10k | Running with Eric

Category: 10k

May 18, 2026

Running the Hills of Letchworth

On sunday morning I went to Letchworth to run the Vail of Three Falls 10k. I finished the race in 66:24 which is the slowest of the five times I have run the course.

Last year I finished fifth overall in this race so I wanted to match my performance and go out strong. Things went pretty well for the big downhill that constitutes the first quarter of the race as I reached the bottom of the hill still in the top 10.

However after the start, a cough that I have had since last weekend came back in the middle of the race and really took my lungs away from me. I pushed through on the middle section but then had to walk the steep hill at the turn around. The return trip was more of the same with having to walk most of the hills including most of the large one at the end.

Despite being 13 minutes behind my time from last year I still finished in the top third of all runners and would have done even better if my lungs had worked.

My next race is the Buffalo Marathon next sunday.

November 1, 2025

10k in the city

On saturday morning I ran the East Ave Grocery Run in downtown Rochester. I finished the race in 54:58 which felt good, but was well behind my pace from last year.

Coming into the race with an injured foot and not enough sleep my expectations were not too high. It was a cold and rainy day and I made the mistake of starting too far back in the corral. I had to fight crowds all the way to the 5k turn around 1.8 miles into the race.

Once I had room, I opened up the pace a little bit and felt solid running through the middle miles along the river. Perhaps I should have pushed myself even more as I had enough left to go faster for the final mile to the finish.

My next race will be the Dirt Cheap Stage Race next weekend at Mendon Ponds.

July 5, 2025

10k on the 4th of July

On friday morning I ran the 4th of July 10k in Lancaster for the tenth time. I finished the course in 52:58 which was a bit slower than I wanted to be, but not a bad result.

This race is always warm, but wasn’t as bad as last week. I ran my first mile in 8:03 and kept a steady pace for the next two miles, hitting 5k in 24:30. The heat began to catch up with me in the second half, and things slowed down but never really fell apart.

My next race will be a bit longer as I return to Utica for the Boilermaker 15k on July 13th.

May 18, 2025

Top 5 finish in Letchworth

On sunday morning I ran the Vail of Three Falls 10k in Letchworth park. I finished in a time of 53:26 which was a course PR, and quick enough for a 5th place finish.

The first mile and a half of this course is downhill, and I absolutely bombed down the hill. I was the fifth runner to reach the bottom of the hill, but I assumed that once the course got more challenging that a few other runners would pass me by.

The next mile is rolling hills, followed by a half mile climb to the turn around point. Remarkably I reached the turn around still in fifth position (and close to fourth) with two runners on close behind me.

The return trip was a back and forth with the sixth place runner, but I took the lead at the start of the final climb, and I refused to slow down and fall out of the top five.

This was a course PR, and the first time that I have placed in a race in forever. My next race is the Buffalo Marathon next sunday.

November 2, 2024

An extremely fast 10k

On saturday morning I ran the East Ave Grocery Run 10k in 49:19. I believe that this is my second fastest 10k run ever, coming just behind my PR from 2015. Just two weeks after a very quick 5k, I have been feeling extremely good about my running lately.

My plan coming into the race was to run 8 minute miles. My first mile was quicker at 7:48, and I didn’t slow down too much over the course of the run, averaging a 7:56 per mile pace over the ten kilometers.

The weather was a bit cool, but a perfect day for running. The course was a mixture of roads and paved river trail that did a good job of showing off the city and didn’t have too many hills.

This will probably be my final race until the Buffalo Turkey Trot on the morning of Thanksgiving.

September 14, 2024

10k in the Finger Lakes

On saturday morning I ran the Mill to Mill 10k along the Keuka Outlet Trail in Penn Yann. I completed the course in 54:00, and finished the race in 10th place overall. My time was almost exactly the same as my last 10k earlier this year.

While technically a trail race, the course was smooth and mostly flat unlike most of the trails I run on. I spent the first third of the race with a pair of runners who would finish as the top two female runners, but after that was alone on the rest of the course. However, the course was an out and back so I had the opportunity to see the full field on the turn around, and even caught up to some of the slower 5k runners towards the end.

My next race is the final Run Our Trails race which will be back on some more technical trails in Mendon Ponds.

May 20, 2024

10k on Letchworth’s hills

On Sunday morning I ran the Vale of Three Falls 10k in Letchworth State Park. I finished the hilly race in 54:02, just 8 seconds behind my time from last year.

The first mile and a half of this course was aggressively downhill and even steeper than I had remembered it. I was pretty fast through this portion, but then settled into a comfortable pace. I did ok through the rolling hills in the middle, and didn’t have to really push myself until the big hill just before the turnaround. On the way back I was starting to feel the miles adding up, but felt like my effort remained consistent. However, after coming so close to last year’s time I wished that I had pushed myself just a little bit more.

My next race is the Buffalo Marathon which has been my primary goal throughout the spring. After doing well in the marathon last spring, my plan is to repeat the same strategy and to stick with the 4:10 pace group all morning.

May 21, 2023

10k through Letchworth

On Sunday morning I ran the Vale of Three Falls 10k in Letchworth State Park. I finished the race in 53:54 which wouldn’t be a super fast time on a flat course, but with these hills it is something I am very happy with. This time is a course PR for me and an eight minute improvement over last year, and placed me 16th overall in the race.

Every time I run this race, I always forget how long the initial downhill is, as it goes for a full mile and a half for a very quick start (and a challenging finish). I felt ok throughout the first half of the race, and pushed up the turn around hill and ran the second half fairly steady.

