I started my Super Bowl Sunday as I’ve done for the last several years, with a road race. Pamakid organizes a half-marathon and a 5K on the morning of the de-facto American holiday, and it gets a big crowd eager for fitness before denting the couch for 4+ hours. As I did last year, I ran the 5K. The three previous years, I put in the miles and ran the half-marathon, but I’m not kidding myself right now.
Thanks to racing with someone for the last 2.1 miles, I huffed in at 18:58…slightly behind the other runner. Course was slightly modified from last year due to the construction on the museums in Golden Gate Park, but it was similar and still definitely downhill overall. It’s a point-to-point course, meaning you finish at a different place than you start.
Last year, I surprised myself with an 18:34, and I do wonder (still) how well the 5K course is measured. Only the half-marathon is a certified race. In looking back at past years, I found that in 2000, when I last ran the 5K, I finished in 18:56, over a tougher course (if memory serves).
Two nice things this year: weather was perfect (sunny/clear, little wind, temps in the high 50s) and the T-shirts are long-sleeve once again, with a fresher design (new sponsor), after a one-year blip of short-sleeve shirts. Yes, runners do pay attention to which races have great shirts. You don’t get Gary Larsen without running the Run to the Far Side, after all. Today’s garment doesn’t match Larsen, but quite nice all the same.