It started last summer when my father, the perennial social coordinator, suggested a family race get-together. Since our family is scattered between Rockledge and New Orleans, he presented us with a list of 25 10k races in the U.S. that he compiled from the Runner's World top 100 list.After a series of family votes, the list narrowed to six and then to one. The winning race was the Cooper Bridge 10k Run in Charleston, South Carolina set for April 4th, 1998.
We arrived in the azalea lined, 300 year old city 36 hours before race morning. We met up with Craig and Linda Thompson (SCR members) at the race-related Expo on Friday morning. The afternoon was spent touring the 'tongue' of Charleston which included the Battery and the Public Market and we concluded the day at the pasta dinner with the other runners back at the cafeteria on the campus of the Medical University of South Carolina.
Being from New Orleans, I noticed a lot of similarities (Bourbon Street excluded) between the cities. Both cities are quaint, are over 275 years old, have been under at least eight different flags, are port cities, and each holds a 10k race that draws over 10,000 participants (New Orleans has the Crescent City Classic in April that draws 30,000). Charleston proved more than worthy of our family's selection for this race weekend.
A 4:30am wake up call on Saturday morning got us started. The late Friday night rain storm cleaned the streets and brought the morning temperatures down to the upper 40's. We piled into our van and headed to the finish line.
At 5:30am we were boarding the courtesy vans that took us to the starting line across the Cooper River in a city called Mt. Pleasant. The winds starting to kick up and by race time they were reaching 15-25 m.p.h.. Unfortunately, this was also a head wind during our 2.5 mile crossing of the infamous bridge.
At 8:00am we were lined up for the start and comedian Bill Murray of SNL fame was on hand to give the runners a pre-race pep talk. He had us laughing out loud for several minutes before firing the starter's pistol to commence the event.
All of a sudden 12,883 of my closest friends (for the day) and I were now on our way. The first mile took us back through Mt. Pleasant towards the bridge. It was flat and uneventful except for tranquil Shem Creek and the inviting row of seafood restaurants. As we passed the 1 mile marker, the LED display read 7:45 and I was on a comfortable pace.
Minutes later, the massive bridge came into view and the head wind became more noticeable. This giant geometric pile of concrete and steel seemed much larger than it did by automobile and I was now taking my first steps up the structure.
A quarter of the way up the bridge came the 2 mile marker and I was still running sub eight minutes per mile. At this point the leaders had crested the bridge and I was looking forward into a sea of bobbing heads. A quick look behind me and the human wave continued down the ramp curving to the right until they were out of sight. With glance to my left, I spotted the Aircraft Carrier 'Yorktown' nestled in the Cooper River. The view was definitely memorable.
Getting to the top of the first apex seemed to take an eternity and I could feel myself slowing. I guess that I didn't mention that the bridge was a double humper with an elevation of about 160' at each crest. In between you descended back to about a 55' elevation. Mile 3 came on the down side of the first apex and my time reflected the damage; nine and a half minutes. I knew a sub 50 minute finish was now out of the question.
Mile four took us over and down the second peak and for some crazy reason I had picked the pace back up with another sub 8 minute mile. We left the elevated roadway as mile 5 began and were now in the old section of Charleston headed to Marion Square.
The wind was gone and it now felt as if we had stepped into an oven. The crowds were three deep in some places and were cheering, playing tambourines and music. Their enthusiasm was really welcomed.
I made it through mile 5 and 6 in sub 8s and thought for a brief moment that I could break 50 minutes. But it was not to be. I was nipped at the wire ... uhm, I mean I was nipped by 20 minutes by three Kenyans and finished with a 50:35. Not bad considering the size of the obstacle that 'I had just gotten over'.
We were able to rejoin Craig and Linda at the post race party and it felt good to just be a part of this sea of runners. The sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky and we are eating fresh fruit and power bars from both hands. It felt great to have been a part of such an event.
Charleston was an excellent host city and the Cooper River Bridge 10k Run (CRBR) has earned a return visit. Ballots for the 1999 family race weekend are due out soon and we should know the winner later this summer. If your family hasn't voted yet for a 1999 get-together race weekend, make sure the CRBR is on the ballot and cast a vote for me!