River City Ministry is a day shelter for the homeless in North Little Rock, AR. They also provide medical, dental and vision services for the under-served in the community. 16 years ago, Michael, my husband, sat on the Board of Directors for River City Ministry and after one of their meetings he came home and informed me that I would be helping their social worker, Crystal, put on a 5K race as a fundraiser.
While neither one of us had directed a race before, we tapped our resources and connections and we worked hard to create an event that not only had a great turn out it’s first year, but it actually proved to be profitable. After 5 years we turned over the reigns to the incoming social worker, Marci, who has done a wonderful job and turned the race into the organization’s top fundraiser.
This year the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock faced the flooding of the Arkansas River in May and June which closed several of the parks for an extended amount of time. The race, originally scheduled for July 13th, was moved to August 17th as that portion of Burns Park remained closed until early August. Participation numbers were down, but the race still raised over $35,000 after expenses thanks to sponsors and spirit runners.
This was the 5th year that I have had the privilege to participate in the race. My focus this summer has been consistency and building my base in preparation for this fall’s half marathon. By running this race I hoped to determine my level of fitness and measure the progress of my training.
I wanted to focus on running strong and race strategy more than finish time. Therefore, once I started my watched I moved it back to the main screen so that I would not be tempted to check my pace. This forced to me to run by feel and trust my instincts. For me it was like running “old school!”
After the gun went of I concentrated on not going out too fast. I settled in around a third of a mile at a pace that felt fast but comfortable. I knew that Jenny Massanelli was the first female and already well out of contact. There were two girls ahead of me going into the first turn. I felt confident that if I remained patient I would catch them.
Around the first half mile I passed one of the girls and set my sights on the the next girl who was probably 200 meters in front of me. I had to really work to catch up to her. I was surprised at how good the faster pace felt. Just past the first mile the race turns off the street and onto the Arkansas River Trail and I caught her there. I really expected her to go with me because she looked strong so I decided I’d better push the pace to solidify my place.
The pace still felt good, however we were no longer in the shade and the August heat was starting to intensify. I set my sights on a group of men in front of me. When I caught them I initially thought I would tuck in and race with them or behind them. However, that felt like I was slowing down too much and I didn’t want to risk being caught by the third place girl. As I passed them, one of the young men asked, “Is that you Miss Beverly?” Without turning around I said it was and asked who he was. I was excited to learn it was Aaron Dempsey, my son’s good friend from high school and former wrestling and cross country teammate!
Evan Caspary, me, and Aaron Dempsey waiting for the awards.
Just past the 2nd mile we made the turn off the main trail and I was glad to be going back into the shade. By this point I was really tired and I knew I was solidly in second place. I fought to urge to slow down and tried to push through, but ultimately the urge won! It makes me really mad at myself for quitting like that in the final mile.
My splits were 7:21.1, 7:38.3, 8:14.9, and 0.23.2 for the .06 (a little short). My finish time was 23.37.09 and good enough for overall second place female! A special shout out to coaching client Kristen Lippencott for winning her Age Group and finishing fourth overall female! Also a shout out to another one of my son’s former cross country teammates, Evan Caspary, who ran a PR, won his Age Group and finished 8th overall! Aaron finished not far behind me and place 3rd in his Age Group!
Love these two: Preston and Parker Mollette!
My finish time was about what I expected it would be and I think that not keeping up with my time and pace during the race was the perfect strategy for this race. Strangely it eliminated the pressure running a particular pace and allowed me to race instinctively. I’m not sure if I’ll use that strategy in my next 5K yet. However, you can count on me to be motivated to redeem myself in the the third mile next time! No more quitting!
