Name of the race: Superfund Super Run 10K
Where: Brooklyn, NY
Date: Sept 8, 2016
Time: 10:00 pm
Distance:~6.2 miles
Terrain: Road race
Entry fee: $15
Swag: None
Post-race Food: Water & Beer (on tap!)
Time: 55:35
Performance: Overall 60/100
Weather: 81 degrees, 79% humidity
PPTC at Superfund Super Run 10K
The Superfund Super Run 10K is an alleycat race. Usually alley cat races refer to informal cycling races, but this was a running race that’s held at night. There’s no official course. Instead there’s a start and a finish and it’s up to you to decide how to get to the finish line. Know a short cut? Usually this a no-no in a race, but in an alleycat race, this is all fair game. Let your inner Rosie Ruiz out!
I wanted to do this race last year, but rain stopped me (I’m a wuss). No rain this year, but lots of heat and humidity. There was a large showing from PPTC. Apparently I wasn’t the only crazy person who thought running at night sounded like fun. There’s a different feel to running at night. It was quite exciting. As we streamed through the streets of Brooklyn, people who were enjoying their night sitting at bars and cafes wondered what was going on with the unusual sight. I was surprised with how into it the accidental spectators were. People goodheartedly cheered and encouraged us.
Ben ran with me and played navigator, so all I had to do was run and not worry about getting lost. This is a real possibility. One PPTC member had written directions on his hand, but he still got off-track and ran an extra mile and half. We ran just under a 10K. As I crossed the finish line, I was handed a popsicle stick that had a number on it. The number was my overall place. Inside the bar, I traded my popsicle stick for ticket that was good for a free beer. I don’t drink beer, so I gave mine to Ben.
We hung out with the other club members in the outdoor patio space in the back until the award ceremony. The age group awards weren’t the traditional age groups. Runners were divided into thirds (oldest third, middle third, and youngest third) by gender. I didn’t get an age group award, but PPTC was pretty well-represented in terms of awards.
The Superfund Super Run 10K was a super fun race. I love the off-beat “secret” feel of the race because it’s run at night. The bar that we finished at was great. Ben and I plan on going back when we can enjoy it more leisurely. We couldn’t stay long because it was a Thursday night and I had to get up early for work.
Have you ever run a night race?
A Fast Paced Life 
Sounds like a fun race!
I’ve done night races before, but usually have a hard time with them because of anatomy issues. Morning runs pose no problem for me because I haven’t had enough water in the day yet, and my muscles are all still firm. Later, not so much.
I haven’t had to deal with worrying about getting lost, though! I imagine that is more likely in a night race.
For this race, there’s no marked course and we’re in a part of Brooklyn where some of the streets aren’t in a grid structure, you’re even more likely to get lost.
Wow… Couldn’t they have more course markers? People watching as well?
That would defeat the purpose of an alley cat style race. It’s informal and part of its allure is are you savvy enough to figure out the fastest way to the finish line. The race was in a part of BK that didn’t have a grid set-up for the streets, so you have a number of interesting choices to make.
Oh! Okay. That’s interesting. Makes sense then 🙂
“Let your inner Rosie Ruiz out!” line had me chuckling. I have been running a lot of miles at night. I once ran a night segment during a ragnar. It is eerie passing someone and seeing a bunch of headlamps illuminating the path. What a cool race!
I want to do a Ragnar one day (or Hood to Coast). Ben’s already done one and he’s game to do it again. We need a PPTC team.
Sounds fun! I’ve done a road night “race” (Ragnar) and one on trails. Both were really fun, but had their challenges. My goal both times was to not trip, and I succeeded!
Not tripping would also be my goal.
Wow – I’ve never heard of a race like this. Sounds like a lot of fun – although I would definitely get lost. I ran a night leg in Hood to Coast and it was really cool – just seeing head lamps on a foggy road.
I WANNA DO HOOD TO COAST!!!!
I saw the $15 race fee for a 10K and I was like, “baroo?” but I get it now. Sounds like a fun event, plus free beer – yum!
I’ve done two night races before – both on trails. The entire point of the race was to run through the woods in the dark with only your headlamp, which made for a fun and spooky experience. It’s definitely one of my favorite races, although I never, ever post decent times there. But hey, not everything has to be about going fast.
That’s exactly how I would think of it – fun and spooky. I’d love to do something like that in the next couple of years. I keep talking to Ben about doing a Ragnar with other interested people in our running club.
This sounds like such an awesome race!! You really do have some good ones around you!
It helps to live in a Big City full of creative people. I love the vibrancy of NYC.
This sounds like so much fun! I haven’t done a night race but I would really love to. Sometimes I find that I run better in the evenings. What an interesting concept!
Ooh, somehow this comment slipped past me. Good thing I like to read my old posts!
I used to be an evening runner, but in the last few years I switched to being a mostly morning runner. Thanks to Smashrun, I know that 75% of my runs are in the morning.