I can’t really say why I entered the Bolder Boulder. I’ve never been a runner. Back in high school and college phys ed classes we had to run; I vaguely recall running a mile in a bit over ten minutes. I didn’t enjoy it at all. On the other hand, I can walk all day and if the surroundings and weather are right it can be one of my most pleasurable experiences. But there’s no way I can run a 10k race.

The original plan was that Bob would join me. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out and I did this solo. Having never done a run like this, I had no idea what to expect – getting to and from the event, parking, what to take with me, let alone how long it would take and whether I’d enjoy it.

I signed up for a wave that is “walk/run, mostly walk” and figured if I walked the entire route it would take me less than two hours. On my walks around the neighborhood I don’t seem to have much trouble maintaining a pace of about three and a half miles an hour, but my walks are three miles or less. My hiking pace is more like two miles per hour, but that’s stepping over roots and rocks, can be steeply up or down hill, and is generally almost twice the altitude. So I figured I’d finish in a couple of hours.

To compare this somewhat to a RAID Rally (think Paris-Dakar Rally), walking my 10k really meant a liaison of a mile and a quarter (from where I parked to the start line), then the 10k special stage, and another liaison back from the finish line to the car. Add that all up and I walked more like 13k.

The event is staged in waves. The first wave started at 7:00am. My wave started at 9:15:40. The fastest runners in the first wave, then, finished about the time I left the house. There were something like 80 waves, with most of the waves comprised of 800 people. In total there were something like 52,000 to 54,000 entrants.

I arrived near the start line with plenty of time to spare, so I wandered around a bit checking things out. I wasn’t carrying any water, so was pleased to find a water station nearby. A good portion of folks were dressed up for the occasion. Quite a few people were wearing tutus. A group of guys were pieces of toast. Lots of capes, some with Superman t-shirts. Quite a few had t-shirts printed up special for the day. And there was a wide variety of shirts from previous Bolder Boulders and other marathons and runs.

Maybe fifteen minutes before our start time, a sign appeared with our group number (PE) and we gathered around it. Every couple of minutes we’d advance up the street toward the start line. I managed to forget to bring any sun screen, so when a group near me broke theirs out I bummed a couple of squirts of it. Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter was the starter. He encouraged everybody, then fired a shot from a starters pistol and we were off. About half the group started running.

This was your basic “sea of humanity”. The road was filled sidewalk to sidewalk with people moving forward. Those who were running had to weave their way through the slower traffic. Even though I was walking, I had the same issue. My walking pace was about as fast as some of the joggers. It looked like most of the PE group were running about half the time – they would pass me when running but I’d pass them again when they were walking.

Nearing the halfway point.

At each kilometer and mile, a banner hung across the street. At each kilometer, I checked the time. I was taking ten minutes for each kilometer for the first few, and by halfway I had improved to an average of about nine minutes per K. Not too bad – a bit quicker than my 3.5 mph pace.

While waiting for the start, I overheard some folks saying that, no matter how little of the course they actually ran, they’d run across the finish line. That sounded good to me, so when I entered the stadium I ran for the first time. I actually ran from about the 6 mile marker to the finish line, which is about two tenths of a mile.

Every participant got a snack bag, a soft drink, and adults could have a beer. Most people sat in the stadium for this, but I preferred a shady spot. Outside the stadium they had set up a bunch of vendor tents, hawking everything from sunglasses and running shorts to bacon to massage. I lined up for a free taste of bacon. Mmmm.

By the time I got home, results had been posted. I completed the distance in 1:38:56.91, which works out to 36,355th place. Mile two was my quickest (15:04) and mile six was slowest (17:30).

I had a pretty good time, so I’m thinking I’ll do this again.