The Men's 4-Miler, June 19, 2011

Well friends, the new race course and event were fantastic. On Father's Day this month, about 500 men in Charlottesville lined up at 7:30am in the parking lot of Scott Stadium at the University of Virginia to run the revamped (men's only) 4 mile race. My personal record for this event (back when it was held in Free Union) is 31:58. I was nervous about the new course, hills, etc. but what slowed me down more than anything was the humidity. It was fairly brutal, at 90 percent humidity and air temps of 72 degrees. My finish time was 32:48, or an 8:12 pace per mile. Not bad, but not a personal record. I started out well, with a mile 1 split of 8:05 and a mile 2 split of 7:59, but then I lost a lot of steam. (Note about the course: While the reports were that the first two miles are slightly uphill [true] and the last two miles downhill [untrue]. Some hill training at miles 3-4 would definitely help. My final two miles were slower than the first two, not exactly a recipe for a PR. But what a great event. Here in Charlottesville, the Women's 4-Miler is such a mega-event, selling out in 48 hours. It's nice to see the men improving on their participation, and for proceeds of the race going to the Department of Urology at the UVA Medical School for prostate cancer research and overall support of men's health initiatives. Hope to see more of you next year. Who knows? Maybe the men's race will become the super mega-event like the women's race!