New 4K Personal Best

I finished the Alex DeVinny Memorial 4K in about 17:50 on Saturday morning at the UW-Parkside cross-country course. Runners had to deal with some muddy spots in addition to the usual hills. You might recall that I ran this race last year after running from home to the race site, and then I ran home afterwards. This year, I drove, and my time improved by over a minute in a half. I finished 44th overall, and fourth in the 30-39 age group. There are usually tons of lightning-fast people at the event, so I'm thrilled with my finish time and position.

Age Group Awards in St. Germain

I was on vacation in northern Wisconsin this past weekend. Jenelle and I stayed with our friends, Mark & Heather, at a cottage owned by my dad and his siblings. On a cool and rainy Sunday morning, Mark and I made the 15-minute drive from the cottage to St. Germain for the Freedom 5K. We had both run five miles the day before, not knowing about the race, so we weren't sure exactly how we'd fare.

As it turns out, we both did well. Mark, who zoomed ahead of me at the start, finished with a solid 20:48, better than 7-minute pace. I came in just over a minute later at 21:58, only 19 seconds off my PR.

Mark managed to WIN his age group. The only male 20-29 year-old faster than him was the overall winner, so he wasn't eligible for the age group awards. Turning 30 three days before the race, this was my entry in the 30-39 age group, and I finished third. I'll take it!

The course was mostly on hiking trails, starting and finishing near the community center in the middle of town. A map is below.