Kelley race

As mentioned briefly in the previous post, on Saturday I traveled to New London, Conn., to participate in the 50th annual John and Jessie Kelley/Ocean Beach 11.6-mile road race. I started running this race in 1983, and I have been there most years since, missing it only a few times for such real-life events as weddings, vacation and childbirth; this was the 23^rd time I completed the event.

Weather conditions were about as difficult as I can ever remember it. On the starting line, I was chatting with my college roommate and Sacred Heart track coach Christian Morrison, who has completed the race 37 consecutive years. As we were talking, we were sweating profusely. The humidity was thick. Within a half-mile, we were soaked in sweat. I normally do not like to intentionally soak myself in races; but on Saturday, I ran through every sprinkler offered on the course, and dumped at least 2 cups of water on top of my hat at every water stop.

It was no use. With humidity that thick, you feel trapped in your own skin. I ran with former Marist assistant AD Colin Sullivan for the first half of the race; we tried to stay as relaxed as possible, but there is no way you can catch up to the debilitating effects of dehydration. At the 7-mile mark, just before the major hills on the course, a quick glance on my watch showed I was 46 seconds off my 2011 pace. Oh well. Time to manage the hills and survive this beast.

In a last bit of cruelty, as I was climbing the steep hill at Mile 8, there was one of those speed-trap/speed limit signs that tells you how fast you are driving. The sidewalk was clogged with slowing/walking runners, so I hopped on the road to pass people as I gutted up the incline. The road sign said “Your Speed is 7 MPH.” As I neared the sign and huffed uphill, the 7 turned into a 6 and then flickered to a 5 before “rebounding” to a 6. And remember: I WAS PASSING PEOPLE! Pretty much sums up the day.

For those keeping score at home, here is a race comparison for me from 2011 to 2012.   

Last year, in decent weather conditions: 130th place out of 451 overall; 31st in age group; 1:30:06, 7:46 pace.

This year, in extreme-heat weather conditions: 135th place out of 545 overall; 32nd in age group; 1:33:04, 8:01 pace.

It does not get any easier. It never does.