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| Welcome to the Santa Run |
Placement: 1th in the 55 - 59, 18th overall
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: upper 30's, breeze from the north.
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: First year for me
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8:13 | Am I racing or not? Not quite committed |
| 2 | 8:10 | Guess I am racing! A bit of a hill here |
| 3 | 8:04 | Nicely paced |
| Total Miles: 3.01- 24:30 | ||
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| Runners getting instructions. |
Introduction
I've have done the Gardner Village edition -- many years ago -- and each year I ask myself, "is this the year I do it again?" There are 3 Santa Runs -- one in Ogden, one near my house in West Jordan, and finally one in Salem, UT (formerly it was in Provo). In the past, only the Gardner Village one was an actual race -- with awards, which is usually a deal breaker for me. If the race doesn't offer them, I usually am not that interested.
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| View of the pond from the Race HQ |
So, a few weeks ago a friend of mine won a free race entry into the Utah County Santa Run, produced by OnHillEvents. They needed a ride down and asked if I wanted to participate. My initial reaction, honestly, was naw.... no age group awards, long drive (for a 5K), and questionable weather made it a doubtful decision.
But ultimately the weather cleared up, my friend needed a favor, and honestly I've always wanted to check out Salem -- what was off this lonely exit at the southern end of Utah County? So I plunked down my money and set my sails towards Salem on a Saturday afternoon.
The Race
The race started at 4 PM, so I wound up picking up my carpool buddy at 2:15, and made the 50 minute drive down to the race, which was held at the Salem Ponds (google maps shows it as Salem Lakes), but it is really nothing more than a very large pond.
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| Suspension Bridge we had to run along. |
Parking was held at the recreation center but after making the half mile walk to the pond, I wound up doing my warm-up by going back to the car and parking a lot closer.
I expected a large turnout at the race, but with the new setting and the race organizer's morning race at Gardner Village, there were a bit less than I expected (about 250 runners). Packet pickup was a snap and soon I had my bib and prepackaged Santa outfit. The outfit wasn't necessarily required to be worn but I've run in them before and they certainly aren't breathable and promote chafing. I wound up bringing my own Santa hat and had Christmas-related shorts and a bright red shirt to celebrate the holidays.
I'll be honest the course sounded extremely confusing. There were all kinds of green arrows along the walking path, along the lakes. I hadn't studied the course prior to my arrival so I was hoping I was going to go off kilter. I had never been to Salem before, let alone the area, so I was totally clueless as to what lay before me.
I did find out that the course was a 2-lap course. With many seasonal participants, I knew I was going to lap quite a few of them.
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| Getting ready to power up the hill - I think |
After some race director course layout instructions from the race director, I had a decent sense of the course. Also, I knew I wasn't going to be the leader of this race, so I'd just follow the herd and trust the course marshals.
The race started promptly at 4 PM. With no age group awards on the line I was wondering how I would run this one. Should I just coast through it? Smash it? Or something in between?
I decided that I'd go out and treat it as a tempo run workout. I wasn't going to go 100% but I'd hold around 10K pace and if things felt good, maybe I'd pick it up a bit.
The first quarter mile I ducked behind a group of runners and just went with the flow. Despite the chill in the air, I was lightly dressed -- in my Santa Hat, short shorts, and a long sleeved t-shirt. I also had on thin gloves. I was unencumbered by the Santa outfit and even my heavy hat felt like a burden.
Despite my easy pace, the first quarter mile -- I felt winded. I hadn't done much of a warm-up and the sudden spurt of speed jacked my heart rate up. I told myself not to panic and just settled into a comfortable but strong pace.
Soon I was overtaking other runners and after a few twists and turns in the park, we exited the park and onto the surface street that lined the entire pond.
This was the street that I had parked on and I saw my car parked near the elementary school. It was a gradual climb for a very long block. Looking at the elevation profile it wasn't a huge incline but it felt like one. I felt my pace pick up here a bit.
The next turn took us onto another street. For the life of me, I don't remember much of this other than it was flat. It was also at about here that we reached the first aid station. I noticed that had cookies and hydration ready to go. But now I was in race mode.
