On Thursday night I ran a 5k Cross Country race at Cobbs Hill park. I finished with a time of 25:13 which was quick enough to secure 20th place. While this is not a fast overall time for a 5k, it is over three minutes quicker than I did on the same course last year.
When running a race this short it is always tempting to go at an all out 100% pace, but this course is hilly enough for that to be a mistake. Still with the opening mile mostly flat I felt like I got off to a quick start before slowing down on the long steep climb up the hill. After that the course has some fun trails, but given the distance there remains so much pressure to keep going quick. Overall a significant improvement from last year, so hopefully things keep going that way in the fall.