Midsummer Mile Race Preview

TONIGHT is my big mile race: the "Richard A. Hoska Midsummer Mile" at the State Fairgrounds. The course is nearly 2 full loops:

I stopped by the fairgrounds on Monday with Henry to scope out the course. I'm familiar with those roads, but I've never paid attention to the small details before. Here are 5 photos of the course:

Looking out from the starting line (looking across Dan Patch). THAT'S the biggest hill, just
past that intersection. Might be rough on lap 2. (It WILL be rough on lap 2.)


Straight, flat section on top of that hill. Turn left just after that car.


Curving to the left right where it says "Cooper Street" on the map above.
Stick to the left, and then run the tangent.


Wide road by the "Food" building as the curve is ending. Just a small hill.


And then it's *slightly* downhill to this intersection.

After 1 loop, you'll turn left at that intersection, get a quick downhill, and then have to turn left again to head back up the little hill seen in the first photo to start the 2nd loop.

At the end of the 2nd loop, you'll go straight through this intersection enjoying a bit more of a downhill, and finish somewhere past that small white vehicle pointed towards me.

So the 90-degree turns will be tricky - I've got to make sure I'm in a good spot to run those well / fast / smoothly. And I'm a little concerned about those small hills - I don't want to slow up too much for those. I'm trying to keep this sub-5!! And hopefully I can go WELL UNDER 5 minutes! We'll see what happens!

This is my biggest race since the Cinco "Du" Mayo Duathlon. I knew that race was going to be small, and I raced to WIN that duathlon. This race will be my first race that I'm racing for TIME this year - I could come in 10th or 50th, but all that will matter is my finishing time. (Spoiler alert: I'm NOT going to win this race.) I gotta get through those turns and those little hills....

Check my tweets for updates, and check back here later today or early tomorrow for a race report. Wish me luck!