Supporting running in the metro Richmond area
James River Scramble Thoughts
Anyone else disapointed with the evening strat time for the Scramble this year? 83 degrees at the start time just about killed me! I had decided not to run because of the late start time, but a younger brother was running this as his first 10K so I decided to run with him. I would do it again if a family member was running it with me, but I think that is the only way I would run it again. It was also disapointing to have no powerade or gatorade at the water stops in that kind of heat. Lesson learned: even though I don't like to use my fuel belt in shorter races, I would use it if I ran another hot weather race, even if it was a short race.
Views: 16
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by lin newman on -
This was the first time I ran the Scramble. I loved the late afternoon start, but I prefer running in the afternoon. Enjoyed all the music and activites afterwards!
-
Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryan on -
Lin: why didn't you comment about the wonderful music on the course. We passed 3 or 4 bands and at one water stop Hooters Girls were handing out water........You must have been the one delirious from the heat!!! I know my head was clear???!!!***%%%
-
Permalink Reply by Chris Harnish on -
I was not excited about the late start but I think it worked well and it probably made the logistics of the race easier, an important consideration we need to make for promoters to keep them coming back. Besides, it was great to race then hang out at the event with more crowds to watch- an important consideration if you want more sponsors.
As far as the heat is concerned, it was warm, but not hot. Physiologically speaking, 83 degrees is not particularly hot and I'm quite certain that mid-summer races here that start in morning have been hotter. In fact, Duathlon Natz in '09 were much hotter, so its not a reason to move to the morning. I thought the race did a fine job with water stops, better than most events and cold water was more than ample for such a short event; I'm quite sure the sports drink companies don't want you to know that! You won't dehydrate and you won't bonk in a 10k, but you can over-heat even in sub-40 degree weather. Pace accordingly.
I'm not trying to be overtly negative, but many races do what they can to keep things safe and fun and I think that this race was pretty good. My pet peeve was the lack of good signage in some spots, a few simple posts would have been good.
Chris
-
Permalink Reply by Carl Gouaux on -
I prefer AM runs, but I decided to accept the challenge of the later start time and approached the race with a different strategy; a conservative start and attack the harder sections. It was my slowest time in three years, but I run the Scramble for the great workout and the course. I was a little more tired than normal for the Carytown Sunday.
Changes I would pitch to help with growth in the race:
1) More waves to reduce a few bottlenecks
2) Powerade (as other have stated)
3) Carbs (as other have stated)
I thought the starter did a good job reminding runners about heat injuries prior to each wave start. The chip timing was a nice addition!
I agree with the comments that the race seemed to be more a part of the overall activities this year.
-
Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryan on
-
I really like this type of chip that was used. You don't have to tie it to your shoe. Just pin your bib on and go. Its amazing how chips have changed in appearance over the years. This was another positive point I found in this race. I believe a survey would be good for getting input on this race as well as other races.
-
Permalink Reply by Janelynn Testerman on -
Are you talking about the orange strips or something else?
For Monument I left my orange strip timing chip on my bib, and attached the instructional strip to my shoe. I didn't realize my mistake until after the race.
The system read my time just fine. As a caveat, I’m only 5’2”. Maybe a taller person’s bib would be too high to be caught from the ground.
-
Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryan on
-
Janelynn: I'm talking about the chip on bib. I think that is great. First time I've used it in a race.
-
Permalink Reply by Janelynn Testerman on
-
Gotcha. I'd rather just use a bib tag.
But my D-tag, which came on my bib but I was supposed to put on my shoe, stayed on my bib during Monument. It ended up working from the bib too like the new fandangled bib tag.
-
Permalink Reply by b white on -
Did the Carytown 10K use chips or were all those orange chip "strips" left on runners shoes from the Monument 10K? Saw quite a few, one guy had one on each shoe. (Think second one was probably the throw away part)
Correction: I looked at Clydesdale results and see Carytown was a chip race.
Could an old race chip cause problems with a current race using same system? Would guess the chips are programed race specific?
-
Permalink Reply by Ed Carmines on -
I don't think chips are race specific. The chip "number" is the same as the race number, so wearing an old chip will mess things up. The timing company also does a manual back up collecting most of the race numbers as people cross the finish line. Carytown had the option to use the chip on the bib system but decided against it as it is still a new technology. We will probably use it for the Patrick Henry Half.
-
Permalink Reply by Shane Rowley on -
Jeez, some of these comments make it sound like the runners are being forced to run in extreme heat with miserable conditions. Like the saying goes, "if you can't stand the heat, get off the street." The 5pm start was fine for me. If you feel there wasn't enough fluid on the course, chances are, you didn't properly hydrate yourself throughout the day. I rarely drink water during a race that's 10k or under, and I only used the water stops to pour water over my head. It's a good thing that wasn't Gatorade, or else I would have been all sticky. Also, there was PLENTY of Gatorade after the race. I had about ten bottles of those little suckers as they had so many left over.
-
Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryan on
-
Jeez, not everyone is as accomplished a trail runner as you are and in tip top shape. There are runners out there of all ages, weight, and physical condition. I ran a pace comparable to the heat. I also run lots of trails and know what to expect.But I am simply concerned about the novice runner and what could happen out there. I am confident that Sportsbackers will make some tweaks to this race and it will be much better next year.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next ›
© 2013 Created by Richmond Road Runners.
