2023 Gourdy's Pumpkin Run Akron, Ohio Review

 This was my second time running the Gourdy’s Pumpkin Run 5K.  I enjoyed the race so much last year I decided to do it again this year.  This was the largest 5K race field that I had competed in this year with 2400 runners finishing the course.   Pre race I was a little concerned about the weather.  Driving to the race and heading to the packet pickup it was steadily raining even though my weather app showed no potential rain until later that afternoon.  Packet pick up was very fast and smooth.  I headed back to my car to stay dry and warm.  Thankfully the rain stopped and I was able to do some easy running to warm up.  10 minutes before the start they began moving runners to the start corals.  It was a little chilly with temperatures in the mid 40’s with some moderate winds.  I opted for running tights, a long sleeve tech shirt and gloves.  Even though it wasn’t sunny I also went with some Tifosi Fototec sunglasses just to keep the wind out of my eyes.

The gun sounded and we were off down Main Street.  I went out a little slower than normal knowing that the first mile had a slight incline to it and a small hill at the first turn on the course.  My mile 1 split was around a 7:15 pace.  There was a nice stretch of downhill after the turn that I was able to increase my pace and make up for the slower start.  The course was mostly flat until the next turn so I was able to maintain a faster steady pace passing several runners that went out too fast.  I hit a turnaround point and made my way down the street towards the towpath trailhead.  The paved trail was my favorite part of the course.  The changing fall colors of the trees and the canal views made for beautiful scenery.  There were even two bridge crossings over the canal.  After passing behind the baseball stadium it was time to head back onto the roads to the finish.  I made the last turn and headed down Main Street for the final stretch.  I was feeling strong so increased my pace.  I could see the finish line in site and saw the clock was on 21:00 minutes but I couldn’t make out the seconds.  I thought if I push really hard I might be able to finish under 22:00 minutes.  I hit the finish line under 22:00 minutes but was not sure what my chip time would be and if I made it.  I made my way down the finisher shoot, received my finisher medal, got my free pumpkin and headed to my car for some warm clothes.   I returned to the finisher festival area and checked the race website for my results.  Strangely I was not listed in the results.  I spoke with the people in the timing tent and they confirmed my results weren’t showing up.  Apparently my bib number was not entered in the system correctly so after a few quick computer updates I was added to the results.  I could now see that I finished with a time of 21:54 placing 31st overall out of 2400 runners and was 2nd in my division.  This was the first 5K this year that I finished under 22:00 minutes so I was excited about that.  Timing issues aren’t rare and do happen at most races.  The race timers were friendly and did a nice job quickly correcting the problem which I appreciated.

After resolving the timing issue I went back to the finisher festival area and turned in my ticket for a cup of cider.  Each racer received about 1/3 of  a cup of cider, just enough to taste it.  I overheard several runners complaining about how small the serving amount was.  One upgrade to this year’s race was the addition of the Thirsty Dog Brewing beer truck.  I usually don’t drink beer at 9:30 am but consuming a pumpkin ale at a successful pumpkin run felt like the right thing to do.  The race was well organized like last year.  The race shirts and finisher medals were really nice.  Apparently it is a thing at this race to wear the shirt during the race which about 95% of the runners did making it hard to find friends later as everyone was dressed the same.  Results and free pictures were available very quickly through the race website which was nice.  I would like to see them offer awards for top finishers and age group winners.  I think a little more cider and some food options after the race would also be improvements to this already excellent race experience.  Overall Gourdy’s Pumpkin Run is a great experience for everyone from elite runners, casual runners, walkers, and families.