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| Around the half mile marker. You can see my car near the white truck |
I was picking off people and working with a few others. Not that it mattered much, I didn't see anyone in my age group at all. I just told myself to hold steady -- I could do this. My training has been more tempo based, so I felt confident I could hold it until the end.
Mile 1 hit at 8:14 -- not too bad all things considered.
Before I knew it, I was circling around the backside of the park. I hadn't explored this area and was told there was a nasty hill. With two laps of the race to do, the first one was definitely a recon mission.
We got a bit of a downhill at this point and my pace quickened. I could see the other side of the pond where the finish line awaited. It was a little disheartening to know that wasn't the finish, though.
Finally, the hill arrived and it was a doozy. It was long enough to slow me considerably down but not a deal breaker. I just tried to be patient and work my way up the hill. It probably took about 30 seconds to climb the hill and my flying 8-minute-per-mile pace dropped into the upper 9's.
After reaching the summit of the hill, you catch a break and there is a fairly long and gradual downhill section. My pace hit its apex along here and once again, I made a series of turns before speeding through the finish line to start my next lap. My Garmin read about 1.52 miles, so the course was going to be a bit short (at least according to it).
I was renewed and invigorated on the second lap. My paces were coming in solid and I felt strong. I was still working with people and soon I was overtaking some of the walkers. Fortunately, at this point, we weren't on the sidewalk of the trail that looped the pond but on surface street.
Mile 2 came in at 8:10 -- still holding steady and slightly faster than the first mile. I was on for a decent race!
Suffice to say I closed the deal. It was nice to know what lay before me on the course now and I could bank energy for the hill and smash the areas that I knew. I was working with a few other runners along the way. Once I crested the "big hill", I pushed it as hard as I could.
Part of me was asking myself why -- with no age group awards on the line, why bother? Pride, I suppose and I wanted to see what I had. Maybe this was the race that would turn things around.
Finally the finish line came into view and after the final set of turns I crashed through it, in 24:30. My Garmin had chirped just 3 miles moments before.
Conclusion
To say I was happy with my finish time would be an understatement. I was shocked.
Even with the "short" course it still puts me around just under 25 minutes or slightly above. A far cry from the ones I've been racing lately. And also, I felt like I was in control of my aerobic capacity -- I wasn't "dying" or "in agony". It was just a fast, solid run.
As I was I milling about, wondering what to do, I heard the race director shout to everyone that he *was* doing age group awards and to stick around. What??? Perhaps, I would've pushed the pace just a little more.
I checked the results and I was first in my age group -- double medal day!
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| On the podium |
Overall, I was really happy with my experience. The course was absolutely beautiful. And the whole park lights up after 5:30 PM. The race director felt like he should've started the race a little later so everyone could've enjoyed more of the night lights. We caught just the start of it and I later saw photos online of the rest of it and it would've been amazing to see it in all of its glory.
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| Santa outfit + medals |
I was really over the moon with my experience here and I don't regret making the drive. The course would definitely draw me to run it again. It was so pretty and there was a good, friendly vibe amongst everyone. I think this was the first race I've ever done with a two-loop and I'll be honest, it was very helpful for pacing and getting to know the course. On the second lap, I had a lot more confidence and knew exactly what to expect.
Post race refreshments were pretty basic from what I saw. There could've been more, but I was a bit late to the party. It looked like sports drink (or water) and cookies. I did bring my own post race hydration and I only snagged a few cookies for the road.
There was a choice between a shirt or a Santa outfit. I decided to go for the Santa outfit. I'll probably wear it for a Christmas run or save it for another Christmas race. I still have my first Santa outfit from the race I did at Gardner Village (although the pants split on tying them).
I would highly recommend this race. The course is that cool and I had a good time from start to finish. I am looking forward to doing this one later at night to see more of the Christmas lighting in full bloom.
Upcoming Races
03/01: 2025 March Madness 10K - Woods Cross, UT (Confirmed)
03/15 2025 Lucky 13 10K - West Jordan, UT (Confirmed)
04/26: 2025 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
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