We all line up and everyone seems pretty relaxed. I decide to line up near the back so as not to get trampled to death and the gun goes off and we are away. Yuo, there they go. We run diagnally across the grassy infield of the running track and by the time we leave the track, the leaders and most of the pack are way out in front and there are no many folks behind me.

As we wind down onto the dirt roads, I find myself in a pack of about 3 or 4 guys and 1 of the 3 masters women doing the race. I had decided to run based on perceived effort and ignore any mile markers or time splits. As we settle into the business of racing, the group starts to fragment a bit and I am in the front part of the group with 2 other guys pacing along in front of me. I feel comfortable with the pace and tuck in behind the lead runner.

Soon the other guy drops way back and it is just the two of us. We start chatting a bit and he offers some words of encouragement and suggests that many of the folks in front of us will fade by mile 3 and we can pick some of them off.

At about mile 2, he hollers out our pace (about 7:08) which seems good to me because the hill we just ran over definitely slowed us down more than a bit. As we head out onto the track, I realize that the main pack is already well into the 2nd lap and there are maybe a handfull of folks behind us. (But I feel like I am running great)

I start feeling a bit guilty because we are at about the half way point and I have been shadowing this guy the whole way. I was not sure about how this works but his pace felt like it was right where I needed it to be. So just before the 3 mile mark, I decide to take my turn with the pacing and get out in front. He are charging along and as I slow up for the hill for the 2nd time, we come to the 2nd place female Master. She runs with us for a while, but drops back and is gone.

Heading into the last lap, I am feeling like I have the hang of this whole XC course management. HillRunner had given me some good suggestions and I felt like I was able to push some into the hills and recover nicely on the downslopes but maintain a consistent pace. Now, with a mile to go, I feel like it is time to start kicking.

I start pushing the pace and the other guy is starting to s struggle to keep up. We get to the hill for the last time and I am really pushing. I feel like I am going slow and was certain he would go charging past me at this point, but then I am over it and spinning down the other side and getting some good recovery.

Then we are going up the ramp back toward the track and I try to find another gear. A quick glance and my pacing partner is about 200 meters back now. Onto the track and it is full sprint to the finish, and hey, I pass a few folks on the way. My pacing partner, although farther back, also manages to get around the other runners before his finish.

My pace partner (Paul) came in 20 seconds behind me and was actually 2nd in his AG. (55-59)

I made a point to find him after the race and thank him for a great race run. I certainly gave it my all and so did he.

My mcMillan time for this race based on other race times was supposed to be about 15 seconds per mile faster, but this was not a road race with comparable difficulty to my other races. I feel like a 6:50 is totally doable in an 8k road race and possibly even a bit faster. So, this race confirms my expected fitness level and provided me with a great boost and some excellent race tuning.

I have to say, running my first 8k was a blast. (Even if I was near DFL) I really found that I like running Cross Country Courses and the distance seemed reasonable. With some race specific training, I know I can improve on my time. (Although that is not necessarily the prime objective here) I had a blast and will definitely be doing races like this again. The San Diego Track Club hosted this race along with Cal State and they have a whole series of these races scheduled for next season. I will definitely be back.

Oh, and the idea of running followup races after a marathon still seems to be working for me :)


More race specific Training

Short walk to the car with a couple of cups of ice water and home for a nice long nap.


Short distance high intensity racing is not my cup of tea. I would imagine that I could put more specific training into improving times here, but that would detract from my real race goals.

I am happy with DFL in this crowd.


For a small race and puny race entry fee, this race was well organized and put together.

The San Diego Track Club and CSUSM hosted this race as part of the Dirt Dog Series that has been running all Summer. The final race was last weekend but I will definitely be back next year.

I plan on using these races as low impact tuneups for my longer distance efforts.