Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K (2013)

Being from Richmond, Monument Avenue is one of those treasured places that makes Richmond....well, Richmond. It is lined with impressive homes as well as statues of Confederate heros from what is alternatively called the War Between the States or The Late Unpleasantness. All that being said, it would be hard for me to turn down the chance to run this impressive boulevard. I ran part of it during the Richmond Marathon in November and was ready for another dose.

I also managed to convince eight runners from our Cornerstone Striders group in Suffolk to join me. Until I actually began reading up on the race, I had no idea it was so big. Some 40,000 runners and walkers. The corrals stretched for blocks and I only made it into mine by a few minutes. I really had no expectation of a PR given the number of runners and the crowd did not thin out until we were well up Monument Avenue on the first leg. Still, I managed to keep a sub-9 minute pace and when we made the turn at the half way mark, the field had opened sufficiently to allow me to make up some time.

Like the Richmond Marathon, the Monument Avenue 10K has terrific public support with spectators lining the entire route and bands at every mile. We had a beautiful day and I even managed to PR the race by almost a minute with an average pace of 8:26. I thoroughly enjoyed the race and hope to make it again next year. Thanks Richmond!