Donnelly Dash - 3.5 Mile - April 19, 2009

Donnelly Dash - 3.5 Mile
Fairfield, CT
April 19, 2009

Race Results:
http://www.hitekracing.com/results09/fair0419.htm

It turned out to be a very pleasant morning for the 5th annual running of the Donnelly Dash. The temperature about about 10 degrees warmer than expected and the sun was out.

I met up with John and Kellie before the race. I also had a chance to chat with Petra and Maria who I hadn't seen for several weeks. I briefly saw Brian, Torpedo and Dawn. Tony was also there to provide post-race massage.

Right before the race started Kellie, John and I saw Rob so we all chatted until it was time to start. I couldn't really remember the course, but knew that the beginning was uphill. I was happily surprised that the hill wasn't too steep or long. I started out pretty fast and was concerned about fading out, but I set my sights on two women ahead of me that I would try to keep up with. I was able to pass one of them and I kept the other one in sight until the last turn for the finish. Towards the end of mile 2 and beginning of mile 3 there was another hill that wasn't too steep, but seemed to be pretty long. I was determined to stay strong knowing that the end of the race was a downhill.

After the race I got a massage from Tony and then hung out with Kellie, John and Rob while we waited for the awards presentations. I was the 6th female to finish and won a trophy for finishing 2nd in my division. John also won a trophy for finishing 3rd in his division.

My manual splits: 7:33, 7:45, 7:36, 3:28 = 26:21
Official Average Pace: 7:33
My GPS splits: 7:17, 7:43, 7:26, 3:54 (7:11 pace) = 26:21
Average GPS Pace: 7:26
GPS distance 3.54 miles

John and Kellie



Kate and Kellie

Brian

Marty and Rick

Kayla, four year old finisher!

Torpedo and Tony

John and Rob

Kate

John, Kate and Rob

Tony and Kellie

John

John

John and Kate

Janis, Monica, Larry, ?, Patty, Kate and John