Guy on a Bike

"Stand behind the white line, this is a certified course!" Dave Rhody said through the bullhorn. Dave gave us all a laugh, as if someone's toe on the line would make a difference. Dave is the owner of RhodyCo., a race management company. RhodyCo runs six races in the Bay Area, including some big events such as the Across the Bay 12K and the San Francisco Half Marathon. He does a great job, and I wish he'd do more events. His races always have markers at every mile, start on time, and distribute medals efficiently.

The weather was cool and we were all ready to get started. I didn't do any warmup other than jog from my car to the starting line. I spoke to a couple of friends before the race. First was Guillermo Cazares, who's about my age and lives in Alameda. Guillermo's restaurant, El Caballo, is a shrine to running. Medals and plaques are lined below the ceiling around the entire restaurant. I was always impressed by Guillermo's accomplishments, but never met him at the restaurant. Last summer we met, and I've since seen him at numerous races and running around Alameda.

My other friend was John Pettinichio (M52), whom I've known longer than anyone in the Bay Area running scene. I first noticed him in 2004 at the Eden Medical Center Run to the Lake. It was the first time I won a medal, and John placed as well, as he usually does. I was struck by his conditioning. The guy is really solid. The next year I started finishing near him, then ahead of him, and then I became even faster. What impresses me about John is that while we're fairly close in terms of fitness, he's nine years older than me. This day John would run the 5K, finishing tenth overall and first in his age group, and then do the 10K as a cooldown. I hope that when I'm in my early 50s I can still run somewhere as well as John.

The race exhausted me, but the end result was positive. I needed a 5:58 pace to break 37 minutes. I felt pretty good running the first mile in 6:02, since I tend to start too fast. But I finished mile 2 in 12:30. By the third mile I was running a 38:30 pace. I was slowing down. The first half of the course is slightly uphill with one pass over a highway. Since the course follows a highway, there's a lot of open space with no protection from the wind. As my projected time kept increasing, the course's incline and the wind seemed more daunting. In front of me were Mike Maguire (M45, pictured at right) and Emily Bates (F31). They had a pretty good duel and didn't separate for the rest of the race. I figured I had no chance to catch them.

We made the left turn over the highway overpass and then went left along the Iron Horse Trail back to downtown Danville. The second half of the course goes downhill and with the wind. With the wind at my back and the race going on a slight downhill, I regained some speed and my confidence. About four miles into the race Mark Ramirez (M52) caught up to me. Mark ran a heck of a race, but a race volunteer riding a bike wearing a yellow jacket was pacing him and bugging me. "Go Mark," "You got him, Mark." "Stay relaxed, Mark." To make matters worse, Mark and I were gaining on Mike Maguire and Emily Bates. The four of us were crowded on a narrow path, with the guy on the bike keeping pace. "I'll get out of the way," he said. The only problem was that there was no where to go, leaving four runners exerting themselves while trying to avoid each other and a guy taking a liesurely ride on a bike. After waiting for him to get out of the way, I had to move ahead of Mike and Emily, along with Mark.

Mark passed me and maintained a lead. With less than a quarter of a mile to go I sped in front of Mark, causing the guy on the bike to say, "He's making a move, Mark. Sprint!" Mark responded and I couldn't match him. He finished in 37:33, and I was next at 37:38.

I was pretty happy. The race results were surprisingly slow to come out, easily the longest wait for a RhodyCo race. There was some glitch with the age breakout or something that caused us to wait 30 minutes or so after the race. Ultimately, everything turned out well for me. I placed 12th overall but first in my age group, M40-44. Had I been in the M45-49 group I would have finished fourth, which is where Mike finished. It was a fast master's field, with five of the 11 who placed ahead of me being older than 44.

While waiting, I had a chance to chat with Jeff Gehringer (M23) and Brian Collett (M23) both from Pleasanton. Jeff, on the left in the adjacent photo, placed fourth overall and first in his age group, and Brian, next to Jeff at right, finished ninth overall and second in the same age group. I first noticed Jeff at the Davis Stampede Half Marathon in February. John introduced me to Brian at the same race. Jeff ran for Cal State Hayward, and still trains with the team. Brian has been an active runner for a few years and is closing in on his 50th medal.

Before leaving I was able to visit with Ralph Gowen (M47), who ran the 5K. Ralph runs for the Forward Motion Racing Club, has qualified for the Boston Marathon and was photographed in Runner's World in a recap of the Bay to Breakers. Ralph is one of my biggest fans, or at least someone who cheers me on. Every few races he'll yell something like, "It's all downhill, Larry, just stretch it out!" He even popped up at the Napa Valley Marathon in March.

My next race is in two weeks, the Tilden Tough Ten. This race has a lot of significance to me.