Saturday July 16th was race day for the inaugural Redline Longmont Half Marathon . Almost 300 runners and walkers participated in the hugely successful event. The slightly downhill point to point route traveled West to East traversing through much of Longmont before finishing at Sandstone Ranch Park.
Most runners began the morning at the finish, parking at Sandstone Ranch. The 125 acre park is open yearly from sunrise to sunset and features soccer and baseball fields, a skate park, playgrounds and sweeping views of the front range. Runners boarded two buses and headed west to the start line at Mcintosh Lake –which rests on the far Eastern edge of Longmont. I missed the bus, but caught a ride over to the starting line with some other runners after a quick detour for some last minute supplies.
The start area was well organized, and as in many first time races, the event organization gave last minute registrants ample time to sign up. While I heard some comments here and there about the delayed start, I expect some delays for a first time event and just went with it.
The start was even in that the trail at Mcintosh lake offered plenty of room for any sub 7 minute mile gazelles to move up to the front. I hung back, intending to average 7:20 miles for the run (I did) and found a small group of 4 runners that I paced with for most of the race. The lake is scenic enough along the trail with great views of Longs Peak to take ones mind off of the 13 miles ahead. In fact, the first two miles were quite comfortable along the trail.
Just before Rogers Road, we broke to left and headed East. As most of you know, when you head East in Colorado, you are usually running downhill. The course profile indicated a drop in altitude of about 300 feet which made for some nice running. (there was however a nasty little hill at 12.9 miles that we were warned about by the race director).
We passed Golden Ponds Nature Area at mile five and Izaak Walton Park at mile 7. I gulped my second of three gels at the seven mile marker and took two waters before leaving the shade for good at about mile 8. Running without shade for the last 4-5 miles made pacing and drinking critical, so I paid close attention to both—mainly water as I kept plugging along the route. I still traded pacing with the 4 other runners in my group-but we gradually spread out between water stations.
I was certain once we hit the 10 mile mark that I would hit my goal time, so I eased up slightly. I was also pretty gassed anyway. The last hill was definitely as tough as advertised, but once I got to the top, I sprinted in for a final time of 1:36:27. The winning race time was a blazing 1:20:54.
Overall I have to give the event high marks. The post race food was outstanding as title sponsor Great Harvest Bread provided sandwiches, and lots of tasty bread for hungry runners. In addition, other sponsors provided lots of drinks and food. There was plenty of shelter for the heat, and even more prizes for the post race raffle.
I can see this race becoming a signature event for the city of Longmont. Race Organizer Josh Melver indicated that the start time will probably be moved to 6am next year to beat the heat. I have no doubts that next years race may top 500 runners.
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