Imogene Pass Run

I was feeling good for this race and knew I wanted to run well. My goal was simple: nothing short of a winning the race. I drove over the night before and slept about 2 blocks from the start. Morning soon arrived. I felt refreshed and ready to race. Toeing the line I was ready to run hard. The gun went off and I quickly took the lead… not from speed but from a relaxed start by most other individuals. This was a surprise but it would not change my racing strategy which was simple: run hard and fast. I took advantage of the legal shortcut ¼ mile into the race and was soon running by myself… “Where is the competition?” I asked myself. In reply Jordan Jones came up and matched my cadence.

We ran together for the next 3 miles each trying to gain the advantage over the other but neither able to pull ahead. Then without warning Jones took off and gained 20 yards on me. I was surprised by the surge which came on a steep hill. I felt the surge was too fast and stayed back. He continued to push the pace but I knew I was going the right pace and patiently waited. My pace paid off and with 3 miles to the summit I caught back up to Jones and soon passed him. We yo-yoed for a ¼ mile but soon I was growing my lead.

I kept up a solid pace and by the pass I was over a minute ahead of him. I could see Andrew Benford closing fast behind and knew he was moving up. I raced down the backside but was no longer being pushed by runners. I had a lead and was no longer concerned about anyone coming up behind. I ran consistent and finished in 2:16:04 almost 6 minutes up and only 1 minute off my Imogene PR.

Thoughts: Wow! I ran a solid 2:16 and won my 3^rd Imogene Pass Run

I might have almost 20 races for the year but I’m still fit.

Next week is Run Rabbit Run 50 Miler… I plan on winning.