My journey – Seven Hills Run

Posted on | December 7, 2009 | No Comments

The best of times: Seven Hills Run - On top of Mt Auburn

The worst of times: Seven Hills Run - After the Fall on McMillan St

Yesterday I ran the Seven Hills Run here in Cincinnati. It’s a great race, only I didn’t have a great race outcome. In fact, this was my first-ever race FAIL. The race is 12 miles long and takes you over 7 hills that surround downtown. You get some hard hill work, but the reward for each hill is a nice view back toward the city. Watch the video, look at the map, and then, if you’re still with me, you can read the full race report below.

The Video

The Seven Hills Run Route (via MapMyRun.com)

Race Report

I wanted the Seven Hills Run to be a capstone of 2009, my first year in running. I didn’t have any expectations except to finish the race and run up all 7 hills. Like I did in the Columbus Half two months ago, I brought along my Kodak Zi8 flash video camera to capture the journey.

Race morning was very chilly – about 25 degrees – sunny with no wind. About 75 people started off together at 10am. This was the coldest weather I had ever run in.

My first mile was at an 8:30 pace, not bad for going out strong on a relatively-flat prelude. The climb up Mt Adams was the toughest I’d ever done, but I made it to the top and then stopped for water and to shoot a quick video clip.

No problems scaling the 2nd, 3rd and 4th hills on the northside. Felt really good and having fun. But I was running alone. The lead pack had gone forward, but I was pretty sure there were some runner/walkers still behind me. I didn’t mind being in the middle.

I cruised through the first half of the course, and was heading downhill on McMillan toward the Western Hills viaduct area when BOOM, I clipped something on the sidewalk with my left foot and fell hard on the sidewalk. I hit both hands and my face also grazed the pavement leaving a couple of nasty small scrapes, one near my eye that made a bloody mess.

There were no other runners near me, but 2 cars stopped to offer assistance. I used one vehicles rear-view mirror to get a look at my face. I decided that I didn’t need any immediate help, but I did need something to wipe off my face. I had to use my hat and gloves – all I had. Everything else about me was relatively OK, so I decided to press on. About ½ a mile later, on Central Parkway, I passed a convenience store and bought a bottle of water and borrowed some paper towels. I used my camera to take pictures so I could keep up with how I looked and the bleeding on the face, which had slowed and almost stopped by now (about 20 minutes after the fall).

Now looking more presentable, I ran across the Western Hills Viaduct, scaled Hill #5 on Harrison, came back down Beekman to State. But here on State is where the race ended for me. I called my wife and told her I’d need a ride back to get my car, and I backtracked about a half mile to the McDonalds at the western end of the Viaduct.

The night before I had printed out mileage-maps of the course via MapMyRun (because there was no mileage indicators on the hand-drawn official course map), but I had lost that map somewhere in Mt Adams, I think. By the time I got to State, I wasn’t sure exactly how far I had run, but I figured it was only 8 or 9 miles. I was worried that the finish-line would close at 1:15, and it was now almost 12:20. Turns out I later learned that I had gone a bit more than 11 miles, and while I had 2 hills left to climb, I only had a mile and a half to run.

This was my first DNF of the year, but I guess it’s good that I learned 2 big lessons, including:

• Safety first. I was fumbling for a map when I fell. That one distraction was enough to take my eyes off the sidewalk. Despite my wanting to video-record all my runs, I think I’ve done my last journey with cameras. Minimize the distractions.

• Don’t run this race alone. Stick with the pack. You need support in this race, particularly if something goes wrong. Glad I had my cell phone and my debit card though.

I hope this report is useful for any rookies that follow me. Looking forward to a better finish at the Seven Hills next year.

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