March 15, 2023: West Midtown Run Club 1 point 1 race

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to the West Midtown Run Club 11-year anniversary run. It was a free event, 1.1 miles to celebrate the 11-year anniversary of the club. This was scheduled for a Wednesday night, and I wasn't sure if I could make it - but FREE so I signed up - and promptly forgot about it. 

Then the day before the event, I received another e-mail with the details. I hadn't marked this on my calendar, but I was finished with work meetings around 5 pm, so I changed into my running gear and drove from Emory to a small parking area along the Westside Beltline Connector. I've run the Beltline Connector several times since its opening a couple of years ago, but always starting at the southeastern terminus - and I had never before noticed the parking area at the crossing with Joseph Lowery Boulevard.

A unique bib / timing chip!

After checking in and jogging an easy warmup mile, it was time to begin! There were about 50 people registered to run, organized in six groups. Of course I was among the "Cat Ladies and Cat Gents": Jordan Eison, Kristi Swartz, and Jacque Hartley. We were the lead group, to be followed by the "Dog Persons". Tes Marshall sounded the bullhorn, and we took off! Jordan and Jacque moved ahead, I ran with Kristi for the first 100 feet or so, then when the route turned a little downhill, I bounded ahead. My glutes were feeling a little tight, so I didn't try to go all out with the effort. Nonetheless it was the fastest that I've ever run along the Beltline Connector. As I approached one of the road crossings, a UPS truck was heading toward the path - on a steep downhill! I thought I would have to slow down or stop, but a brave volunteer held up her hand to signal the truck to stop, the driver complied, and I sped through the intersection. 

I felt myself slowing down - only later did I realize that the outbound direction was net uphill - as Jordan disappeared into the distance and Jacque opened up a gap on me. I didn't know where Kristi was until I reached the turnaround, and saw that I had a reasonable gap on her. I was probably safely in third place amongst the cat people, as long as I didn't seriously slow down. Then at the underpass for Hollowell Parkway, I saw the lead runners in the "Dog Persons" pack approaching. Uh oh: when a dog catches up with a cat, it's never good. That thought spurred me to run a little faster, LOL.  

As I approached the parking lot for the finish, I heard my watch alert for 1 mile in 7:56. Not that fast for me, but having run the marathon 10 days ago, I wasn't pushing myself too much. I did run consistently through the timing mat, 8:29 for 1.07 miles by my watch, cheered Kristi through the finish about a minute later, and stayed to cheer for the dog people, and the remaining groups. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay for the post-run party, but it was a fun little outing!  

A photographer at the race took quite a few photos.
Unfortunately I'm not tech-savvy enough to find the photos
 on Instagram, although they are apparently posted.