I went out very fast for me because it was mostly downhill. I skipped the 1st water stop to avoid the confusion and to get to a place that I had less congested runnning room. This worked fine, since I started out hydrated and kept that up through the remaining stops. It helped that the weather was cool. I hit the the 8-mile mark at 1:01:30; way too fast for me, given the long climb ahead (of course, I would have known this if I had riden the course as planned). I finished the final 5.1 miles in 44-minutes (9-min pace) and had to fight most of this part, since I had not included many hills in my training. My mental endurance was very good, but my thighs took a beating from the lack of hill-preparedness. Still a decent time and fun race.

My finish photo clearly shows my runners-nipple (bleading left nipple streaked clear down my shirt). I now wear UA heat gear tank whenever I run over 8-miles. I did use lubricant, but not effectively. I also would ride the course before hand (per plan).

The best part is the finish in the Drive (minor league baseball team) stadium. You enter in right field, run the fence and down 3rd base line, crossing the tape at home plate. The home plate shaped finishers medal was nicely done.