The final climb to the finish was tough, but I found another runner to race against which helped push me to the finish. Unlike years in the past I completed the course without slowing to a walk (even when it might have made sense on the hills). While I didn’t feel particularly quick it is hard to argue with the results given the significant improvement from last year.

My next race is the Buffalo Marathon next sunday. My training feels a little behind, but I plan on going out with the 4:20 pace group and making the most of things.

May 24, 2022

Running the trails of Letchworth

On Sunday morning I ran the Vale of Three Falls 10k in Letchworth State Park. I finished the race in 61:40 which was just a few minutes slower than I ran the same course in 2018. Overall I wasn’t thrilled with the result, but I did finish comfortably in the top half of the field.

Having four years since I last ran this course, I had forgotten how much elevation this run had. As an out and back course with the entire first mile as a downhill, you at least know what to expect for the finish. I started off strong enough, but ended up walking the final hill before the turn around. But after the turn I was able to regain my pace, and only slowed down for a few stretches in that final uphill mile.

Also, Letchworth is just lovely.

My next race is the Buffalo Marathon in less than a week. Honestly I am a bit nervous about it as what I was hoping would be my marathon pace is a tad bit quicker than I ran this 10k. At least Buffalo is flat, but this upcoming 26.2 is going to be a real struggle.

July 6, 2019

4th of July 10k

On Thursday morning I ran the Lancaster Fourth of July 10k for the ninth year. I finished in 58 minutes which was slower than last year.

This race is always far too hot, and this year was probably worse than normal. I ran the first mile in 8:04 at which point I realized that my hope of a sub-50 time wasn’t going to happen. After the second mile, any thought of going fast had mostly faded away, and I slowed down to a long distance pace. In fact my first two 10ks in the Buffalo Marathon were pretty close to what I ran here.

I finished the first 5k in a bit over 27 minutes, and even stopped for water once or twice on the way back. I kept things slow and steady until I was approaching the finish line.

My next race is the Dirt Cheap race in Webster Park next Wednesday.

July 5, 2018

10k through Lancaster

On the Fourth of July I ran the Depew/Lancaster 10k for the 8th time. With the oppressive heat, this was one of my slower times on the course taking 56:14 to finish.

The first two miles went pretty well at an 8 minute pace, but after that the heat started to catch up to me. The worst part was (as always) the fourth mile down columbia. While much of the slowness was due to the heat, I wish my finish had been closer to previous years.

Next week I am off to Europe, so it will be awhile until my next race.

May 21, 2018

Running through Letchworth

On Sunday I ran the Middle Falls 10K at Letchworth Park. I finished in 57:33, which due to the elevation was a decent time and put me into 17th overall.

The course was an out and back and started off aggressively downhill. I was running in the top six for the first mile, and while I knew that it was an unsustainable pace the downhills made it feel easy. I reached the half way point in 15th, and if not for a steep uphill for the last quarter mile, I would have put together a fantastic split time.

Of course when an out and back starts out downhill, you have to run back up for the second half. While I had expected half the field to pass me on the way back, instead I held my own, not seeing anyone at all until two runners passed me in the final half mile. I was happy with how I did in this race, particularly because I hadn’t decided to enter the run until I decided that I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to go to Letchworth.

My next race is the Corporate Challenge tomorrow night in downtown Rochester…

July 6, 2017

4th of July 10k

On Tuesday morning I ran the Depew/Lancaster Boys & Girls Club 10k in 50:57. This was quicker than last year, but a few minutes behind my PR from 2015.

I am never prepared for this race and it is always too hot but I started well, finishing the first mile with a 7:20 split. I mostly held the pace for the second mile, before the heat started to catch up to me. I crossed the half way point in 23:25 and was still averaging a sub eight minute pace at the four mile mark. While I am disappointed in not finishing in under fifty minutes, this was still my second best time after many years of running this race.

I finished in 209th place, and in the top quartile of runners. My next race will be the Rochester corporate challenge next tuesday.

July 5, 2016

A 4th of July 10k

I only got in a single practice run in the past two weeks, so I knew going into the race that I was unlikely to match my PR from last year. Still I had hoped to do better than the 53:50 that I finished with.

After the first mile I had already fallen behind my pace from last year, but through the first two miles I was still on track to finish under 50 minutes. Around two and a half miles my knee started hurting and I knew that I was going to be in trouble. By the 5k mark I was over 25 minutes, and around 3.5 miles my knee started to be in serious pain. I was considering walking a bit, and was concerned that I wouldn’t even finish in under 60 minutes.

Mile four is often the hardest part of this course, but instead of being in trouble my knee pain went away and I finished the final two miles in pretty good shape. The middle two miles had been enough to kill my time, but it turned out to not be a complete disaster. Hopefully I can get some actual workouts in before the Shoreline Triathlon.

July 5, 2015

5 minute improvement in the 10k

On 4th of July I ran the Depew/Lancaster Boys & Girls Club 10k and finished in 47:30. This is 5 minutes quicker than I ran the same race last year, and a much larger improvement than I was expecting.

Despite the heat, I got off to a good start and was able to keep a steady pace. Overall I ran at a 7:39 pace and had pretty even splits. Typically the heat gets to me in this race when running the fourth mile down Columbia, but the whole race was so warm that no stretch felt any worse than any other.

My next race is back to the trails on Wednesday, where I will be running a course in Webster Park. In the past I have ran this course in 65:47, 61:18, 62:06, and 60:24 so I would love to be able to finally break the hour mark on this course.