It has been many years since I have participated in the Bolder Boulder Memorial Day 10k. I did it again yesterday along with 52000+ other people. It was a gorgeous day....not a thunderstorm in sight. It actually got quite warm as, it seems to me, Boulder is a heat-sink nestled beneath those Flatiron mountains. Homeowners and kids along the course were nice enough to spray runners with water hoses. That really was welcome.
The race does a tremendous job of organizing for that many runners plus the 30,000 observers. There are 92 different start "waves" based on projected speeds. They offer round-trip RTD bus service from 10 different locations to get to Boulder.
The Elite race is wonderful. If you follow running at all, you will recognize the names of some of the American elites. Ryan Hall was the 2nd American male elite to finish. Shalane Flanagan came in 2nd for women. Deena Kastor came in 4th. Sarah Hall, Ryan's sister, came in 16th. An Ethopian runner won the women's race. An Eritrean won the men's race.
Frank Shorter, the well-known 1972 Olympian, manned the starting pistol for all 92 waves, ran the 6.2 miles to Folsom Field, then did the commentary for the elite racers. He is 66.
The race is really fun. Many people wear costumes. Families run or walk it together. Bands and bellydancers along the way entertain you. There are 90 year-olds and 5 year-olds participating. You finish in Folsom Field (the CU stadium), which, by the end of the morning, gets really full. A okay, so-so runner like me can have an inkling of what it would be like to have a stadium full of people cheering for you. We don't get enough of that in our everyday lives.
The events finish with a wonderful Memorial day tribute with a fly-over, parachutists, music and more. It brings a tear to all eyes.
shared from BolderBOULDER, start of the citizens race
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| The view of Folsom Field mid morning |
Here are my results....not terrible, not great. But I came in 46th out of 162 women my age. I'll take it. Now if I just actually trained for it, maybe next year I could break 70 minutes or even 60. In running, like gardening and most things in life, there is always next year.
Maybe you'd like to join me? It is a lot of fun....a full day event.
question about results?Deborah Johnson
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