The Dunkin’ Run ARC Race. 7 September, 2019

I was an active, modestly competitive cyclist in the 1980s. I ventured back into the sport with less success in the early 2000s. The citizens’ bike races were to the 80s what 5Ks are today: local events drawing participants of every level into the sport. Seven dollars got you a tee-shirt, a post-race banana, and a shot at a trophy—assuming you were a top finisher.

The USCF races I entered in 2002-03 were pricier and positively spartan by comparison. In either era, races could involve dozens of riders. The Delta Lake race I rode in 1989 had over 200 riders, a huge field for a bicycle race.

This was the context I had when I signed up for the Dunkin’ ARC Race late in August. What a difference a few decades make!

Traci and I arrived at Long Branch Park early enough to easily find parking, giving us time to wander through the vendors before I warmed up.

The half marathon started first, and the 5K field began to move to the start line by the hundreds. As I didn’t want to impede faster runners, I followed a bit of online advice and took up a spot in the middle of the field.

Though we started on Long Branch Road, the course veered off into the Onondaga Lake Park, a popular venue for race organizers and the first of three organized races I’d run in the park in 2019. It’s a fast, flat out-and-back course wide enough to handle a field of hundreds.

I wasn’t terribly sure about my tactics beyond wanting to run a negative split. I’d run in a Syracuse Chargers fun run further down the park trail in August; I broke 30 minutes in my first 5K, but my right hip was so sore that I dreaded taking the stairs for a few days afterward and I didn’t want to relive that experience, so I took it easy in the opening portion of the race.

That wasn’t entirely by choice; I found myself working through the field for much of the initial portion of the course, but the field was spread out by the turn around, making it easier for me to pick up the pace.

My strategy had been to conserve enough energy to run flat-out in the final mile, but it was all I could do to hold my pace to the finish.

I finished with a net time of 27:43 with a pace of 8:56, enough to net 100th place out of the 408 finishers. Considering that I’d taken my first run six weeks earlier, I was content with the results and the lessons learned.

The event was well organized, with ample amounts of food, chocolate milk, ice cream, and donuts, of course! B-tags on the bibs were a major improvement over the chips I’d once used in a bike race, and the results were up quickly, courtesy of Leone Timing. The medal was hefty, colorful, and intricate, and for someone who vividly recalls the bare-bones amenities of most events in the 80s, the size of the event and the abundant giveaways came as a pleasant surprise.