A PR isn’t always a good thing. See, last weekend in NYRR’s New York Mini 10K I finished with a PR of over a minute. But, every single thing about this race left me with a sour feeling.
I woke up without a spirit to race. I met up with Jess and ran 2 miles through Central Park towards the start. I had a strong desire to stay on the winding paths through the park and forego the race altogether. Nonetheless, I found my way to the busy start corrals.
And, busy they were! I was assigned to the first corral, and so were about 300 people too many. Runners were spilling out the sides of the corral entrance and there was absolutely no room to even scratch your leg. Jess and I decided to move back a corral. While waiting for the race to start, cramped against other runners, a rather terrifying looking racer (think Magda from Something About Mary wearing briefs and a sports bra) pulled aside her briefs and peed. A full stream poured onto another runner’s shoe and splashed on a handful of other racers. Clearly this was deliberate; and, absolutely disgusting. (Read Jess’ recap here).
Yes. I have informed NYRR of the incident and reported her bib number.
But, in any case, I started the race feeling absolutely nauseous. I think I ran hard (and thus PR’d) merely because I wanted the race to be over as soon as possible.
{Just after mile 6}
{At the finish with Jess}
So, no I will not race the Mini next year.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
By your description I know exactly who you are talking about. I was chatting with someone after the race and the woman walked by and I was just taken aback by her. Now I’m even more upset. Congrats on the PR though!
It’s a great description, right?? Thanks for the congrats!
You still PRed despite those crappy circumstances. And as always, I am so proud of you. Thankful for your friendship, my dear! xo
Aww… thank you! The entire race was painful for one reason or another.
And neither will I!
Thanks for running hard with me! It definitely wasn’t my intention for this race, but like you said, I just wanted it to be over!
Thank you for the run! It was definitely a challenge to keep up with you!
That is so gross that she did that! ew.
Great work on the speedy PR though!
Repulsive! And, thanks for the congrats!
OMG that’s just ridiculous. I was appalled when I saw your tweet. I mean, I understand the need to pee really really badly but come on people! Despite the crappy crappy conditions, congrats on your PR!
Just hearing that story grosses me out – yuck!