Yes, it's hard to believe, but even after a decade of collecting North Carolina counties, I had not made it to Mecklenburg County, the home of Charlotte, the state's biggest city, and plenty of great races, including several marathons and half-marathons. However, I had heard good things about the Charlotte Running Club and their Winter Classic 8k (and 4k) race, so it was time to get another winter race into the countdown -- although this was another example of a North Carolina winter where we had nice temps in the high 50s and low 60s in the end of January.
The drive down to Charlotte was nice and easy the morning of the race, and I had my support crew of wife and child (and one of my wife's friends) along for the event. The race itself was at McAlpine Creek Park, a local park where some high-school (and college?) cross-country events are held and which has several connections to the local greenway system. The park also has some softball fields and a dog park, so there was all kinds of room for parking and setup, and the CRC had plenty of signs and volunteers to make sure you could find what you needed.The pre- and post-race festivities were set up in the main field around the existing cross-country course start, but we used a separate starting line to allow for the crowds. The 4k was the preliminary event (you could sign up and run both races if you wanted), which was effectively one lap of the course, followed by the 8k which was made up of two laps of the course. Plenty of 8k runners took place (262 finishers were listed in the results) with teams and clubs competing from all over the state. It was no problem picking up my packet -- the long-sleeved t-shirts with hoods were a nice feature -- and getting something to drink before headed en masse over to the starting line.
The first half-mile or so was a straight run down the boundary of the park and you could just see the leaders starting to separate in the distance ahead. From my vantage point safe in the back of the pack, I could pick out a few familiar runners when they made a turn ahead and headed for a switchback along the base of a hill. (Fortunately, we only skimmed the bottom of the hill and didn't have to do too much climbing along the part of the trail that ascends it.) The switchbacks led back to the main field and then we passed close by the starting line and the spectators before making a turn to the right and circling a lake. I held out pretty well for a while, but it was around the lake where the leaders lapped me, already finishing up their second lap while I was still struggling through the first one.
Although I didn't get to take the turn to the finish line yet, I could see some of the top finishers crossing the line as I headed out for my second lap. The runners in my pack were much more strung along the distance, but a few of us ran in a small group and there was a little bit of passing here and there. Now that we knew what the loop was like, it was easy to anticipate where the small rises were and where the switchbacks would allow us to see if anyone was gaining on us. Once again we passed by the spectators and circled the lake, and the second time I knew I would get to take the finish-line turn. I was happy to cross the line and see my cheering support group, get some water, and walk out a bit to stretch my legs. For a very flat race, my legs were tired from the pacing, but overall it was a very enjoyable race and there were a lot of festivities going on to keep the runners entertained until awards time.
Lots of awards in this race: in addition to the usual overall and age group awards, there were team awards, USATF awards, and Road Runners Club of America awards to give out (multiple groups had sanctioned the race as the North Carolina 8k or cross-country championship). One of the park shelters made for an excellent awards stand. In addition, funds had been raised for the "Bring It for Braylon" charity benefiting support for families dealing with pediatric cancer. Even though I didn't bring home any awards, it was great to finally visit Mecklenburg County to run and experience this great 8k race! The Winter Classic was a great event, and I hope that it won't take me this long to return and compete on the cross-country trail again!
