The Geneva Super Shuffle 5K – Race Recap

Big game (I’m not supposed to say Superbowl) Sunday dawned bright and cold.  The day before we had a big snowfall which just added on to the snow already on the ground and now the temperatures were in the single digits.  But the sun was out and my friends from the Bolingbrook Fun Runners Club (“BFRC”) would be joining me at the starting line.  A perfect day for a 5K.

Midwest races almost always start at 7:30 or 8:00 AM.  Once in awhile one will start as late as 9:00 AM.  The 10:00 AM start to this event is almost unheard of but really welcome on a cold, February Sunday.  As an aside, I’ve noted that east coast races often have much later starts.  For instance, the Boston Marathon, which is run on April 21^st this year, starts elite men and wave one at 10:00 AM while the Chicago Marathon, run in October, starts elite runners at 7:30 AM and the field at 8:00 AM.  I’ve often heard this is because people don’t have to be bussed to the start of the Chicago Marathon but that’s not the whole story.  Even little neighborhood 5K’s on the east coast start really late.  As an example, the Great 5K Kilt Race in Albany, NY starts at 11:00 AM on March 15^th, 2014 while the Naperville St. Paddy’s Day 5K, run on the same day, starts at 8:00 AM.  That’s THREE hours earlier.   I think I generally like the Midwest system better as I am a morning person but once in awhile, it is nice to sleep in and have a leisurely start.  But I digress.

The drive to Geneva from Naperville is about half an hour.  On an early Sunday morning, I cruised up to Geneva barely hitting any stop lights and encountering very little traffic.  When I pulled into the parking lot at the Geneva South Middle School, parking was wide open and free.  Although there was early packet pick-up, I chose day of the race packet pick-up and it went without a hitch.  I was met by a table of enthusiastic volunteers, given my bib and sent to the gym for my goodie bag and hoodie.   One of the nice things about this run is the hoodie.  Who needs another running shirt?  The nice hoodie can be worn after a run or just “around” after the event.  Geneva gets points for the hoodie!  The rest of the goodie bag was mostly coupons for local Geneva things and a park district water bottle.

As race time drew close, the BFRCers gathered out in front of the school for our traditional group picture.  Before each event we take a picture and post it to our Facebook site.  This lets all the other members know that they too could have been a part of it if they had dragged themselves out of bed.  Seriously, I think we all like to see the races and who turns out.  It’s motivating to know that others are getting out there on these cold mornings.   After  the pictures were taken, we wandered over to the start line for the event.   We all started at about the same point and then quickly drifted apart as we established our own paces.  Although we rarely actually run together at these events, it is nice to have the group there at the beginning and at the end.  There’s no need for our families to suffer through these events, we BFRCers have each other.

The actual run was pretty non descript.   The temperature at the gun was about 11 degrees Fahrenheit with light winds.  The course circled the edge of a park district property with little to distinguish it.  The trail was plowed but icy and it was important to take care, particularly around the corners.  I wore my screw shoes and still slid in a number of spots.    About two thirds of the way through we encountered a couple hills that seemed particularly hard given the cold weather (at this point my rump was kind of icy.)  After the last hill, we circled a hockey rink and there was the finish line.  I think the course was a little short because all of our Garmins, Nike’s and other devices all read 3.0 miles or less.   

I applaud the Geneva park district for having water available at every mile.  Winter air is very dry and for us slower people, having a sip every 12 minutes or so is really a nice amenity.   More kudos to the Geneva park district.   Another nice thing about this race is that it ends with a medal.  It’s not a fancy medal but it’s a medal. 

One thing I noticed was that on a cold winter morning, it seems mostly the faster people are out.  I usually end up in the dead center of my age group, 22 out of 45, 13 out of 26, that kind of thing.  But, here I was 16^th out of 17 with an 11:47 min pace, just squeeked out of being last.  Overall, I was 423 out of 522, also a little closer to the back of the pack for me.    But as one of the BFRCers said, “If the faster people are coming out for these runs, by definition you are one of the faster people.”  Gotta love the BFRCers!!!

After the run, the Park District had a pre game party at their recreation center.  Each of the runners was given a coupon for a free drink, beer or pop, and other food was available for a small charge.   Popcorn was also available at no additional charge.  There were games for the kids and other things going on. If I was local to Geneva, I suspect this would have been more fun as I would have known more people there.  Having said that, however, we BFRCers hung together through the raffle and of course Michele, who wins all sorts of things, won a golf umbrella.   I think we all left happy with a run behind us, nice new hoodies, finishers medals and samples of Muscle Milk.