Trenton 10K Race Recap

The Trenton 10K took place in Trenton, NJ. The start is right by Arm and Hammer Park where the Trenton Thunder Baseball team plays and the finish ends right inside. I really like this race because it is close to home and I don't have to travel far to get to the start. I've done their half marathon (Inaugural year) and the 10K last year, so it's a favorite of mine.

RACE EXPO: The race expo was held at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in downtown Trenton. It wasn't difficult to find as it was there last year as well, but it was hard to find parking. It would have been nice if they listed where we could park on the website, but I ended up finding street parking right across from the hotel but it took me 3 times of circling around to get the spot.

Inside it was easy to find the expo. I went on Thursday so it was the first day and I went not too long after they opened. It wasn't busy and I got my bib and shirt fairly quickly. There were quite a few booths, it seems like the expo gets a little bigger and better every year. I didn't need anything so I just browsed. The kiddos did get a hacky sack and I ended up with some free blinking lights to wear for running in the dark and a bunch of chip clips. :p

The shirt this year is ok. I'm surprised of the change in type of shirt as the last couple of years they have been long sleeve half zip shirts. I was dissapointed when I first saw the picture on their Facebook page when they first revealed it, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. 

RACE DAY: The weather called for a cold start, but not as cold as the Wineglass Half start. I think it was in the low 40's when the race actually started. Start time was 8:00am but I wanted to get to the parking lot by 7:15am. I was at the lot by 7:00am and had plenty of time to walk to the start. 

The friend I was going to run in the race with couldn't run it so I arrived solo. However, I was happy to run into some Moms Run This Town running friends. We got to chat a bit before we were to line up at the start.

We were to line ourselves up to the pace we wanted to follow. I stuck myself between the 8 and 9 minute per mile pace. My legs for this race weren't actually at 100% as I had been sore from some sprints I had done on Wednesday. I think I ran them too fast and have been recovering since then. My legs weren't as sore as the day after I ran the sprints but they weren't as strong as I had hoped for race day.

As to the start, the race was delayed 20 minutes before we actually started. They seem to never get it right as the last couple of years, there has also been delayed starts. You would think they would get it right but I understand that it all depends on the how fast the roads can get closed and it is all for our safety. After the national anthem was sung, and the muskets went off, the race finally began.

This year the half marathon, 10K, and 5K started at the same time. I'm not sure why they changed it this year as the previous years had been different. I did not like the change as there was a bottleneck right at the start for about 100 yards or so, and you aren't moving fast. I really liked it the other way as I don't recall a bottleneck in other years. 

Once I finally got moving, I noticed that my feet were numb from the cold. Probably because we were waiting at the start for 20 minutes before the race finally started. Anyhow, I knew from the start that this was not going to be one of my best runs. It took a while for my feet to feel normal again, but I did enjoy the scenery. The course takes us across two bridges. Here is the first one, which is the "Trenton Makes The World Takes" bridge.

The course also took us through some neighborhoods.

Here is the second bridge we crossed, the Calhoun Street Bridge that was at around mile 4. The views from the bridge looking out across the water were pretty neat.

At this point in the run I was feeling ok. I wasn't feeling strong like I had at the Perfect 10 miler race but I was fine and was doing better than I thought I would. We were heading back towards Arm and Hammer Park so I kept at it. Here is a picture of the first bridge we crossed as we go by it on our way back.

What I really enjoy about this race is the finish. We end right inside Arm and Hammer Park stadium and run around the outfield and the finish line is right at home plate. The announcer calls your name at the finish and this year I actually heard my name. It was nice! :) 

After crossing the finish line, I got my medal and some bottled water. For the goodies for runners, you then had to walk up the stairs where you could get a pretzel, banana, and some cliff bars. Not sure what it is, but I love chocolate milk after a race and when I saw it outside of the stadium after hanging out for a while and watching other runners finish, I think it would have been really nice if it was closer to the finish line.

Overall I did pretty good time-wise. Last year I ran it in 55:24, so I PR'd almost 2 minutes for a 10K which was awesome! 

Overall a decent race. The organizers need to work on starting on time, but other than that it was a good run. I would do it again just because it is so close to home!

I’m linking this post up with this week’s Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up! Brought to you by hostesses Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser and co-hostesses: Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling.