Kelly Carter Scholarship 10K Run

I ran the Kelly Carter Scholarship 10K Run Saturday morning. It was a sunny morning, warm and with a slight breeze.

The 10K race started ten minutes after the 5K. I was surprised that there were only 14 of us running the the longer race. Once the horn sounded, I took off. I was behind two guys in third place. The first two guys ended up running away from me so early in the race. I just kept plugging along because I could hear someone behind me. For the first two miles, the person stayed behind me. When we reached the mile two marker, the runner passed me on the left. It was a guy. He started pulling away from me. I was happy to gain on him while running up an incline. Once I got behind him again at the mile 3 marker, he started pulling away.

Between mile three and four, the course has us cross a busy street. The guy in front of me crossed the road from the left side to the right. I stayed on the left because the course had us turning left ahead. As we were getting closer to the left hand turn, the guy in front of me kept running straight. I yelled, "Sir. We turn here." The guy turned around and got on my shoulder. He thanked me for telling him he was going the wrong way. I don't like to see people get lost. Two years ago, a couple of runners got lost. They yelled at the race director saying the course should have been marked better. The course was marked clearly. In pink spray paint. In huge letters and numbers too.

After the guy made the wrong turn, he was having trouble keeping up with me. I was able to put him behind me just before reaching the mile 4 marker. I could also hear someone else too. I just wanted to keep them behind me. Crossing the mile 5 marker, a volunteer was shouting times. I knew I was just ahead of the others by a couple of seconds. I needed to carry that pace to the end to beat them.

Making the right and final turn to the finish, I did pick up my pace a little. I didn't know how close the people behind me were and I didn't want to get beat at the line. I finished the 10K in 56:23.91. I was the third overall runner and first woman. I beat the guys behind me by a couple of seconds. The man who I told he was going the wrong way, thanked me again and told me I was a good pacer for him.

This was my fifth win of the year. I will definitely cherish these wins. I don't know if I will ever get one again.