The idea of running a race on an airport runway seemed too novel to not do at least once. And so on a cold and frosty October I dragged myself out, pre-dawn, to the American Airlines repair hangar at Charlotte Douglas to run in the 10th Anniversary of the Runway 5k.
I had been running pretty regularly before the race and felt pretty good about getting under 30 minutes (my regular pace). Because of a delay in the start I coldly watched planes take off on the runways surround us, until just after 9am, when the race began (an hour late). It was nice to run a flat surface the whole way, and the thrill of seeing planes take off and land as we ran past never waned. Was also great to run beside the terminal as planes taxied around the airport.
I was absolutely stoked to cross the finish line and find my chip time was 26:38 (gun time of 27:14). Under 9 minutes a mile is faster than I've ever done. I definitely think have other people around me helps me pick up my pace.
I'm not sure if I'd do it again next year, or look for a different race to run. Time will tell. In the meantime I will bask in the glory of coming 321st out of 2097, and 32nd in my age group (out of 125), and a mere 10:38 off the winning pace.
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