How about that? A timely race report!
Saturday, April 21, 2012. 256 people show up at Roslyn High School on a very busy race weekend on Long Island. Not only did I count 14 races listed on the trusty Long Island Race Calendar for this weekend, but three races I did last year fell on this weekend too. I had been trying decide between the St. James 5-Miler (2012 results) and the Race for Spinal Victory in Wantagh, but when I noticed this race in Roslyn, the decision was easy.
While I enjoyed both of those other races last year and fully intended on doing them again this year, the opportunity to run through my childhood home town of Roslyn was too good to pass up.
Okay, okay, I only live 20 minutes away, but I don’t get the opportunity to visit that often and I haven’t set foot on the grounds of Roslyn High in more than 20 years. Also, Greg Fried, “Mr. Fried” as I knew him, was my gym teacher.
The building itself was closed, but since I arrived early and had to walk around the premises to get from my parking spot to the registration/start area, I got to walk around and let the memories flood in. The place hasn’t changed much (at least from the outside).
If you enjoy a challenging race through through a scenic, historic location, then this is the race for you.
They did a great job getting the faster runners up to the front of the starting line. I’ve done plenty of races where they try to do this and you’re still ducking between slow runners/walkers who were where they shouldn’t be.
We started off down Harbor Hill Road, turned right onto Roslyn Road, and went straight down to the Village. The first mile is completely down some pretty steep hills with the marker about halfway down Main St. Mile 2 is pretty much the complete opposite, heading back to the high school, this time doing it completely up the hills. Mile 3 starts after you pass the high school on Roslyn Road and make a left onto Round Hill Road. Round Hill Road starts off with another climb before leveling off a bit. The remainder of the race is in the neighborhood near the school and includes another stretch of road with a noticeable rise. Finally, you hit Harbor Hill Road again and it takes you back to Roslyn High for the finish.
I won’t get into my performance too much other than to say I was happy with it. 23:18 was good enough for 13th overall and 2nd in my age group. For a hilly run, I’ll take it.
There were plenty of post-race refreshments and everyone got a packed goody bag. This was a very friendly field of runners too, I met some nice people.
The Roslyn Bulldogs Booster Association deserves thanks for this event and the Fried family should be proud. I really enjoyed this inaugural run and even if there are twenty races the same weekend next year, I’ll be back.
