, was soon out of sight of the rest of us mere mortals. The men’s 8K course consisted of three loops around a small section of the golf course before splitting off into hillier terrain after three miles. After getting dizzy running around in circles, we began the real racing in the hills of the back nine, or lower forty, or whatever that section is called. I can’t speak for Kenny or Joe, but while I was certainly hurting by the time we reached The Hill, I was able to pass two GVH runners in the last mile. I was reduced to nearly walking pace up the steepest section of The Hill, but luckily the last quarter mile was all downhill, and I managed to stay ahead of the runners I could hear breathing down my neck.
High Road Noon Kill Racing ended up fielding two teams, which ended up third and fourth in the PGUNYXC results. Kenny finished 12th with a blazing time of 28:16, I was 22nd in 29:11, and Joe finished 64th in 33:29. While we didn’t win any beer, I’d like to think we did run well and each of us beat some real studs.
Next up is the championship in the PGUNYXC series, a 10K held at Mendon Ponds park on Sunday, November 24th. Look for the RKR singlets to make a bold statement there!
Thanks to USATF Niagara and Tim Matthews for the photos
