The 27th annual Together with Love run took place on Sunday, 12 February 2012. The race benefits the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center.
This race is a beautiful out-and-back course along the Monterey Bay coastline from Lover’s Point up to Spanish Bay (for the 10k). The weather on race day was perfect running weather – overcast and on the chilly side. It looked like rain so I wore a light rain jacket but the rain didn’t show up for the race.
As with last year, the race was chip-timed. I received my bib and D-chip in the mail but this year, there was nothing else in the envelope – just the bib with the attached D-chip. I’m not sure why the race organizers chose not to include race instructions this year. Perhaps it was a sustainability-related decision. I would have preferred to have something mailed with the bib. At the very least, a strip of paper with the date and time of the race!
I was signed up for the 10k but after I picked up my t-shirt and goodies bag, I briefly toyed with the idea of just running the 5k because of my hip and lower back aches. Just briefly, though, because I really wanted to run 6 miles to stay sort-of-on-track with my half-marathon training.
The race t-shirt was a long-sleeve technical t-shirt with another great minimalist design. My dad, who is the beneficiary of all my long-sleeve cotton race t-shirts, probably wishes that the race would go back to giving cotton shirts. I, however, like the technical t-shirts a lot. As with most races nowadays, people wore their race t-shirts before they earned them.
The race started close to on time and we were off. For the first couple of miles, I just ran. I didn’t pay attention to my Garmin, I didn’t worry about my time or my pace, I just ran. The 5k turnaround came and went and I ran on. I think the race organizers have a wicked streak because the 10k turnaround is on a hill. Granted, it’s not a big hill but after nearly 3 miles, any hill counts!
The race flow felt more disorganized this year – probably because race instructions weren’t included with our race bibs. By disorganized, I mean that people were running on both sides of the road and at no point were we ever moved over to one side to make room for the returning runners. So the 5k winners were having to run against the slower runners, most of whom were so oblivious that they didn’t bother to move aside, much less cheer for the faster runners.
There were some volunteers on the course who were amazingly enthusiastic, encouraging, and uplifting. And they were placed at the perfect spots – close to hills. These ladies cheered and clapped and made runners smile. I really appreciate race volunteers, especially the ones who cheer and smile.
I finished the race and felt good. My time was just a twitch faster than last year’s time. I need to work on being able to hold a faster pace at the end for a longer distance.
There was a line for the munchies and I didn’t have the patience to wait in line for a muffin half or a bagels half or a banana half. I think as the race becomes more popular, as it does year over year, the race organizers need to consider a different setup for the post-race food. The nice thing, though, is that they always seem to have a lot of food, which is a good thing for slow runners like myself!
All in all, it was a good race. I would recommend it for anyone who wants a beautiful course with small rolling hills.
Happy running!
Confessions of a Treadmill Runner 