Bethany Freedom Run

Time: 58:48
Distance: 9.14 miles

W/u: 8:02 for 1.07 miles
Race: 26:13 for 5.00 miles (according to Mr. Garmin), 26:04 for 8k (according to DG)
C/d: 24:33 for 3.07 miles

Is there a better way to spend the Fourth of July than starting the day off with a race? I think not. A race on the Fourth is second to only a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. Scotty, Meagan and I left Nompton at the bright hour of 6:10 am in the direction of Bethany, OK. I had vague directions to the start of the race which I thought was on NW 23rd St. We took a few wrong turns, but ended up in the right spot with a few moments to spare.

Originally, I had planned to run a workout with Jerry's Kids that was going to be 5 miles on the course prior to the race and then the 8k race itself. Since we arrived at 7:05 am for a 7:30 gun time, that clearly wasn't going to happen. Instead, I was able to register for the race, seek out a bathroom down the hill from the start and jog back.

I established my position at the starting line and scoped out who all was present: Jerry's Kids (just doing a workout), Scotty D, Jonathon Pillow and Sam Dech (recently ran 1:50 for 800m and 3:44 for 1500m). Those mentioned would be racing towards the front of the race once Don Garrett finally decided to fire the shotgun.

The pace went out at a solid effort for the first K which I think was 3:09 as stated by some guy holding a stopwatch. The first water stop was either just after or before the K mark which struck me as odd because it was so early in the race. Who needs water 3 to 6 minutes into the run? I took water anyway just to cool off the back of my neck before surging to the lead. Mr. Pillow, Mr. Downard and Mr. Dech followed closely behind my lead and through the mile we were 5:08. Around the 2k mark Dech tossed in a visible surge for about 40 seconds. I could see his turnover quicken as he opened up a 20 to 30 meter gap. As I ran by Pillow in chase of Dech, he said, "I think I pissed him off." Great. Now I was going to have to get after the pace.

There were no more individuals calling out K splits for the remainder of the run, but luckily, I had Mr. Garmin along. He said my splits for the race were 5:08, 5:02, 5:11, 5:26, 5:23. I went through the 5k at 15:50 with a gap on the others. I skipped the part of the race where I caught and passed Dech just after 3k and then was running solo for the last half of the race.

I felt good out front and in control. There was no need to really hammer the pace and I was afraid of potentially taking a wrong turn. A few times I passed the lead motorcycle cop because he was having to chat with drivers who were on the race course. Also, at one point we had to dodge a road closure which meant the motorcycle was up on the dirt and curbs kicking up dust.

If I were to grade this race, I would give it a C. The weather was 83 degrees at 6:00 am this morning and there were only 3 water stops scattered over the 8k distance. The first was at 1k, the second past 5k, and the third water stop was at 7k, however, when I got there the SUV had just arrived to set up the table for the water. Not ideal given the humid conditions. There wasn't anything particularly special about the race course and Don Garrett clearly messed up the timing. I was awarded first place with a time just over 26 minutes but I'm positive that was rather generous as several friends at the race thought they had run 11 to 12 seconds slower, yet they were given faster times. On a positive note, I won a free pair of racing flats! But, I have to go to a competing running store in Oklahoma City to pick up my prize. Clearly, I can't let this prize go to waste, but at the same time I have no desire to betray OK Runner.