Hudepohl 14k Brewery Run Race Recap

This was actually the 10^th annual Hudepohl 14k, however, they had been on a hiatus. I’m not sure how long it had been since the last run. They also added a 7k to the event this year. I don’t really know where to start with this race. I feel that the intentions were good and it was supposed to be more of a party than an actual race, but there were some major planning flaws at this event.

We arrived plenty early and had no problem finding parking. They offered a shuttle service but we did not use it as we found a parking spot within two blocks of the starting line. 

Abbey, Jojo and Me

 D and I and two of my friends grabbed our bags and headed over to the race. There was a building with food/beer and bathrooms. It was very crowded before the race even began. We asked volunteers at 3 different booths where the bag check was only to find out that the volunteers had no idea and it probably didn’t exist! WHAT! (Strike 1) The facebook page clearly stated there would be a bag check or I would have left my stuff in the car! So another 2 blocks back to the car to drop off the bags. I also had to pop a squat in the parking lot since the bathroom lines were a nightmare. I did get a nice warm up in jogging back to the start line.

The race started about 15 minutes late (really? Strike 2!) The race started on a slow downhill grade. There were 3 bands within the first mile and I thought for a minute I could just turn off my ipod and enjoy the course and entertainment. Glad I didn’t because that was the end of the bands.

As I was running the first mile my legs were feeling kind of heavy and I wasn’t sure if they were going to hold up for the 8+ miles but when I reached the first mile marker I was at 7:23. My goal for the race was to run under 8min/mile pace again so I was way ahead of that. I wasn’t sure how long I could maintain that pace but I remained there until mile 4.

Around mile 4 I started getting really concerned about D and my friend Abbey. They signed up to run the 7k. The course was supposed to be out and back and I hadn’t seen the turn around!! D usually runs no more than 3 miles for his training and has never done more than a 5k race. This was Abbey’s first race ever! She has been training to run the half with us in Indianapolis but I don’t think she has done any long runs. I was really hoping they didn’t have to run all 8.7 miles!!

I was looking for the 5 mile marker and glanced down at my watch (the cheap timex kind) only to see I was at 10 minutes!!! Whaaaat! I couldn’t have slowed that much!! A few minutes later I saw the 6 mile marker and was relieved. Apparently they didn’t mark miles 5, 7 or 8!! (Strike 3) That makes me crazy!! I guess that’s why I need one of those nifty Garmin watches.

I really enjoyed the course it was a nice long loop that was mostly flat or slight downhill. There was a short hill mid way through mile 3 and 7. There was also a short steep hill around mile 8 with a group of girls with signs that said “Keep going, keep going, that’s what she said!” and “You have great stamina, call me!” and “Chaff now, beer later.” Funny stuff!

From there on was mainly a downhill until you turned a corner and hit the finish! They were giving out 7k/14k medals at the finish.  A few minutes after my finish I met up with my friend Jojo, who also signed up for the 14k. She informed me that there was no turn around and D and Abbey were still out on the course! I also ran into one of D’s friends who signed up for the 7k and just turned around and ran back after he realized the turn around wasn’t marked.

Both D and Abbey finished a few minutes after Jojo. I was really impressed with their times not having down any training for a long race!! D said runners were yelling at the volunteers and the police officers the whole race. Turns out the race coordinators forgot to put out the turn around sign (OOPS! Strike 4). Also by the time Abbey finished they ran out of medals (Strike 5?) And the beer and food lines were a MILLION miles long!! (Strike… too many to count)

There were some good things about the race. I really loved the course and all of the police officers did a great job with traffic control and encouraging the runners. The food and beer afterwards was good, it just took forever to get. They had a nice set up outside of the building were you could hang out and drink your beer. Each runner was given a nice short sleeve tech shirt and a Hudepohl 14k pint glass.

I ended up finishing in 1:07:30 a 7:47 pace which I was very happy with. I also came away with a second place finish in my age group!! I had a pretty good time, but hopefully they will organize a little better next year!!