Passaic Valley Rotary 5K

or "How an old friend made me do a kick-ass 5K"

At four years in a row now, the Harold M. Schumacher Passaic Valley Rotary 5K River Run is not only the longest named race I have ever run, it is also the race I have done the most times. It is a great course, though not without its tough spots (Hello, hill on Riverview Drive in Totowa!). It has a friendly vibe (mostly locals) and it offers lots of prizes - overall placers, age-group placers and raffles. A trophy or a medal is nice, but 25 bucks in the old pocket, well, that's pretty nice, too.

Since the Nov. 27 was the rescheduled date for the race which was supposed to take place on Oct. 30 but was postponed because of a freak snowstorm, I was not exactly prepared to run a 5K that was on par with the three I had done earlier in the season.

For one thing, I had moved on in my training. No longer doing hard, fast repeats on the track to maximize my short game, I was now training for the Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon (Dec. 10). Not only that, but it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, man! How the hell do you run a speedy 5K after loading up on food for a weekend?

So I decided to give it the old college try. After all, it was not like I was doing nothing. Surely the work I had been doing for the half marathon (800 and 1600 meter intervals, tempo runs, and long 13+ milers) would count for something.

In the gym at the Little Falls Recreation Center, I was getting warmed up when I heard someone call my name. It was Sarah Schillaci, an old co-worker and occasional running partner from a few years ago. I hadn't spoken with her in a while, so it was nice to know she was still running. She had always been an amazing runner. Do a search for her name at some race results web sites and you will see what I mean. She insisted that she was not at her best and was not expecting much from this race. So when we lined up at the start, I wished her luck and took my place at the front, figuring she would hang farther back.

Clearly, I was overestimating my ability and she was underestimating hers because within 30 seconds she zoomed past me. I thought at first that I was running too slowly and needed to pass her, but I couldn't close the gap.

"The hill," I thought, "I'll pass her on the hill." That hill on Riverview is about halfway through the course. Hills are typically where I make my move and pass people. But no matter how hard I pushed, she was always in front of me, keeping the distance. Crossing Main Street on Union Boulevard, and hanging a left into the residential area on the south side of Little Falls to the second mile marker, I realized it wasn't that I was too slow - it was that she was too fast! She was still the same amazing runner I had remembered, which meant that I was probably running a much better race than I had expected by simply chasing her.

Chase her I did. I stopped thinking that I could close the gap and instead focused on not letting her increase the distance. She was just a few seconds in front of me, so if I could keep her right there, I would end up with a great race. Rounding the corner where Second Avenue meets Wilmore Road and First Avenue, then crossing Main Street onto Maple Avenue, it was a matter of sticking it out until the end. I was wiped out, fatigued. But I pushed as hard as I could to stay right behind Sarah.

She crossed the finish line at 18:43 and I crossed six seconds later. I showed up not expecting much, but because of Sarah, I ran one of my best 5K races ever. Thanks, Sarah! You are awesome!

While I didn't place in my age group at this race due to some stiff competition, I did win a special award for being the fastest Little Falls resident. In addition, I won a gift card as a raffle prize! See how it pays to run your hometown race?