Goldy's Run 10 mile

When I signed up for this 10 mile race I imagined I'd be pounding the pavement on a cool spring morning, maybe starting off somewhere in the mid to upper 40s, possibly 50s! It was 28 degrees at the starting line and it was snowing (or ice pelleting) at the finish.  So needless to say this race had weather working against it today.

But I'm going to try not to hold Mother Nature against Goldy's Run and give it a fair review without the usual angry-fist-to-the-winter-sky griping. This was a new race for me, though it's not new to the rest of the Twin Cities. Still basking in affection for the TCF Stadium at the University of Minnesota, many have made the 5K or 10 mile a yearly tradition. 

Packet pick-up on Friday was a bit messy, despite my getting there right at the beginning.  One frustration I tend to have with races, Goldy's not being the only one with this habit, is when they assume location knowledge of all runners.  I don't know anything about the area around the U. I'm not from Minnesota and didn't attend the U for school.  So some of the directions for packet pickup were a bit vague for my liking.  And just a word of caution for runners picking up packets before race day, 80% of the people in line in front of you are actually picking up for themselves plus at least five other people.  I've heard patience is a virtue. :)

Race day, having figured out parking the day before, went pretty smoothly. I arrived around 7:10 for an 8 am start and found parking easily at the stadium and $4 isn't a steep price in my mind. It would have been nice if other doors into the stadium had been open so that we didn't have to wander all around the outside before getting to the door by the start line.  It was cold!  But had it been a pretty day I wouldn't have cared, so I'll chalk that up to bad weather luck. 

The course was hillier than I expected but I really love the races along the river, especially when they're point to point like Goldy's and don't consist merely of one out-and-back stretch.  So I appreciated running on the West Bank because it seems like most races stick solely to the East.  As should be expected with a purely downtown race, there were a fair number of short stretches and turns, especially through campus.  I didn't love this.  But I could also see how if you went to the U or knew the area well, this would be a cool jog through memory lane.  As someone with no emotional attachment to the school, it just seemed kinda choppy.  

But the best part of the race is at the finish!  My picture is crappy as I'm evidently unskilled at simultaneously running and picture-taking.  But all finishers get to run their way to the 50 yard line, see their grins on the big screen, and get a high five from Goldy.  Even as a non-Minnesotan, that just feels cool.  

Definitely a race anyone that attended the U would want to make a yearly habit, and I always like seeing alternative distance races (not a 5K, not a 10K, not a half-marathon), so the 10 mile is a cool option for anyone training for upcoming longer distances. 

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