As with most cities, Charlotte seems to be under construction almost all of the time. One of the biggest projects that has been going on since I moved here over 6 years ago is the 485 loop the goes around the city and ties the two major interstates (77 and 85) together. The project is finally coming to an end (though I heard there might be another delay) and to commemorate this achievement, MADD partnered with NCDOT to host a fundraiser 5k and 10k on the newly finished but not-yet-open portion of the 485 loop north of the city. It really was a once in a lifetime type race and the age group winners received a “medal” that contained a portion of the old 485 asphalt. 

The weather looked beautiful and while it was much colder than we had been experiencing, the sun and asphalt helped keep us warm as we ran. The biggest issue we had for the day was the same that plagued the NY city marathon that morning – wind! As I was running with one of my friends, we both decided that if 40,000 people could do a marathon in that wind, we could handle a 10k. I didn’t really go into the race with any time goals, I just planned to run with my friend and have fun with this unique event. We definitely started out a little fast, but I think we also expected the race to be a little flatter than it ended up being – apparently when you’re driving in a car you don’t realize that you’re going uphill!

• Mile 1 – 9:15
• Mile 2 – 9:25
• Mile 3 – 9:35
• Mile 4 – 10:15
• Mile 5 – 11:45
• Mile 6 – 10:10
• Last .2 – 7:05

Official time: 1:01:50

Overall, this was a fun race and even though the weather wasn’t perfect, it was a good introduction into the fall / winter racing season. Have you ever done a unique race like this that’s likely only to happen once in a lifetime?