It’s that time of year again for the Classic at Mastick, probably my favorite race. I’ve run this so many times in high school and college, it was a great way to see how I would start off the season. But it’s always been a love/hate race. And as long as I live in the Cleveland area, I will always try to run this race. This year the race surprised me and came up a little sooner than I expected. I am in no way ready for 5k’s. With the brutal heat and schedule, I haven’t been focusing on speed, just trying to get runs in when I can. But once this weather breaks, I’m hoping to get more workouts in on the track. If you get a chance, try to sign up next year. I’m not going for a PR, just going out for fun. Here’s my thoughts on the race before going in:
Pros:

• The race takes place in Rocky River Reservation (Mastick)
• Scholarship money is given to students for a college fund, great way to help students out
• The race is at night, my favorite time to run
• The goodie bags are fabulous, I’ve never not liked what they’ve given out
• It’s a great race for high school students to do a little test run….but watch out, they’re fast and can put times to shame
• Same course every year, so you know exactly where to run, which includes lots of shade

Hesitations

• Those high school students are fast, many are teams that go to state. You can’t feel bad when they beat you by 6 minutes or so…
• Because it’s a night race, its usually really hot and humid, so hydration is key all day long
• Parking is tough, get there as soon as you can, even if you’re rushing out the door after work you may need to park a distance away
• The course is a bit long, and for some reason I’ve always run it slow, so I try to keep that in mind when checking out my times at each mile

All in all I love this race. I enjoy running it even if I know I’m going to have a slower time like always. But with cooler weather in the forecast, there could be a change in how this race ends up. Hopefully I’ll have a good race report later in the week.