Cosley Zoo Run for the Animals 10K Race Report

My bib is broken

Yay, I PRed by more than five minutes! However, who really knows, because my timing chip was defective and I didn't get an official time.  I don't know how I manage to always pick duds of races, but go me for consistency.

I signed up for the Cosley Zoo Run for the Animals 10K months ago because I knew it would fit in nicely to my marathon training plan. I was scheduled to run six miles today and I haven't run a 10K since the Fitness for America 10K last year, so I was all about it.

But this week, I was a terrible runner. I did not taper my training or my eating, and I'm pretty sure Taco Bell is not a great way to fuel. I also didn't hydrate and haven't slept well since last weekend, so I had no clue how this was going to play out.

I got to Wheaton early and walked around, hit the numerous port-o-potties and stretched, contemplating how I was utterly unprepared for this. This was my first completely solo race, too. Even if no one really runs with me, it's nice to know someone is out there. So I treated this like a training run, which I do solo anyways.

The swag

All in all, the race was very well-organized. There were plenty of water stations, including some that houses along the race route set up. There was a little girl with Spongebob dixie cups from the bathroom who set up her own aid station. It was too adorable for words.

The first three miles flew by and I was holding steady at eight-minute miles. The course had plenty of shade but was through a residential area. I'm bummed we didn't get to run through the zoo - I thought we'd get to see the animals we're supporting.

The final two miles were tough for me as I tried to catch up with people and push it to a strong finish. My Garmin time was 50:09:12, which is an 8:02 overall pace. My time last year was 55:12, so I'm happy with the improvement.

I didn't realize until after I got stretched out by a chiropractor and received a chair massage from another vendor that my name wasn't on the results board. The woman with the timing company said some of the chips were installed horizontally on the bibs instead of vertically, which is why my time didn't register. She (unprovoked) said it wasn't their fault. Given my crappy volunteering experiences lately, I didn't push the issue, but if it isn't the timing company's fault, who's fault is it when the timing is wrong?

She literally recorded my bib number and self-reported time on a clip board to enter into the race results later. They didn't do an awards ceremony as a result.

While this was a nice race, I won't do it again. I race to get official times; otherwise, I could just run at home with my Garmin for the same results. I'm quite salty about the whole thing, obviously.

Cost: $40
Time: 50:09:12 (according to Garmin)
Pros: Easy to park, nice long-sleeved tech shirt, great post-race party, lots of crowd support, mostly shaded and flat course
Cons: Totally jacked up timing. I didn't get timed at all and it appears to be no one's fault.
Would I race it again: No. I pay to race for the timing. If I have to do it myself, I'll stay home and save my money.