Super Fun Superfund Super Run 10K

Name of the race: Superfund Super Run 10K

Where: from Greenpoint Park to Gowanus Canal on Union St.

Date: Sept 6, 2018

Time: 10:00 pm

Distance: ~6.2 miles

Terrain: the open roads of Brooklyn, traffic, dark, & drunk people

Entry fee: $20

Swag: None

Post-race Food: Craft beer on tap and water

Time: 52:47

Performance: Overall: 55/85; Gender: 18/33

Weather: 73 degrees, 94% humidity

Oof, I’m sadly behind on blogging. It’s the usual excuse of too much work, blah, blah, blah, but  life is good, even with all this work. I’m actually enjoying my new role and responsibilities more than I thought I would.

Earlier this month, Ben, Bandit, and I participated in the annual unsanctioned alley cat 10K that another local running club, South Brooklyn Running Club, hosts every year, the Superfund Super Run 10K. One of things I like about the running scene in Brooklyn is that we tend to be chummy with other running clubs. We have friends in other clubs, or our members may cross over to do other runs with them or join them as members, and we participate in each other’s events. So when our friends at SBRC invite us to run their events, we do. In droves.

Ben and I have done this race for three years in a row now (only 2nd for Bandit though). Part of the fun of this race is its illicit nature. We meet at a street corner in Brooklyn late at night. There are no permits for this race. There is no official route. After a mandatory loop that we have to do, we’re free to find our own way to the finish line, which is a bar with BBQ (although not at that time of night) and a patio in a different neighborhood in Brooklyn.

If you run the shortest possible route, you get 5.8 miles, which is what everyone is shooting for. You get lost or pick a less efficient route, you get something longer. This is the only race where everyone wants to be “short” on the distance.

Bandit was very excited to participate because she loves races. As usual, she trashbarked everyone. Ed, a new member of PPTC, kinda appeared out of nowhere. He recently joined our club and then immediately began dominating all our races. I told Bandit that Ed ran a 14:48 5K over the summer. Bandit was not impressed. She barked, “You call that fast? I call that my warm up.” What can you do? This is not a dog who takes competition lightly.

Every year I study Google maps carefully to map out the shortest route. Every year I get hopelessly lost. It was no different this year. I got lost around the same as I did last year, but I made a different mistake. So I guess, this is progress? Ben chose to follow someone else, which is always risky. That person got even more hopelessly lost than me. Ben estimated that he ran an additional two miles.

Eventually we all found our way to the finish area and had our free craft beer on draft. Or rather Ben did, because I don’t drink beer. I still like getting free beer because I can always give it to Ben.

Of course, Ed won the whole darn race. Bandit says that she would have won except she was tied down by being attached to me. Sorry, puppy.