The Great Equalizer

This Sunday plays host to the largest running event in Minnesota: the 30th running of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and a host of other Twin Cities in Motion races – including the Medtronic TC 10mile/ USA 10mile Championships. It is always an exciting weekend with lots of events to attend and there is a special kind of buzz in the air as thousands and thousands of runners gear up for the races. Walk into any local grocery store and their PowerAde and Gatorade stocks have been depleted, the massage therapist I see, Gregg Sievsind was booked solid all week doing at least 9 one-hour massages per day, and the port-a-potty companies’ employees have to be well into overtime by now.

To add to all the excitement, Twin Cities in Motion has thrown an additional curve-ball into to the 10mile championship race – the Equalizer! The women’s championship race will start 7 minutes before the men’s championship race. The first runner to cross the finish line 10 miles later, man or woman, will win an extra $10,000!

It is going to be a good race, both fields are stacked – official race entries HERE.

Another popular blog here in the Twin Cities, Down the Backstretch, posed the question: “Yes/No: Will a male runner win the “Equalizer Bonus” at the 2011 USA 10 Mile Championships?”. The blog argues that a man will win the equalizer, but I personally believe a woman will win. I think it is going to be a great race that comes down to the final 400m downhill finish but I think a woman will prevail in the end. I don’t really have an argument for why I think this, other than it is just a gut feeling. I guess tomorrow at around 8am we will find out.

Tune into the race live at http://www.runnerspace.com/USA-10mile

I finished 4th at this race last year in a time of 55:20, cheer me on to a podium spot and let me know your prediction --Who do you think is going to win? Man or woman?!

Pre-Race Interview: 

USA 10 Mile Championships - Official Website - Videos - Meghan Peyton Pre-Race - USA 10 Mile Championships 2011

Bittersweet

This week didn’t exactly go how I imagined it would.

The week started off on a high, having returned home from the CVS/Pharmacy Downtown 5K/ USA 5K championships where I placed 5^th by a nose (the wrong side of the nose)! I placed 5^th by .02 seconds….going up the final hill – a ¼ mile sprint uphill to the finish. 4^th place was two steps in front of me and 3^rd was 15m ahead. Both women looked like they were just hanging on for the finish. I saw my opening, I looked up at 3^rd place and said “I think I can do it” and started gunning for the finish line. I passed Sara Hall in 4^th place and was still running as hard as I could closing on 3^rd, but then out of the corner of my eye I saw that Sara hadn’t given up yet. We were both sprinting with every ounce of energy we had to get to the finish line. I was so focused on the finish I felt like I couldn’t even see; all the energy was going to my legs, willing them to carry me ever faster. In the end Sara was able to just out-lean me at the line and Emily Brown in 3^rd place was able to stay 2 seconds out of reach. My final time: 15:58 and new road 5K PR. I walked away with my head held high because I knew I gave it everything I had and was happy to run as quickly as I did considering that I am training for a marathon, not the 5K. I think this race was a reflection of how strong I am getting with my training. Hopefully that strength will pay off next weekend in the Medtronic TC 10 mile/ USA 10 mile Championships, which are hosted by Twin Cities in Motion right here in my own back yard!

USA 5 km Championships - Official Website - Videos - Women's Live Race Replay - USA 5 km Championships 2011

However, once hump day rolled around, what had started out as a great week quickly hit rock bottom. Early Wednesday morning I got an email from Dennis saying that one of the men on the Augsburg Cross Country team had been killed in a hit and run late on Tuesday night. Jason Stevens was a freshman on our team and double majoring in Physics and Calculus. The team was crushed by sadness and anger. “How can someone just drive away?” “Why did this happen? The loss of a great friend and strong competitor brought the Auggies to their emotional knees. Yet, as I watched the team and tried to be a strong shoulder to cry on, what I witnessed was amazing. This huge loss brought this team even closer together than they were previously; they each learned that their teammates were people that they could rely on even in the toughest of situations. They came back two days later and had some of the best workouts of their lives.  My wish is that they can continue to honor the memory of Jason by competing with as much heart and guts as Jason did. Rest in peace Jason, and know that you were loved by many.