100% Irish for a Day 10 Miler

I'm not a stranger to Twin Cities in Motion events as I've run the Twin Cities Marathon twice and the Red, White, and Boom Half-Marathon.  This was my first Irish 10 miler, however, so I was excited to see how the experts behind the marathon would execute a smaller race with equally variable weather.

The reason I've avoided the 10 miler in the past is because it tends to fall within a week of the Get Lucky Half-Marathon, which I've done the past three years.  I'm signed up for that one again, a week from today.  And as I've been a bit remiss in my training, I thought a 10 miler this weekend would give me the boost (or the reality check) I needed to dig in and get excited about the half.

The 10 Miler is far smaller than the Get Lucky, which is nice in a lot of ways.  The crowd is much more manageable and you can navigate the first mile without dodging people left and right.  I imagine this year was a little lower in attendance just because the weather left a bit to be desired. Race organizers were getting word out in the days leading up to the race that canceling was a possibility due to the threat of an ice storm. March is a crapshoot in Minnesota.  It could be gorgeous or it could snow like mad or we could get sheets of ice so in the grand scheme of things I suppose a rainy 35 isn't too awful. And I really appreciated how communicative organizers were about the cancellation possibility. They assured runners by email, by posting on their website, by tweet, and on facebook, with easily 2 hours to spare before gun time. It's never fun to wonder whether a race will be canceled, but the organizers handled it great.

As a slow runner, rain and sub-40s can be a recipe for nearly 2 hours of misery.  Luckily, the rain held off until the last couple miles and even then it was more mist than solid rain. It was enough to get my pigtails wet, but not enough to have to wring out my jacket sleeves. And having bag check right at the finish, before the throng of people gathering for food and beer, was genius.  I was able to throw on a warm sweatshirt immediately.

I appreciated that the organizers gave two opportunities to pick up packets before race day and offered race day pickup, too.  I was able to check out Marathon Sports, one of the sponsors, which I'd never visited before, and having my race bib in hand gave me a smidge more sleep-in time this morning.

I wouldn't have minded one more water stop.  The 10 miler had water/gatorade at mile 3 and 6.5. Not bad, but one more would have been appreciated.

A 5K was offered this morning, too, and the organizers did well spacing the starting times and designing a course (one loop around Harriet, one around Calhoun, one back around Harriet) that didn't cause a lot of overlap between races.

All in all, a good race, and one I'd repeat.  Cheaper than the Get Lucky, a bit smaller and easier to manage, and a course with which most area runners are very familiar. The free Finnegan's pint is an appreciated bonus, too.  I'll just hope for better weather next year! Sunshine, pretty please!