I went down to Perry County today to run in the Pinckneyville Fall Classic. I know. I know. A name like the Pinckneyville Fall Classic probably sounds like a elitist, high falutin' kind of a race to some of you. The fact is, however, that this is just a nice little small town race.
This race is an 8k that is held each year on the last Saturday of October. The shirts are nice and have a Halloween theme to them.
The race starts at the Perry County fairgrounds then goes out in the country before working its way back to the finish line at the fairgrounds. I'd guess about 100 runners ran the race. It wouldn't surprise me if it was more though. Estimating crowds is not my long suit.
Today was a beautiful day for running: clear, sunny, little wind and a starting time temperature of around 40 degrees. I was going to wear sweats for the race but just before it began I wisely decided to just wear running shorts and a long sleeved running shirt. It was a good decision.
The course is mostly flat, with a few very small hills in the second half. It is kind of a dull, not very scenic course out in the country. I really prefer running in a town, especially when it is a county seat.
My time ended up at 44:26. An 8K is just under 5 miles, so I broke a 9 minute a mile pace, but at this time of year my pace should be closer to 8:15 for a race like this. I'm still working on that after a summer of little running.
Perry County is the 66th Illinois county I have run a race in, as I seek to run a race in every one of Illinois' 102 counties. This might be my last new county this year, which would mean I ran in 11 new counties in 2011.
I have been through Pinckneyville many times and have even stopped there for lunch before, but this was my first time on the western part of the town.