Expect the Unexpected

I've run the Tilden Tough Ten seven times, more than any other race. My best and worst races ever were here in 2007 and 2000 respectively. I thought I knew what to expect at TTT, but today the unusual exceeded the norm.

• Do You Know the Way to Tilden Park?: Debra Cramer is driving her son Hank and me to the race. I've been to Tilden dozens of times for races, workouts, or to take in the fun amenities and spectacular views with my family. Debra passes the exit I always take, and proceeds past Oakland into the Caldecott Tunnel to Orinda. When I ask her about the missed exit, Debra says this is the way to Tilden Park. Sure enough, the directions from Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders (LMJS) instruct us to go through the tunnel. We enter the park from the other side and get to the staging area on our right. We even get a space in the parking lot, a rare find.
• Fog City: I bathed myself in sunblock, anticipating a lot of ultraviolet exposure, especially in the second half of the race. The overcast weather and moist air kept many of us in our warmups and me huddled against Debra's Honda CRV before the race. Too bad the wind rendered the air block of the car useless. It was cold as well, all typical of past years. This year the sun never broke through. Besides dressing for hot weather, I think I was the only person wearing sunglasses.
• Surprising Effort: I hadn't raced since the Go! St. Louis half marathon in mid-April, so I didn't expect to run too well. I reached the halfway point in 32 minutes, among the leaders. The hill in the sixth mile is a challenge to climb, and I told myself to wait until I passed by my friends coming the opposite way before walking. I saw Debra, John Pettinichio, Jenny Wong, Kenny Bright, Karen Andrews, Jack Zakarian, Ernie Isaacs, and someone who looked like Ernie Isaacs. After walking up the top of the hill I had enough energy to run fast down the other side.
• Nature Calls: Debra lost three minutes in the hillside to pull relieve herself, and still managed to finish third in her age group (F50-59). She was about 90 seconds behind the top runner.
• Getting Chicked: The only woman who finished ahead of me was the other Caitlin Smith (F29), one of the best female trail runners in the country. I call her the other Caitlin Smith because Suzette's daughter Caitlin is about the same age and also runs. The other Caitlin chased me down in the ninth mile and finished 25 seconds ahead of me. She said some nice things to me as we went through the finishing chute, and then left the race before picking up her award. For those unfamiliar with running lingo, getting chicked is when a woman passes a man in a race. I have no problem finishing behind a strong runner.
• What Time Is It?: I finished in 66:10, my second-best next to 2007's 64:30, a time I have memorized. I'm eighth overall and first in my age group (M40-49). When the awards are distributed I do not receive one, which leads me to ask the winner of my age group his time, which is much slower than mine. I informed Len Goldman, who announced that the results were not accurate, and any awards would be mailed. I gave my name to a guy holding a laptop. When he typed it he said, "You won your age group, and you're going to kill me when I tell you what I did." He never told me what he did, thus saving his life. Glitches like this are unheard of for LMJS, which rounds out my litany of strange happenings.