Marlaigne, Karine, Tim Hickok and I went out to Central Park in Huntington Beach on May 6, to try out a thoroughly unique race. Unlike most races, where everybody starts out together, the Hillsea starts people according to gender and age group. The idea behind this is that the time delays make the racers a little more even, and whoever finishes first wins the race. This makes it possible for someone to run the fastest time and not win anything.
Tim tried to do his usual trick of showing up right before race time (and in his and my case, around 8:30 when the last group was to set off), but uncharacteristically, the race was running a little late, so Tim had to wait like the rest of us.
Another different aspect of this race is that it runs ALL over Central Park, up and down stairs, across grass, trails, all over the place, sometimes passing runners going the other direction. This is one of those races you can’t prepare for, because until you are almost to the end, you have no idea where you are headed or how much is left.
Although none of us placed in the top 10, we all had a great time and all took home age-group ribbons.