Going into Saturday’s Baltimore 10 Miler, I knew it was going to be hilly and challenging.
I had run the race last year, and not-so-fondly remembered the long, uphill climb around miles 8 and 9. Who would put a hill like that at the back end of a race? I wondered.
In fairness, since the B-10 is an out-and-back course, the hill is also at the beginning of the race—you just get to run down it the first time.
Complete Baltimore 10-Miler coverage
ABC2 News broadcasted the 9th annual Baltimore 10 Miler live and online, and I ran for the station along with reporter Mallory Sofastaii (a charity chaser who raised money for Girls On the Run) and meteorologist Adrienne Green.
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I ran with a GoPro camera strapped to me-- check out a very condensed version of the Baltimore 10 Miler in the above video!
It was not only as hilly as I recalled (the hill at the end is the biggest, but there are many other inclines throughout the course), but this year, it was humid! I began to feel the mugginess just about as soon as I began to run. Thank goodness for lots of water stops.
The B-10 has become a popular race in Baltimore over the years, and is actually Corrigan Sports Enterprises’ second biggest event behind the Baltimore Running Festival. It’s easy to see why. The crowd participation is great, the race raises a ton of money for charity and, if you can suffer through all the hills, you get to feel really good about yourself at the end!
Runners start in Druid Hill Park and run out to Lake Montebello, do about a mile-long lap around the lake and then run back to the park. The portion around Lake Montebello was probably my favorite part of the B10. There were lots of spectators, it’s the flattest portion of the race and I got to wave to my ABC2 co-workers who were at the water stop just past the mile 4 marker.
Talking about the race with ABC2 News anchors Christan Schaffer and Ashley James:
Oh, and that little breeze off the lake. So sorely needed Saturday morning. Of course, it is June in Maryland, so the heat and humidity was to be expected! I’m signed up for a half-marathon at the end of July in Virginia, so I guess I need to get used to running in sticky conditions.
In the end, I crossed the finish line in just over an hour and 19 minutes—not a personal best for the 10-mile distance, but about as fast as I ran the B-10 last year. With the humidity, I was more than happy with that!
Now, I’m off to buy new running shoes. My current pair literally have holes in them after six months (I wore them through marathon training this winter, so they did their job.)
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