Wrapping up the Anthem 5k

It’s three days after the Anthem 5K, and I’m still reveling in the energy of race day. Did a training run yesterday morning from my house in the Highlands through the shotgun-lined streets of Germantown, into Shelby Park and back up Baxter Avenue and Bardstown Road. Logged about five miles at a slow pace.
Looking back to Sunday, my favorite stretch had to be the final eastbound leg on Main Street with the morning sun pouring over the building tops. Even with a late snow and high winds, the weather was probably the best we’ve had since the Anthem started four years ago. The only low point this year was the crowded starting chute, and the apparent lack of signage separating runners by pace. The theory here is that the quickest people stack up at the front, the mid-level runners in the middle and so on. If it works correctly, fewer runners elbow their way past each other in the first couple of hundred yards, and injuries are minimized. But with 6,204 finishers Sunday, the entire course was crowded and the start was especially confusing, with way too many 8-minute and 9-minute milers toward the front. Also, what’s up with people dropping their iPods on the race course? Either way, it was a good start to the Triple, and an encouraging sign that interest in all three races is growing. Onward to the Rodes City Run!