Ted Corbitt 15k 2022

Because of various issues I wrote about before (mostly stemming from the issue with my right sesamoids), I ended up canceling my summer and fall races. The last one I was really looking forward to was the Ted Corbitt 15k, honoring Mr. Corbitt who has a long list of achievements, including being the first African-American to run the Olympic Marathon event and being a founding president of the New York Road Runners. This was to be my final competitive road race of 2022.

self-portrait including the folks behind me at the starting like of the Ted Corbitt 15k

I’ve never run a 15k before, but I’ve done a few 10 mile races, so I wasn’t worried about the distance. I was actually hoping to run a better pace than I did during the Cherry Blossom race, since I had a little less distance to run.

I checked the weather before heading out to NYC and it was forecast to rain, so I took my Tracksmith water resistant clothes, like this Thaw shirt and the paired cap. My father-in-law offered to let me borrow his raincoat, so I decided to use it. In my experience, the Thaw collection is good at protection from a drizzle, but not a heavy rain. I might end up overheating a little, but it would be better than being soaking wet and chafing. I learned a lesson - I usually pack just in case the weather ends up worse than I thought, but not if it gets better. I could have worn a short-sleeved shirt under the raincoat if I’d brought one. (And since I drove, there wasn’t a luggage penalty)

When running in NYC, I’m always taking the subway trains. Since they run on a fixed schedule, it always involves a bit of plotting to make sure I get there on time for the race, but not so early that I don’t get enough sleep or have to spend a lot of time in the elements when it’s cold or rainy. Using the metro trip planner, I figured I’d need to get up at 0550 to have time to eat, dress, and use the bathroom and get to the train by 0650, when it was scheduled to leave. That was supposed to get me to the final train station 30 minutes before the race. Everything happened on time, but by the time I got to the race area and used the porta-potty, I didn’t have time for my full 10 minute pre-race warm up. I did what I could and got in line.

Ted Corbitt 15k map

The course was two loops around most of Central Park. It was slightly disorienting to see signs for 8 miles when I was in the first loop, but it wasn’t a big deal. What *was* a big deal were the hills. Combined with, perhaps, being slightly out of shape compared to earlier this year, I wasn’t able to beat or even match my Cherry Blossom time. But I don’t think I was the only one who found the hills punishing. Everyone around me was clustered together until around 6 miles into the race which, incidentally, is around the time I started to lose some steam. That was the point at which those who were great at hills pulled away from those who weren’t. It rained, with varying levels of intensity throughout the race. Eventually, I did lower the zipper on the raincoat a little in order to keep from burning up.

Ted Corbitt 15k Race stats

Even though I was a little disappointed in my pace, I wasn’t disappointed in my comparative stats. Once again, I did very well. For overall place I got 584 out of 4758 (12%), for gender 490/2505 (19%), and for age (M35-39) 94/404 (23%). Not my best scores, but I’m always happy to be in the top quarter or better.

It was a great end to a road race year beset by lots of injuries and issues.

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