Between a local 5K race and Grand Slam Track’s Miami meet (each alike in dignity, and in warm weather), I spent a lot of this weekend running or thinking about running. Unfortunately, I didn’t spend it writing about running, so here we are again with a Monday night blog.
Run With Eagles: A Hot, Windy Homecoming
This was my third time at the Run With Eagles 5K in Allentown, NJ. My father-in-law helps organize the race with the local Lions club; when he heard his daughter was dating a runner, he was keen to sign me up!
That was in 2018. I was finally making a somewhat serious effort to get back in shape, which would eventually slingshot me into training for my first marathon in Oakland in 2019. I looked over the past results and liked my odds at winning it. I showed up excited to race—until I saw a high-schooler in his team sweats. He sat on my shoulder for two and a half miles and outkicked me easily. We both defeated New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy which, given that this was a race, I think made me Lieutenant Governor of the Garden State at the time. I didn’t seek reelection.
The race also offers a prize for the fastest Eagle Scout, a relic of its early years as a community service and fundraising effort for the local troop. I spent my teen years earning merit badges, which wasn’t exactly what all the cool kids were doing, so I thought I would have that prize in my back pocket in the event of an “upset.”
My teenage opponent was an Eagle Scout too. From the very beginning, this race has had a way of keeping my pride in check.
When I showed up to race this weekend, I knew right away it would be another humbling outing, though not because of any student-athlete spoilers (He went on to run Division II cross country and never returned to defend his title—I won the 2022 edition in 17:58). No, this time it was just unseasonably hot, and the out-and-back course was starting into a stiff headwind.
Oh! And I was a new dad who was struggling to maintain 30 miles per week. As much as I wanted to prove I hadn’t lost a step, time goals were out the window.
Thankfully, I recognized this and ran accordingly, keeping a pretty even pace en route to an 18:34 victory.
It’s worth mentioning here that the prizes at Run With Eagles are above and beyond what you’d expect for a local 5K. Cream Ridge Winery hosts the race, so I got a bottle of wine, and on top of that a trophy, a gift card to the local running store, a bouquet of tulips, and—as fastest Eagle—a pint glass. Frankly, I don’t know why the hometown heroes don’t come back; it pays for itself!
I definitely spent some of my time on Saturday wishing I had felt a little more fit out there, but it was hard to be too preoccupied when it was such a beautiful day for a race and the mood in town was so high. While warming up, I spotted a guy in neon green shorts and we joked that bright colors go faster (I was wearing neon orange). When he saw me leading the race later, he called out, “It’s the shorts!”
I had several friends racing too, and my family was cheering. The race director came dressed in his Kentucky Derby finest and sent us off with a bugle; people were having fun.
I came home to my in-laws’ house, wolfed down a cheesesteak from a local place, took a shower, and slept for two hours. It was a good day.
Grand Slam Miami: The Times They Are Improving
I have been following Michael Johnson’s grand experiment with Grand Slam Track since it was announced last year. With the Diamond League effectively disappearing behind FloTrack’s no-way paywall, I was looking forward to the possibility of actually watching some compelling professional races as they happened. So far, Grand Slam Track has delivered on that.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi showing up the entire Paris 1500 podium in Kingston was a fabulous proof of concept, and I was disappointed he didn’t return as a Challenger in Miami, but there was a lot to be happy about. I know this is against the ethos of the league, but I was pleased to see some impressive times come out of Miami. Granted, with the exception of Agnes Ngetich’s masterful 5000-meter win from the front and her hard-fought 3000 with Eisa and Meshesha, the distance races were not the impressive ones by the stopwatch—until you look at everyone’s off-distances. Marco Arop runs a new PB of 3:35. Yared Nuguse runs 1:44!
Seeing athletes push themselves in their non-specialty events is something I’ve really been enjoying about Grand Slam Track. It’s hard not to get excited about Yared’s 1500-meter chances later this year after seeing him sniff the front of a competitive 800 and go 1:44. It’s also hard not to watch Alison dos Santos rounding into near-PB 400-meter form in May and wonder what might happen next time the Big Three square off.
And what the hell can Sydney run for 400 in LA?
This is not to mention speedy specialties from the likes of Kenny Bednarek, Masai Russell, Gabby Thomas, and Trey Cunningham—to name a few! The track was fast! Fast is fun.
Grand Slam’s next stop is in Philly at the end of the month, and mine is in Bloomfield for the Sunset Classic 5-miler in late June. Over the next eight weeks, I’ll be trying to build consistency: consistent mileage, consistent workouts, consistent cross-training (my biggest weakness), consistent rest (with the new baby, my biggest question mark!), and consistent positive attitude.
If this is going to work for me and my family, I have to embrace the process and do a little bit every day to get where I want to be. I have to embrace celebrating a “slow” 5K because I ran it smart and had fun. I have to embrace my son because he’s so cute. I have to embrace my Point A and my Point B, and find the way between.
theDNF 
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