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