TAKING
CHARGE
TAKING
CHARGESuppose there was a 5K race in San Diego and nobody knew about it? Well, there are probably many such races and no one keeps track of them. I was recently involved with one: The GSA 5K By The Bay held on October 23.
The Geological Society of America is a century-old scientific and professional organization with about 17,000 members mostly from North America. Every year the GSA holds a national meeting and in 1991 it was held at the new San Diego Convention Center. About 6000 geologists attended.
In the years prior to the meeting, a local host committee parceled out a variety of critical tasks to key individuals. About one year before the meeting, a bunch of "odds and ends" were further delegated and one of the tasks was overseeing the annual GSA 5K/10K run. Someone at the committee meeting blurted out, "Let Peterson do it! He's a runner."
The suggestion met with instant approval. The nomination passed unanimously. Unfortunately, Peterson didn't happen to be at that particular meeting.
Oh, good grief! What a headache! Where would we race? What about the finish line? Transportation? Permits? Porta-potties? Where do T-shirts come from? How many bananas should be ordered for refreshments?
After about a month of anguish, a packet of information arrived from GSA headquarters. It seems my task as "race chairman" was to enlist and oversee the services of a race-consulting firm and it would be this firm who actually put on the race. After a short search, Breaking Forty Race Consultants were introduced to the GSA officials and the management of the race was in place. What a relief! Now, this was an event that could actually be fun!
GSA races in previous years had included both a 5K and a 10K, each with about 70 runners. These would have to be considered very tiny races. As such, we broke with tradition and lumped the two together as a 5K. This change proved to be somewhat controversial, but in this way we could utilize an available 5K course beginning and ending near the convention center and run entirely on walkways in the immediate vicinity. The needs for transportation, porta-potties and traffic control vanished. Expenses dropped. The move prevailed.
A second change involved the age divisions. Based on a guesstimate of participant ages, 30s, 40s and 50s divisions were set up but listed as "under 40," 40-49 and "50 and over" to pick up the few runners in the 20s and over the 50s that we anticipated. In retrospect, it turned out that enough 20s runners were present to merit a separate division, but it would have been the smallest. Naturally, the single runner in the 60s complained about not having a 60s division.
Finally, race day arrived. Conditions were nearly ideal. A low, thick cloud cover provided cool air with an ever-so-slight mist. The course was flat and fast. A look around the assembled runners revealed a lot of lean, intense types. A downward glance revealed a good percentage of racing flats. Hmmmmmm. This crowd looked more like that of a Track Club event than what one might expect to find at a small, mellow scientific convention fun run.
Sure enough! At the sound of the starting horn the race got off to an all-out scramble. The gently winding, twisting course provided fast-changing scenery. Views of expensive yachts, the boardwalk, small parks, the Marriott Hotel, the Charthouse, San Diego Bay and the dramatic new Convention Center all unfolded at a rapid rate. No visual boredom on this course!
The male winner went out at a sub-five-minute pace and held on for a 15:24 finish. The first male master topped the 40-49 division finishing fifth at 16:55. The first 50-plus male came in 19th with a 18:50 time. The first woman finished 29th with a time of 19:48 and was followed closely by the second at 19:56. The first masters woman placed 86th with a time of 23:44. Over half of the 117-person field finished below a 7:00 minute-per-mile pace. One of the spectators muttered, "Who are these guys?"
Every race has it's glitch! Unfortunately, three of the faster runners missed a not-to-well marked corner, cut the course and bowed out of the race results. Fortunately, none of the other runners followed them.
What a nifty event! A perfect day for racing. Pleasant, friendly runners from all over North America. A well managed race. A fun course. Brisk competition. What a great break from the business of the convention!
Meanwhile, next year's race chairman (a non-runner) seemed amazed and somewhat dazed by the whole event and wondered how he was going to match it in Cincinnati. My advice was to find a good race consultant firm.
December 1991
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