Dartmouth Natal Day 6 Miler

Before I get into my usual self-absorbed race report, I want to congratulate my brother on a brave and excellent Natal Day performance. He set out to run the course in under 45 minutes, and that’s exactly what he did – he crossed the line in 44:48. He also brought a solid cheering section with him, including three amazing boys, aged 5, 3, and 1. They were super awesome on race day. Big props to the entire clan who showed up to watch me and my brother struggle through another Natal Day!

So. Here’s the report. This was the last t-shirt race until October. Ah, the coveted shirt. I had it, but then I lost it. And I deserved to lose it. I ran a lacklustre, uninspired Natal Day – as usual.

The Dartmouth Natal Day 6 miler has been my bane for years. It’s a great race, though. It’s something like the 3rd oldest road race in North America, and it’s one of the most competitive races on the Nova Scotia circuit. These days, runners complete a two-mile loop around downtown Dartmouth three times, which is both good and bad. It’s good because spectators get to see the runners three times, which makes it less boring for them and gives runners a bit of a boost each time they go around. But it’s bad because you have to run the same damn long inclines three times – and it’s difficult to mentally prepare for the same stupid hills three freakin’ times!

And the thing is that I should be good at this race – the start/finish is on my street, only a block from my place. This is my home court. But every year I get nervous about the hurt the hills are going to put on me, so every year I run way too conservatively.

This year, I screwed the race up right from the start. When I got to the starting line, I seeded myself behind the first row of runners. But as the start time drew nearer, a bunch of people crowded in front, and I ended up three or four deep behind slower runners. My two shirt nemeses, N and D, played it smart and got themselves into the front row. When the gun went, I had to start slow and weave around people to find some open space. Stupid. 500m in, N and D were running together, and they already had a 10s gap on me. Stupid.

I thought about surging in order to catch up with them, but I knew I had to save something for the hills, so I decided simply to hang back and bridge the gap slowly. I think that was a smart decision, but I didn’t pace myself aggressively enough to do much damage on their lead. Through one lap, the gap was pretty much the same as the start – we were running the same pace; the difference was the start. Stupid.

Through a lap and a half (half the race), I was working with H. I was a little surprised that H was running with me given that, this season, he’s normally finished 10-30s behind. But he’d decided to run aggressively and courageously, and I didn’t mind the company. During the fourth mile, D started losing ground on N. H and I saw our opportunity, and we started to reel D in. On the stretch down Alderney road, we caught her and passed her. It felt good. One T-shirt competitor down – one to go.

On the brutal hill up Ochterloney, though, H turned to me and said he was done – he’d spent his legs and there was still one two-mile loop to go. I tried to encourage him to keep his legs moving and to relax and to follow me up the hill, but to no avail. He dropped back and D ate him up. I was alone, so I set my sights on N.

N meanwhile had set his sights on two guys in front of him. He caught one beside Sullivan’s Pond, and I soon caught the same guy too. It’s a great feeling to run down a guy so late in the race. I was still feeling okay, but I convinced myself not to step it up to try to catch N. Stupid. I should’ve just accepted the hurt and gone for broke, but I played it safe. N, though, had a guy to chase, and up the final stretch on Ochterloney, he ran the guy down to finish sixth. I just kept steady up the hill and finished 8th in 34:39.

So I lost the shirt and I may have lost my second-place standing in the Timex series. With this last result for N and me, we are now tied for points. Considering we’ve beaten each other 3 times this season (over 6 races), it seems fitting to end in a tie. Our final showdown will be at the Zoo run in October at the National Timex Championships.

Although I practically mailed in my 6 miler, I still crushed my Natal Day PB by almost 2 minutes – that’s pretty good. And it was the first time I’ve finished in the top 10 of this race. That’s not a bad result all in all. But I need to find a way to be more aggressive and to trust my body more. I should’ve been able to run a 34 flat. Oh well, there’s always next year. I’ll also do better at the Zoo run. I’ve got plenty of time to train, and I’ll be representing my province, so I’d better step it up!