Ran the 101st Boxing Day Ten Miler in Hamilton, Ontario today. Last ran it in 2011 on a different course, finishing in 1:16:36. Usually eat too much Christmas dinner to think about running the next day. Noon start this year helped with the digestion, and a got in a little Boxing Day shopping of a couple of half priced Christmas decoration for next year. Temps were just above freezing and the roads and trails were bare.
Felt pretty good, and settled into pace fairly quickly. After the 4 Milers runners made their turn back, I'm guess I got passed after that by 7 runners, and passed 4 runners myself, including 2 that originally passed me. Hit the halfway 5 mile mark in 39:42. 10K split was 49:32, which was faster than the Halloween 10K I ran in NYC on tired legs and battling a cold. Bit of a headwind coming back, and two good hills, one long one just before the 5 mile mark, and another short and steep one before the 9 mile mark.
Finished in 1:19:12, just ahead of the 1st place female in my AG. She was one that passed me just before the 7 mile mark, and I passed her with 400 meters to go. I finished 7/22 in my AG. 86/224 Overall. Back in 2011, they had 800 finishers, so this is a race still struggling to come back from COVID.
