CRC Breaks the 100x5k World Record!

Target: Break the 100x5k world record (37:12:53--22:30 avg.) set by the Florida Striders in Dec. 2010
Actual: Victory! 30:56:49 (18:32/5:58 avg.)


Runner #100 Johnny C. bringing it home

Despite temperatures never topping 40 degrees and at least 20 hours of non-stop rain, we did it! Charlotte Running Club is now the (pending) world record holder in the oh-so-frequently contested 100x5k event. I knew that if I waited long enough Caitlin would do the work of writing a blog recap for me, so please see her detailed summary here. I do want to reiterate how much time and hard work was undertaken by so many club members (and, in some cases, club members' family members!) to make this event a rousing success. And while I think all of us involved in this record pursuit would readily acknowledge that the 100x5k is a fairly obscure distance, I don't think that in any way detracts from how impressive it is that we managed to coordinate 100 different people to show up on time, wear their numbers and chips properly, run the correct amount of laps and somehow do it all at an average pace of faster than six minutes per mile.




Waiting for the handoff from JSK

As for my own 5k leg, it was somewhat underwhelming. I went into it hoping I could run 17:15 or better solo in the less-than-ideal weather conditions without having done hardly any workouts over the past month and, shockingly, it didn't happen. I haven't seen an official split yet but I think I ran right at or just under 17:40. My body felt strong and my stride felt powerful throughout, but after opening up with an 80-second first lap I fell into a rut of 84-86 seconds that I couldn't really extricate myself from until the final few minutes. Oh well. If this is where my fitness is at right now then this is where it's at, no excuses. More importantly, I was able to take the baton from Jordan after he ran a respectable 16:05 for his first workout/race back after being sidelined by an Achilles injury for almost all of 2011. To barely run for three months and still record one of the top five fastest times of the entire event is not too shabby as far as I'm concerned. After my own unremarkable performance I handed off to leg #100 John Compton who completed the JMJ sandwich and ran the fastest split of the weekend, something around 15:15. (It is also worth noting that the fastest female award goes to none other than fourteen-year-old Alana Hadley, who managed an eye-popping 17:08 PR on Saturday afternoon.)


Caitlin and I being unsuspectingly "photo-bombed" by Jordan

A few other notable moments from the weekend:
1. Matt Jaskot rummaging through a trash can in the infield dressed as the Karhu bear. Me: Why were you digging through the trash? Matt: I was in character! If a bear were here right now I guarantee he would go straight for the trash can.
2. Mike Kahn running around the infield with a boom box on his shoulder so that Caitlin could have her requested music during her leg.
3. Emily Barrett gamely agreeing to run an "extra" leg (we did a few at the end just for insurance) after having spent more time than anyone else at the track for the previous 30 hours.
4. Spada apparently (I did not witness this) running shirtless with a handpainted CRC logo emblazoned on his stomach.
5. Aaron printing up the "100x5k world record holders" t-shirts prior to the event, Superbowl style.
6. Stan Austin running his exact predicted time (18:40) in the POURING rain in the middle of the night on Saturday. You win a free pair of Karhus!


Stan the Man after his duck run late Saturday night.

Many thanks to everyone who made this event a huge success and a great bonding opportunity for the club members!