Run Like The Dickens 10k Race Recap
Holly, Michigan is a nice, small town approximately 30 minutes north of Detroit. At Christmastime they decorate the small downtown like a Charles Dickens story and host the annual Dickens Festival. They’ve held a 5k and 10k “Run Like the Dickens” race as part of the festival for several years. I have run it a few times but not in a few years. This year I was looking forward to it as a last chance to earn a top 3 finisher medal in 2019. The race doesn’t get a huge crowd so I didn’t think there would be too many in my age group.
Unfortunately, about two weeks before the race I got a bad cold and cough. I thought taking time off running would help but the cold lingered for over two weeks. I still ran the event but I definitely didn’t have the energy or leg strength to race it hard. I ran a comfortable, relaxed 9 minute mile pace and enjoyed being back on the roads after two weeks off.
The weather was great for a winter race. Temperatures in the low 30’s with dry roads. The course starts and ends at a school and runs through older neighborhoods and the decorated downtown. The post-race events are in the school gym with homemade baked goods, bagels, hot chocolate, and cups of pasta. Overall a nice finishers table.
With my 8:58 pace I knew I wouldn’t medal but I was still pleased with a 5th place finish of 9 in my age group and 40th of 66 male masters. And more importantly, I was back running and felt good as I finished the 10k.