Race recap Queens 10k

The Queens 10k started at 8am yesterday.  The temperature was 82, making it a very hot morning for a race.  Alek and I drove to Queens and parked in citifield then walked a short distance to the start area near the Unisphere.

I enjoyed the race course.  My favorite part was running through what seemed to be a wetlands area near the lake.  The race path was paved but running through an area that I didn't even know existed surrounded by plants taller than me on either side was neat.  After the 3 mile mark, we were headed back toward the observation towers (the towers that actually had spaceships at the top of them in Men In Black).  Once we got close to the Unisphere and observation towers there was an out and back from miles 3.5 to 5.5.  

The race course had plenty of water stops and sprinklers to help us cool down.  The volunteers were also encouraging runners not to go for any records in the heat.  "It's ok to walk, this isn't the olympics," shouted one volunteer as we made our way through the final mile.  

The last half mile took us directly around the Unisphere.  With its fountains turned on, I ran as close as I could hoping to catch some of the spray.  The final stretch had cheering crowds! I finished in 58:55 for a 9:30/mile pace.  I also achieved my best ever 10k time!  Alek finished in 1:03:56 with an average pace of 10:18/mile.  We both got very cool and unexpected finisher medals!

Full results can be found on the NYRR site and it seems that race photos will eventually be available from brightroom.

We did it!