I went up to Yorkville in Kendall County today to run in the Tax Dodge 10K, sponsored by the Yorkville Park District. It turned out to be a great race for me and Kendall County became the 45th Illinois County that I have run a race in, as I attempt to run a race in all 102 counties in Illinois.
I'm pretty sure the Tax Dodge name is due to the race being around April 15 and has nothing to do with the Tea Party people, especially with the park district, a taxing body, sponsoring it.
Today was an absolutely beautiful day for running, with clear skies and a race time temperature hovering around 40. I wore shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt. There was a slight breeze in spots but it felt good. The race began at a brand new athletic center of some sort, so the pre-race and post-race facilities were outstanding. The t-shirts were nice and there was fruit and water after the race.
I was disappointed that only 44 runners showed up for this 10K, considering the locataion in the far suburbs and the beautiful weather. There also were only about 120 runners for the 5K. I would have guessed more people would have shown up but this might have been the first time this race was held.
Yorkville is the county seat of Kendall County but the race was held in a new section of town, where suburbia meets the cornfields. The route through the new subdivision (every house had a three car garage) was nice, if not overly historic. I realized about mile 5 how enjoyable it is to run on new, suburban streets as opposed to old, rural highways. The route was flat and for a short while went through a park.
I love 10K races. Today, I got off to an ok start and then got into a good rhythm. I can never get in to a good rhythm for 5Ks (they are too short) and longer races are kind of hit or miss for me. But this race felt good. One of the race volunteers even commented to me that I looked like I had a nice relaxed pace going. I weakened a bit coming into mile five, but gained in strength over the last mile, like a trail horse after the last turn to the barn. I even sprinted at the end.
I've done a lot of running this spring, so I had hoped to beat a 54 minute 10K, which for me would be pretty good. Instead, I ran in 51:46, my best 10K in probably 20 years and a time I would have been happy with 20 years ago. Today, I'm ecstatic.
I had always thought I'd run the Sweetness 8K race, which honors the memory of Walter Payton, for my Kendall County race or the Gobbler Hobbler 10k in the fall. However, I am glad I ran this race and I would recommend it to anyone. I had been to Kendall County before but never to Yorkville. I liked it and would like to go back sometime.