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Race Result
| Racer: |
Steve Smith |
| Race: |
Plaza America 5K |
| Date: |
Sunday, May 15, 2005 |
| Location: |
Reston, VA |
| Race Type: |
Run - 5 km |
| Age Group: |
Male 35 - 39 |
| Time: |
0:16:57 |
| Overall Place: |
13 |
| Age Group Place: |
2 |
| Comment: |
I show up for the food; but nothing changes |
Race Report:
Man, this is a hard course, but I love it. I'm not exactly sure why I show up anymore. Next year I'll just call Neil McLaughlin up in April and ask him to send me a $25 GC to Footsteps (I've been 2nd in my age group each of the four years this race has occurred). Then I'll flip a coin. If it's heads, I'll submit a time of 16:57; if it's tails, 16:56; if I drop the coin; 16:58. (2002: 16:58; 2003: 16:56; 2005: 16:57) ... Unless I happen to race a duathlon the day before the race, in which case I'll add 25 cents, er, seconds, to one of those three numbers (2004: 17:22). Then the race will go off. If the fastest male Restonian runs 16:58 or better, he gets the $125 award for that category.
If there's one good thing about this year's race it's that this sham of me being the fastest guy in Reston has ended. Hell, until August of 2004, when Aaron moved out, I wasn't even the fastest guy in my own damn house. Nevermind that Alan Webb lives in Reston, never mind Keith Dowling (sub 2:15 marathoner) ... we've got the likes of George Buckheit, 47, running 16:50 (which only gets you 2nd in THAT age group!). Oh well, it was easy money while it lasted :)
Thankfully, however, there's more than one good thing about this race. It's a classic course, three simple turns and some hills to keep it honest. It's got great competition, the winner ran 14:39 on one hell of a challenging course. And it's got some great post-race food: pizza, dogs, burgers, Vie-de-France, and all that good stuff. Best of all, it's a hometown race and there's lots of friendly faces.
On second thought, I'll be back in 2006, just for the fun of it.
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