1996 Picatinny 10 Mile

Like the Vanessa Williams’ hit song, in my 1996 racing season, I saved the best for last.
The 10 mile state championship race at Picatinny Arsenal in December has established a tradition as the finale to the New Jersey racing season. It officially ends the TAF scoring system
for the calendar year. This marked my first official 10 mile race in over 12 years of racing. In September I had made my first appearance to Picattiny Arsenal for the Run for Life 10K and came away extremely impressed with the running atmosphere there.

My running year had taken on a different flavor since October 1. That night at the Harvest 5K in Denville, I had broken 20 minutes for the first time in over 2 years. On October 19 at the
East Brunswick 10K I easily attained my sub 42 minute goal with a 41:19. On November 10
at Giralda Farms, I proved my East Brunswick time was no fluke with a 41:26 at that 10K.
As I prepared for the Westfield Turkey Trot on November 30, I was hoping to break 32:40 for 5. I took advantage of perfect conditions to turn in a 32:24. Usually, Thanksgiving weekend had
meant the traditional end of the racing season, but this time I decided to extend it to December 15.

So as I toed the line for the 10 mile, I thought 68 minutes was possible although I began to
somewhat lower my expectations, especially as the prospect of nasty weather loomed.
Luckily Sunday December 15 was all you could ask for at this time of year. It was cold and breezy but clear. The field was awesome. It was mainly the serious runner that showed up,207 of us in all. This was a runner’s race, very few family members(I left mine at home), a great group of volunteers and few spectators. The entry fee of $6 did not include a T-shirt which was fine with me.

Minutes before the race began, I spotted Richard Konet of Westfield, a runner who I have gotten to know as one of the smartest racers around. Race after race, he would pass me between 1 and 2 miles and would always finish several minutes ahead of me. At Westfield
he passed me at 1 ½ miles and ran a fabulous 31:10. Right then, I decided that Richard would be the perfect person to start the race with. As advertised he helped through a sensible 6:41
first mile, almost exactly what I projected I had to run form my sub 68 minute goal.

As we approached 1 ½ miles he moved ahead of me. Realizing he was in better shape, I decided to try to keep him within sites, but to try to run my own race. The 13:03 two mile split
meant that we had cruised the downhill second mile 19 seconds faster than the first. It was
too fast, but in my mind was much biter than if the splits were reversed. I tried to settle into a 6:45 groove. Mile 3 was 6:33,mile 4 was 6;47. Already I had a four mile split of 26:23, which was 37 seconds faster than I had done at the Firecracker race on July 4. The fifth mile passed in 6:48 giving me a halfway time of 33:11. On Labor Day I had struggled through the Central Jersey Fall Classic five mile in 33:44. I was flirting with disaster. The sixth mile sent the warning flag. I had slowed to 6:56 and at 40:07, I still had some work to do to hand onto sub 68.

It was right around this time that Don Kelly, an excellent runner from my Saturday morning group yelled to me, “ I’m coming after you Dave”. After the race he said he meant it good naturedly, but I had no sense of humor at the time. I said to myself to just try and focus and not worry when Don. inevitably passed me. In a ten mile, miles 7 and 8 are the tough ones, no man’s land. I fought through them in 7:00 and 6:52 respectively. During that 8th mile, I felt a pulling in my calf and hoped it wouldn’t get any worse. The 53:59 split meant I would only have to hold 7 minute pace to break 68. Mile 9 brings you very close to the finish line. You are actually running past it watching runner finish in the other direction.

It pumped me up to see how well some other runners were doing. With a 60:54, I knew I could slog through a sub 7. As we turned around for home, a little more than a half mile away, I didn’t hold anything back. I had the whole winter to rest from this race. This is the time I would remember until March. I sprinted strongly towards the finish and had a huge smile on my face as the overhead clock gave me the news I wanted to see: 67:42. It doesn’t get much better than that. It was cold, but I didn’t feel it as I recovered in a singlet and shorts. I had such an incredible runner’s high. As a sit here two days later with my calves starting throbbing, I check the race postcard from today’s mail.

I was 20th of 30 in my 40-44 age group! There’s still a long mountain to climb. Don never did pass me which seemed like a fluke since he had been regularly finishing 7 to 10 minutes ahead
of me on Saturday mornings. I told Don he was a better runner than me but not today. He finished in 67:54. If the race had been a mile longer he probably would have been ahead of me.
Richard Konet ran a a 66:19 and was third in 50-59, a 6:38 pace.