Running the Boilermaker

On Sunday I ran the Boilermaker 15k in Utica for the first time. I finished in 1:23:28 which felt like a good pace even if it is a distance that I don’t get to run too often.

Running races two days in a row seemed a bit silly, but knowing that the Boilermaker had a bit of a reputation for being a party it was easy to go in without too many expectations. However the weather was favorable for a run, so once I got going I decided to really chase down the miles and put up a fast time.

The first mile was crowded as this is a race with thousands of runners, but that can be useful in preventing me from starting too fast. I had been warned about the hill at mile three (which kept going into mile four), but after running trails the day before it didn’t seem so bad.

The race had the largest number of water stops that I have ever seen. While it is unusual for me to take fluids on courses shorter than a half marathon, the frequent stops were useful for keeping down my core temperature as I would splash some water on my head and fill my pockets with ice.

Overall it was a very enjoyable race, and makes me think that I need to find more opportunities to run the 15k distance.