Every year, the Eastern Shore Running Club puts together a team and travels across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to compete with other Road Runners Club of America clubs in the RRCA Club Challenge 10 Miler, organized and hosted by the Howard County Striders in Columbia. The race is self-described as a “very challenging 10 Miles” — and while everyone runs the same course, I’d say it feels even more challenging for those of us who live in a pancake-flat area.
For the second year in a row, the Eastern Shore Running Club partnered with the Kent Island Running Group for a combined team — The Running Clubs of the Eastern Shore. The Kent Island Running Group was able to field more team members, but together, we formed a great partnership and were competitive in some categories. With much larger metro-area clubs that have a much shorter distance to travel, I’m not concerned about winning — just showing up. For me, it’s more about representing the Eastern Shore Running Club and the Shore as a whole. As the ESRC president, I also attended the club presidents’ meeting afterward.
This was my eighth time running this race. When I first started running it in 2018, I was faster, and my first three times were between 1:44 and 1:45. Going into this year, though, I was hoping to run sub-1:55. I also knew if I beat a time in the high-1:53s, then I’d run my fourth-fastest of eight times at this event.
I drove across the bridge the day before, spent time with family and then got to Howard Community College, where the race starts and ends, a little after 6:30 a.m. Feb. 22, ahead of the 8 a.m. start. I helped get the race bibs out to our team, and for the first time in several years, we were inside at a new building at the college — which was really nice. It was in the 30s, but when I walked outside, I just wasn’t cold, and I made a last-minute change from long pants to shorts. It had been so cold that mid-30s didn’t feel all that bad, and it wasn’t windy. I was glad I made the change to shorts, as I always prefer running in shorts when I can.
I’d mentioned to my friend/ESRC team member Myron that I was hoping for a sub-1:55 finish. He decided to stick with me, even though I think he could have run faster. He was motivating and encouraging, and I was also encouraged by not wanting to slow him down too much. He helped lead me to my fastest 10-mile race — on any course — since this race in 2020 (I have run two half marathons at a faster pace in the past six years).
It’s not always a great race strategy, but having run this race eight times, I know the first two miles of the race are the easiest — and not just because they are the first two miles, but because there are no major uphills — so I wanted to run them faster. Myron and I ran the first mile in 9:59 and the second mile in 10:25. I knew I wouldn’t be keeping up that pace, but I figured it would not hurt to bank some time, knowing there were bigger hills coming later on. Much of the course was the same as previous years, but the course was revised this year, with a different start and finish location and a change in the middle. It’s mostly in residential areas.
I knew I’d want to walk the largest uphills, but sticking with Myron motivated me to do more uphill running than I would on my own. He helped me break up the hills; we would run to a certain point, like a mailbox, then walk for a stretch, then run again. Instead of walking an entire hill, I ran some. He also gave me tips on my breathing.
For a while, it seemed like we may even be able to run sub-1:50 (and he probably could have), but I was feeling it in my legs more as we got toward the end. Though we didn’t run sub-1:50, we were able to keep up a pretty consistent pace. While the 10 miles were certainly challenging, 10 miles on practically any course was going to feel better for me after completing the Algonquin 50K two weeks prior, which took me a little over the eight-hour time limit in the freezing temperatures. I had done a lot of training that I don’t think was fully realized at the Algonquin 50K because of the brutal weather conditions.
It rained some during the race, but it didn’t really bother me. When we got to the end and I knew I didn’t have to save any more energy, I sped up to run the last bit in a 9:27/mile pace (my watch had 10.13 miles, so this was for the 0.13 — it’s a certified course, so I probably missed some tangents).
My chip time was 1:52:08, which I’m excited about, especially for such a tough course. I will be running the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run for the first time this April and would love to go sub-1:50.
My time at the five-mile split, according to the results, was 54:12, a 10:51/mile pace. 1:52:08 is an 11:13/mile pace. My watch logged 652 feet of elevation gain and 643 feet of loss.
To participate in this race, runners must be a member of a Road Runners Club of America club in Maryland or Washington, D.C. Many clubs also subsidize all or part of the entry fee. ESRC is $15 to join for a calendar year and pays 25% of our members’ entry fee for this event — which is only $35 total even without a subsidy. I’m a big fan of more affordable, low- or no-frills events because I really don’t need the “stuff” — I race to test myself on closed roads with aid stations, and in this case, to represent the club. Swag is a pair of gloves with the race logo on it, which is a nice touch.
There was a blizzard warning at home, and by the time I heard the results, attended the presidents’ meeting and shopped at Trader Joe’s, it was snowing pretty hard on my way home. However, it wasn’t sticking to the roads yet, and I made it home safely.
Thanks to Myron for helping show the power of teamwork for a successful race finish!
Splits
Mile 1: 9:59
Mile 2: 10:25
Mile 3: 11:09
Mile 4: 11:14
Mile 5: 10:42
Mile 6: 12:01
Mile 7: 11:51
Mile 8: 11:22
Mile 9: 11:07
Mile 10: 11:04
Last bit (.13): 1:11 (9:27/pace)
Final on results: 1:52:08 (11:13/mile); final on watch: 1:52:10 (11:05/mile)
She Runs by the Seashore 