Reston 10 Miler Race Report

I ran the Reston 10 Miler on 3/2/14, my first of five weekends in a row of March races. Actually, my one-a-weekend race streak began on 2/2/14 and should continue through 4/13/14; that will make 11 weekends in a row of races of varying distances. I'm crazy.

Anyway, I had never run the Reston 10 Miler, but it seemed like a good option for this weekend. It is local to me, is part of the Potomac River Running Race Series, and some friends from Shirlington Running Club were going to be there.

Pre-start with Pam and Megan

The weather was much better than my last several weekend races. It was in the 40s, dry, with little wind. Pretty good race conditions. And we were lucky, because less than 24 hours later, there would be a snowstorm.

The race started and ended at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA, the same location as the Runners Marathon of Reston (last year Scot and I spectated at that one). There were several hundred people, and the race started off without much fanfare.

Before the start - I can't do any local race this year without seeing Barry juggling

The course took place on open suburban roads with not a lot of scenery, and definitely not a lot of greenery this time of year. The one highlight was running past Lake Thoreau twice. Aside from that, the course was not too interesting, but was definitely hilly. And I'm not talking about the short, fun rolling hills that I sometimes like. I'm talking about long, gradual uphills. Not so much fun, and they definitely slowed me down. The good news is there were also some fast downhill parts.

Approaching Mile 8 - this is pretty much what most of the course looked like

Lake Thoreau, the one scenic element on the course

The Reston 10 Miler was not a bad race, but I probably won't return. The positives: great volunteers, mostly high school students; nice swag, including a medal, for this distance; and a very accurately measured course. Areas for improvement: please, please, please put a few port-a-potties on the course (there were none! for this 10 miler course); space the water stations more evenly and make sure all of them are stocked with an adequate supply of cups!

Finishers in front of the Class of 2014 wall at the high school track

Nice swag for a 10 miler - tech shirt, medal and pin

After the race, Megan, Pam and I headed over to Community Canteen at the Reston Town Center for some brunch and to satisfy Pam's need for French toast. We saw fellow SRC member Catherine there, though I had not seen her at the race. Overall, I had a good morning, but I was disappointed with my time. Even though I took it easy and didn't have a real time goal, I definitely wanted to beat 2 hours, and missed it by a minute. If I hadn't forgotten my GPS (or any watch), I'm sure I would have done better. I have two more 10 milers coming up (Cherry Blossom and GW Parkway Classic), both of which are faster courses, and with slightly warmer temps, I'm sure I'll do much better there.

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