My friend Eddy was getting people together to run on the 11:30 Club team for the Rusty Rudder 5K earlier this month. I figured I wouldn’t be able to help the team too much, time-wise, but a comparatively fast time wasn’t required and it sounded like a fun way to spend the morning. We ended up having five people from our local running community take part in the race, which began at 7:30 a.m. July 11.
The early start meant an early wake-up call for the drive from Salisbury, but I was glad the race started early, since it’s the summer. It was an overcast day, but it was still humid. A little before 8:30 a.m., after I finished the race, the temperature was 75 degrees and the dew point was 72, with 91 percent humidity.
However, I had a great race. I wanted to go for my fastest 5K of the year, which would also be my fastest 5K since 2024, since I’d already run faster this year than my fastest time in 2025. I knew if I ran in the low 29s or a time that started with a 28, I’d meet this goal. My fastest 2024 time was 28:37, so beating that would be even more fun, though I knew that was less likely.
The race started at the Rusty Rudder and headed south on Route 1, then taking runners on an out-and-back on Tower Road. There was a water stop on Tower Road, and even for a shorter-distance race like this, I still appreciate getting a drink of water. When we completed that out-and-back and returned to Route 1, we continued south for a bit before turning around to head north, running more than a mile back to the finish.
My first mile was my fastest, at 9:09. After that, I kept up a consistent pace for the next two miles, even with the quick break for water and a quick walk break (my watch logged a total of 39 seconds of walking and five seconds of idle time). While I didn’t have the energy to go faster, I did feel strong. Toward the end, there was a kid right by me and right when I was going to speed up for the end, he sped up even more. He finished ahead of me; however, I was able to run the final 0.13 miles in one minute, an 8:03 pace.
I finished with a time of 29:27.7. The .7 is important, because this fraction of a second made it my fastest 5K since 2024! Earlier this year, I ran 29:27.9 on a solo Ocean City Boardwalk run.
After the race, participants could enjoy water, beer and food. It was nice hanging out with friends, and while I wasn’t in it for the shirt, I also like the race shirt, which has a fun summer sun design on the back.
I’d planned on a beach day afterward, and while it didn’t seem like it was going to be the best beach day, it actually turned out to be a nice day to sit in a chair on the beach and read my magazine for a little. I did forget to bring any kind of appropriate shoes to wear to the beach, though.
So far, this has been the year of the 5K, as I’ve done eight races this year and the past four have been 5Ks. I’ve also been running less in the past few months, but I have been doing more with strength training and core work.
Splits
Mile 1: 9:09
Mile 2: 9:36
Mile 3: 9:41
Last bit (0.13 on watch): 1:00 (8:03 pace)
Final: 29:27.7 on watch (9:26/mile pace); 29:27 (9:30/mile pace) on results
She Runs by the Seashore 