I ran the Beach Bash 15K organized by Rocket Racing Productions in Santa Monica, California on April 14, 2013. I liked this event because it was small and informal. There were four simultaneous races taking place including a 5K, a 10K, a 15K and a half marathon, and combined less than one hundred people participating in them. More than half the participants ran the 5K with the rest split among the 10K, which was the next most popular, and half marathon while only three people, incluiding me, did the 15K. The course was open (i.e., not closed off to other runners, bicyclists, pedestrians or other general traffic) and consisted of an out-and-back loop along the boardwalk in Santa Monica starting just south of the pier and going north from there. The 10K was two loops of the 5K, the 15K was three loops of the 5K and the half marathon had a single, longer loop.

The weather was perfect for running, overcast and cool but not cold. Santa Monica is one of my favorite places to run because of the atmosphere being near the beach and the interesting mix of people it attracts. Even the participants themselves were a diverse mix of serious runners and more casual runners or walkers who wanted to enjoy a morning by the ocean. There were three teenage girls who had took a detour from the race to go swing on the swings on the beach. I had run 10K in the time it took them to get close to finishing the 5K, but it looked like they were having fun so I can’t blame them. Rocket Racing has several similar events in Santa Monica during the year, and I’ll definitely participate in another one soon.

My goal was to finish in 1:15, assuming I could comfortably do 25 minutes per 5K. I didn’t make it but came sort of close. This may be the only time I ever finish number one in a race. Here’s how I did:

Overall: 1 out of 3
Men: 1 out of 1
Finish: 1:17:09 (hours:minutes:seconds)
Pace: 8:17 (minutes:seconds per mile) 4 weeks ago