Race Recap: CSD Spartan 5K

This past Sunday the Community School of Davidson put on a 5k race at Fisher Farm.  Despite some rain it was well attended by runners and walkers alike.  Cornelius-based runner Bobby Aswell won overall with an unofficial time of 16:05.

Here's Bobby's recap:

"Today at 3:00 pm was the 2nd Annual CSD Spartan 5K at Fisher Farms in Davidson. I was going to run anyway and having never been there, decided to go check it out. It was a fundraiser for the Community School of Davidson (CSD) and consisted mostly of CSD students and their parents. 


On a short course, I managed to finish 1st Overall in 16:05. My guess is that the course was short by about 1/3 mile or so. We didn't actually run on the single track trails but ran on the dog path trails around the park running 2 loops. Anyway, I got in a good workout and got to visit Fisher Farms which would be a good place for future trail runs. Most importantly, had a great time!"

New days added to The Birkdale Runners & Walkers Group

About a month ago I blogged about a new group of runners and walkers in the Huntersville area called, appropriately enough, The Birkdale Runners & Walkers Meetup Group.  At that time they were meeting only on Saturdays at 9am, with an optional 8am start for those thirsting for additional miles.

Some of you may have said to yourself, "Self, I can't run on Saturday mornings because I a) run in races, b) spend time with family, c) like to sleep in, or d) some combination of the above."  Well, I'm pleased to say that two additional days have been added, Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6:30.  With the recent time change there will be plenty of daylight for putting in a few miles on the new greenway.

The group meets behind the new Fleet Feet store in Birkdale Village off I-77, exit 25 west.  To join the group and get more information check out their site.

Chad R.

Davidson Area Running Team

Race Recap: Salisbury Fire Department's Saint Patty's 5K

A Friday evening filled with thunderstorms and plenty of rain gave way to ideal running conditions on Saturday morning, upon which was held the Salisbury Fire Department's Saint Patty's 5K.  This was my first occasion to run in this race.  I'm not sure why I've missed it in prior years but I won't let it pass by again.

Fellow DARTer Jim Crotts joined me and my son James for the drive to the J.F. Hurley Family YMCA in Salisbury, NC.  After getting our DayGlo yellow shirts we headed to the starting line, which was in the parking lot of the adjacent Harris Teeter.  I appeared to be the only one pushing a baby jogger.  When the start signal was given we all struck out behind the Harris Teeter, dodging bread trucks and the like on our way to the greenway which parallels Brenner Ave.

So far so good until we hit Wilkesboro Ave. and the climbing began.  It wasn't a steep incline, but a long one and that's when the baby jogger really felt heavy.  We continued up Monroe Ave. and past scenic Livingstone College.  After a right turn the pain of the uphill was rewarded with a nice long downhill to the finish line behind the YMCA.

Jim finished about forty seconds in front of me, good for fifth place overall and first in his age group.  I finished ninth overall and first in the Masters (age 40+) category.  I've always had mixed feelings about being in the Masters division; for one, I don't like to acknowledge my middle-agedness, and for another I think it's somewhat redundant since there are already age divisions in place.  However, any negative thoughts about being a Master evaporated when they handed me the largest trophy I've ever gotten.  James decided that it's his and has put it away in his room.

James and Jim

Post-race refreshments were plenty and consisted of orange and apple slices, bagels and peanut butter and ham and sausage biscuits from Biscuitville.  Open access to tasty biscuits can be either a good or bad thing, depending on one's willpower.  While I abstained James horked down not one but two!

James and me

Unofficial route via my Garmin Forerunner 205 can be found on the MapMyRun link.
Results can be found on the Salisbury Rowan Runners site.

Chad Randolph
Davidson Area Running Team

Race Recap: Gasparilla Distance Classic Marathon, Tampa, FL

Todd Hartung of Davidson recently completed the Gasparilla Distance Classic Marathon in Tampa, FL and posted this race recap.

"Having made the trip to run The Myrtle Beach marathon on February 13th that was cancelled due to snow, I did not want to let February pass without running a marathon. A quick view of Marathonguide.com led me to the Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa, Florida.. Saturday would include a 15k followed by a 5k.(last year Ryan Hall ran the 15k). Sunday would include a half marathon and a full marathon. There were over 24,000 runners in all of the races combined so it made for a town full of runners. Several runners I met were running the 15k and 5k on Saturday as well as either the half or full on Sunday. I chose to just run the full on Sunday. I did enjoy watching the other races on Saturday and walking around the very nice expo.

A 6am start on Sunday made for an early morning to get some breakfast before the race. The race runs along Tampa's' Bay shore Drive and is a beautiful scenic and very flat course. Going into the race I had the same goals I normally have that include requalifying for Boston. For me this means running a 3:20 to go to Boston in 2011. I ran Boston last year and requalified again for this coming year but need to start working to qualify for next year. In addition to the 3:20 goal I also always have a second goal of finishing under 3:30 and a final goal of finishing. If the marathon was 22 miles I would have made it as I ran great up until that point. The wheels fell off at 22 miles and I did the classic death march for the remainder of the race. I crossed at 3:25 and was glad to be done.

The 2010 Gasparilla marathon was the 10th and final running of this race. They are going to keep the other three distances but have decided to no longer run the marathon. I am glad that I ran the final race and wish they were keeping this race as it was a great course, great weather and well organized."

Way to go, Todd!