I really wanted this to be the race where I could go under 20min with a PR. Chose this race as it was relatively flat and electronically timed, plus being in Cincinnati would probably draw good competition.

The start was fast and before I knew it we were cruising at 5:45min per mile. I counted 10 runners in front of me as we entered the tunnel. The tunnel was much cooler than the ambient air, which really felt good. Lost GPS signal down there so had to rely on RPE. My stride felt very smooth and light, almost effortless. Hit the turn and started to head back East along the river, felt a little bit of wind but nothing significant - really nice weather for this race.

I was shocked to notice there was only about 3/4 of a mile left to go and started to pick up the pace. At that point I was running with the top woman runner, she was in front of me by about 2 strides most of the way in to the finish. There is a section where we turned right on 2nd street and when I started to turn I ran to sharply to the left - nearly ran off-course. Made my way down 2nd street and with about 0.2 left to go I looked down at my time, which was about 18:20 something. This freaked me out a little as I wanted to make sure I broke 20min at the finish. I sprinted in from there and passed one person just as we made the last turn to the finish straightaway. Stopped my watch at 19:40 and the results had me at 19:33! There were two chip timing mats near the finish separated by 30yds or so - the final time must have been the first row of mats we crossed.

Nothing at all. Finally broke 20min with this PR and won my AG!

Grabbed a Powerade, snacks and BBQ pulled Chicken sandwich. The results were posted on a flat screen TV. Was surprised to count only 5 people with a faster time. Walked around for about 20min then headed for home.


IMO this was the best 5k race I have run (alway is when you PR). Very nice course, organized, on-time, plenty of post-race SWAG plus beer and food. Not sure if there were awards for AGers but still a great event.