David Carruthers

Running Stronger…..

With the St Louis marathon project completed I looked to continue my ‘keep fit and healthy’ quest. I noticed that the local running club, St Louis Track Club, was holding a Spring Road Race series over 5 Wednesday evenings in Forest Park. Flush with confidence from completing the marathon I decided to sign up and see how I would fare over the shorter distances of 10K, 5Mile, 4Mile, 5k and 3k events.

This type of running would be very different, with the field comprising of 100% committed runners, seasoned in road racing. With age, speed and stamina advantage over a 50 year old who only started to run and train seriously 6 month ago!

It was only 2½ weeks after the marathon and the first race was a 10k. I lined up along with @ 175 other runners, men and women. The objective was simple, get round in a respectable time and don’t make a fool of myself. It was tough, I strode out and pushed hard to keep going and never give up. Over the hilly course, the marathon sapped legs got round in 49.07, finishing in 40th place and 6th in my age group.

Relieved that I avoided embarrassment and energized by competition, I continued to train and the following week, in the 5 mile event, I improved to 36th overall and 4th in my age category in a time of 36.07. Now I really had the bug and was targeting 3rd in my age group for the series!

The 4mile event was tough, with hills and heavy rain, but I successfully moved up into 3rd spot in my age category with a time of 28.45.

This encouraging performance was followed up with a fast 5K in 20:27 this week (awaiting place results).

As I prepare for the final 3k on Wednesday I feel pretty good about my improving performance and look forward to fighting hard over the last event, a comparative sprint! Just under 2 miles to see if I can attain that goal of 3rd in my age category and a record of improvement in every event.

It is amazing to me how your mind can motivate and influence the body to do things that seem impossible. I now consider myself a runner and look forward to running for as long as my mind can win the battle over my body.

Race Summary

Marathon – 4:05:27 @ 9:22 min per mile

10K – 49:07 @ 7:54 min per mile

5 mile – 36:09 @ 7:14 min per mile

4 mile – 28:45 @ 7.12 min per mile

5K – 20:27 @ 6.35 min per mile

3K – TBA Wednesday 21st May

David Carruthers 17th May 2008.