Kinda weird, but fun, experience racing on the Universal Studios backlot...spent a lot of time working there between 1994 and 1997, back when I was an assistant director. Between stints on MURDER, SHE WROTE and a Sam Raimi series called SPY GAME, I sort of know every nook and cranny of the backlot, which really helped me tactically.

Two loop course with a long screaming downhill to start (which you got to repeat on loop two...but also run back up twice). My sore knee didn't object to opening up on the descent, so I really pushed it. There was a simultaneous 5K and a combined start, so I was trying to be mindful of the fact that the majority of the people around me were likely 5K peeps.

First lap was uneventful, but the long climb (with detours to "Wisteria Lane" and the Psycho hotel & house) was every bit as punishing as I feared: ~150' in about 1000m.

Once I passed the mat for the start of the 2nd loop, I was on my own. Passed some volunteers and asked how many runners had gone by ahead of me. They said "Four"...wow...could I really be running 5th in a 10K...pretty unlikely, but definitely helped me keep up the effort.

Last 2 1/2 miles were all about working my way through the mass of 5K walkers...amazing how many of them were completely oblivious to the fact that there were people already running a second lap while they were only halfway through their 3.1 miles.

Kind of shocked to see a 6:58 on my Garmin for mile 5 after the long climb in mile 3. Saw a guy about 150m ahead and when we hit the long climb, I could tell I was going to gain on him big time. The ascent was interrupted by the Wisteria Lane out-and-back segment, but on every grade I was catching this guy. Unfortunately, I ran out of hills before I could reel him in.

Hilly 10K? I'd say so...



Man, this was a really comfortable run. Both of the miles with the big climb were sub-8:00 and my splits for the other 4.2 miles project to a 42:26 for 6.2, which would be a PR by 41 seconds. My splits for the two flat miles were pretty much right on PR pace.

Jogged a bit. Stretched quads and hammies. Rolled rt ITB (which was a teeny bit annoyed with me for the hills) with an empty water bottle. Waited for Liz to finish...and somehow missed her crossing the line.

Turns out the volunteers I quizzed at the end of my first lap were wrong...I was 15th (and no one passed me after lap one, so there were clearly 14 people ahead of me at that point). Kind of felt during the race that I was going to win my AG and--sure enough--I did.

(E.T.A.: Looking at the gun times--rather than chip times--in the results, I was the 13th runner across the finish line in the 10K, so there were really only 12 people ahead of me during lap two. Two people who started the race 30+ seconds behind me crossed the line after I did, but beat me on chip time.)

Liz just missed finishing 3rd in her AG...by the length of a portapotty stop she made at the end of lap one!!! She did manage to come in just under an hour in spite of the pit stop and that was her goal for the day.

Anyhow, got my AG medal and we headed off to brunch.


Nothing. This was 1:29 off my PR, but I knew a PR was out of the question due to the climbs. I'm really happy with the AG win (which I really didn't expect going in, what with about twice as many people doing the race vs last year), but I'm REALLY happy that my 2nd lap was only about 30 seconds slower than my first (22:00.5/22:35.5). (And, actually, I think the 2nd lap was longer, by the length of the finish chute.) Looking at the results, most people were a minute or more slower for lap two...even a couple of the top overall men clearly couldn't hold their pace on the second lap.


This race benefits a local (and well-funded) cancer support center. If they can continue to do the race on the Universal backlot, it could become a bit of a destination race. Post race amenities are a bit slim (this is still a low budget, low reg fee local event), which feels a little weird when you look around at the setting (a major Hollywood studio lot). A bit challenging for serious 10K runners as there are a lot of 5K walkers stopping unexpectedly to take photos of the attractions...be prepared to yell "Runner coming through" a lot if you are a fastie. :)