Date/Time: September 12, 2015
Size: 151
Weather: 40s, rainy
Course: Road race with a slight hill at the start, and steep hill at mile 2
Charity: ARC of Livingston County
Time: 26:26
Rank: Overall: 25/151; Age Group: 2/20
The Ramon Rocha 5k was the second 5k in the Geneseo Trio. I heard from people who had run it in the past that for some reason, it rained at the Ramon Rocha 5k every year. This year was no different. The morning of the race, the sky was dark, and fat drops of water were steadily falling out of the sky. I was quite relieved that packet pick-up was in the Methodist church, right at the edge of the Geneseo campus.
The race began right in front of the church. The Ramon Rocha is a relatively small, local race, and the rain made the turnout even lower, so it was nice being able to start at the front of the pack without really worrying about slowing anyone down. I chatted with an elderly gentleman who was walking along the sidewalk. He had run this race before, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to do it again. In any case, he would be watching his wife run. A gunshot, and we were off.
Nothing about this race surprised me. It circled around the hills in the Village of Geneseo and was nearly identical to the route I run after school a few times a week. There are a few flat portions in the race, but overall, I would consider the course to be rather hilly. Around mile two, there was an out and back section down a dead-end street. I saw my professor coming back as I was going out, and I knew she was gunning for first woman. No way I would catch up to her. I just wanted to make that sub-26.
While the rain made running comfortable, it did make things more tactical. The pavement was slippery, so I felt like I couldn't go as fast as I wanted for risk of slipping (or maybe it was psychological?). In any case, I crossed the finish line a bit slower than I had liked, at 26:26.
After finishing, I was immediately met by the elderly gentleman who I had talked to at the start. He smiled and said, "I tried to take a picture, but you were too fast!" He made me laugh. I certainly didn't feel fast.
I changed into some dry clothes and went inside the church to wait for the closing ceremony. While we were waiting, the man came back in with his wife, who had finished around 40 minutes. I found out that she was a librarian at my school, and I told her I would look out for her in the future (though I never did find her again). I think they really admired my youthful energy and ambition, while I loved hearing about their experiences and love for each other other the years.
Finally, about an hour after the start of the race, the awards were announced. My professor took home 2nd place overall for women. And to my surprise, I took home second for my age group. Maybe I hadn't set a new PR, but an age group award was certainly welcome instead!
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