100th running of the the Run For The Diamonds in Berwick, PA (4th longest running race in the US). Only 20 minutes from the parents on Turkey day so it was a must do. Heard it was a tough course. Day before the race I am reading the paper and a previous winner described the "hill" as a "brutal mountain climb". Awesome.

People at the start we even more ignorant of "faster in front please" than most races. Lots people barely jogging at the start making it very hard to get around. First mile click off at 6:48 which was OK. Second mile was 7:06 and was starting a gradual uphill. After the two mile mark, the "hill" began. Holy shit was I not trained for a 1.5 mile climb up 550ft of elevation. Third mile...8:26 (mile 25 of my marathon last month was faster)! Fourth mile was 7:56 which had another half mile steep climb. When I finally crested, my quads felt like I just got off the bike in a tri. Steep downhill helped loosen up the legs a little bit but these stumpy legs do not go well downhill (those with long legs were FLYING by). Miles 5-9 were mostly rolling hills with a downward trend and I was able to hold sub-7 miles for the remainder of the race. As the last mile approached, I felt totally refreshed and not tired in the least (thank you marathon training) so I turned it up and finished with a 6:35 mile and passed a bunch of people in the last mile. Saw the family on the homestretch which as always put a smile on my face as I finished. Averaged 7:14/m which was OK considering my time on the climb.



As a city folk in Charlotte, there is no way in the world I can train to go up a mountain like that. I would have to drive an hour plus to the mountains to train.

Dunkin Donuts and hit the road to my dads house for T-Day dinner.


The big f*&^ing mountain in the middle of the course.


What a great local small town race. I was totally shocked at the crowd support. Minus MCM and the Bridge Run in SC, the crowd support blew away any other races I have done. The course is in the boon docks and almost every family was out of the end of thier driveway cheering everyone on. In town, it was 2-3 deep in the entire length of town.

One thing that I did underestimate was the quality of the field. I knew it was going to be good when I saw dozens of D1 and D2 college XC teams with their warmups on. The dude that won the race was a 5 time All American in XC and T&F and hopeful 2012 olympian.

Great overall race!