The DRC Hates Runners

Time: 44:57
Distance: 7 miles

Ran the Short Lloyd Noble loop after taking little nap in the evening. I was working most of the day at Cafe Plaid and was exhausted by the time 6:00pm rolled around. Still have lots of work to do.

On another note, I am planning on running the Lancaster Avenue Mile this Saturday in Dallas. The race director contacted me today and wanted to know if I needed a place to stay Friday night. James Newsom, the husband of OK Runner's Brooks tech rep., is the race director for this downhill mile race that is being brought back. You can check out the race website and see some old pics of the hitters from 1985. From what I know so far, James is doing everything with his limited budget to put on a great race. The flip from this is the DRC Half Marathon this Sunday. I was considering doubling back and trying to earn some money. The race last year was competitive but not ridiculous by any means. Just look at this exchange between the race director and I:

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to inquire about how to obtain elite status for this Sunday's event. I will be in the Dallas area and would like to compete in your highly competitive race. Any further information would be great appreciated.

Sincerely,

Jordan Kinley

A woman named Libby Jones, co-director of the race, responded with the contact I should get in touch with. The other woman, Paula Robertson, is the one in charge of making the decision on elite entries. I asked for her email address but was told that it would be best to just stop by the store. Well, I don't live in Dallas and that is not possible. Instead, Libby asked me to send some recent results from races and she and Paula would make a decision. I sent her the results from the Four Seasons 5k/10, The Sunshine Run 5k/10k, Izumo Ekiden, State Fair 5k, Addison Oktoberfest 5k, CVS Downtown 5k, and Brookhaven Run. She wrote me back with this:

Jordan,

These 5K and 10K results are indeed impressive. But unfortunately, we need demonstration of longer distance races, ideally half marathon distance but I'd even consider a 15K. Until then, you are kinda viewed as an excellent sprinter, but I can't consider you as an elite half marathoner. Please contact us next year about a comped entry after you have a half marathon under your belt.

Good luck!

Libby Jones

DRC Half Marathon Co-Race Director

Fine. Fair enough. I may not be the best runner out there, but to call a 10k a sprint? I hit her with this:

Libby,

If the USATF accepts 5k and 10k times as acceptable qualifiers for the US Olympic Marathon Trials, than I'm not seeing how the race directors of a half marathon in Dallas the same weekend would not accept the same distances as being sufficient. Additionally, to call a 10k runner as an exceptional sprinter is ludicrous. I am not presenting middle distance event times to meet the elite athlete status. The 5k and 10k distances are events that are great indicators of an athletes potential ability over the half marathon distance. While I am certainly not on the level of a Ryan Hall, Adbi, or Geb, these athletes all showed great potential in 5ks and 10ks, on the road and track, leading up to their records in the half marathon and marathon distances. Furthermore, while your event will certainly be most competitive, it is not going to grab the attention of an athlete on the level of the aforementioned runners. Therefore, I do not see how you can deny elite entry to an athlete of my level. Lastly, from looking at last year's results, I would hardly call these times exceptional.

2	MacIek Miereczko	Searcy AR	2586	27	2 ELITE	1:06:44.35	1:06:45.00	00:00.65	5:06/M
3	Bernard Manirakiza	Austin TX	2398	27	3 ELITE	1:07:10.00	1:07:10.00		5:08/M
4	Andrew Cook	Denton TX	1484	25	4 ELITE	1:07:28.90	1:07:29.00	00:00.10	5:09/M
5	Gilbert Tuhabonye	Austin TX	2473	31	5 ELITE	1:09:42.00	1:09:42.00		5:19/M

Jordan Kinley

I haven't heard anything back. To be continued...