I completed the epic Pumpkin Push 5k this past weekend in Seattle. I ran the hilly course in 17:36 and placed 6th out of 636 competitors. Actually I don't know if I should call them competitors - many of the other participants were small children in Halloween costumes. Certainly the top dozen guys were competitive though -- I went out for a 5:25 first mile with a pack of 5 which broke up on a brutally steep short hill at the half way mark. As you can see in these pictures from the race photographer I was struggling to maintain a massive kick that I launched with 500 meters to go in an effort to crush some guy who had been running next to me the whole way. I did manage to beat him but could not overtake the 5th place guy. Well the cash prizes only went to the Top 3 overall finishers. Next year I will have to wear a costume.
