Baltimore 10 Miler Race Re-Cap

I was a little nervous getting to the race, the traffic back up was pretty crazy.  I ended up bailing out of the car and walking three quarters of a mile to make it to the start of the race.  The event was sold out with 3,000 runners.  Amazingly, I found Jeanne Beyers and the Back On My Feet (BOMF) team.  I planned on taking video of the race and as you will see it turned into a nice promo for BOMF (unplanned.)

The conditions were overcast and about 76º F.  Just as the race started so did the rain.  It really came down.  The rain was refreshing and I didn’t hear any runners griping.  The course had moderate hills, enough to be challenging but not grueling.  There were ample water/Gatorade stops.  At the mid point volunteers were handing out Clif bars with smiles and cheers while the clouds opened up on them.  I am not sure if the race had low spectator turn out because of the weather or because it was the first “Baltimore 10 Miler.”  Police cadets were out in full support of the Police Commissioner who was running for charity.  Overall I really enjoyed the course, it started at the Maryland Zoo through Druid Hill Park up to Lake Montebello and back to the Zoo.  The race swag was ironic considering the weather.  Every runner that finished received a waterproof breathable hooded jacket.  It looked as if everyone was throwing them on as soon as they got theirs.  Like the traffic jam starting the day, there was another long line to redeem your two free beers.  Overall, I thought it was a great race and the important stuff was covered such as, water stops, runner support, medical, course closure to traffic, etc.  The only two things that need to be addressed next year would be more automobile traffic direction into parking and more people working the beer tent.

Even though I stopped several times to shoot video, I still finished around 1:33 -1:35*.  In an effort to get people crossing the finish line on video I forgot to stop my Garmin at the finish so, I am not sure exactly when I finished.

*Turns out the race was 2 tenths of a mile to long.  My Garmin had me finishing ten miles at 1:33.

Check out the video I shot and edited from the race.  My favorite part is an interview with Mike Solomon, one of  the Back On My Feet (BOMF) runners.  Something about Mike is special and it comes through when you watch the interview.  I hope you enjoyed the review, see you out there next year!

Baltimore 10 Miler 6/20/09 from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo.