2018 Michelin Tire Trot

The Michelin Tire Trot was a FREE....yes....FREE race!!!  I have no idea how they managed to do it.  Being a race director, I know the costs involved in running a race....and it isn't cheap.

I signed up because the race was in my home town of Bridgewater.  Turns out the race is on the Run Nova Scotia series which means a lot of fast runners came out.  It also meant that I knew a few other runners.

Mandi and her son Malcolm...it was his first
5k and he only stopped once.

Wendy...she worked hard and got under 29 minutes.
AWESOME

This is Roy...I follow him on Instagram at @Roybanks1960.
I finally met him in person.

John & Jillian (also Jill's hometown)
The lady taking our picture said "Say....sex"  Only in Bridgewater

 The course was on the old railway trail in Bridgewater.  It crosses the LaHave river and it was stunning.  

Photo taken off the internet...but this is the bridge we ran over.

The initial start went down a sharp driveway and as I ran it, I could tell that we were in a slight decline as my pace was averaging around 5:05/km.  I was taking all I could as I knew the return would be the slight incline...slowing my pace.  I tried to keep Wendy going for the first half as I knew she wanted to get under 30 minutes...at the turn around, I pushed forward.  Because the run was on the trail, passing was difficult.  It was like a triathlon, I didn't want to pull out and pass until I was sure I could get by.  That last 1.5k was all uphill (as slight as it was)...it was hard and my pace actually slowed a full minute!  I passed a gal with about 100m to go, and then she decided to try and sprint past me up the steep driveway finish.  Nope...not gonna happen!   I finished in 27.19...placing 69th overall, and 7th in my age class.  I'll take that!

There were over 250 runners for the 5k and about 50-75 for the kids run...we all got medals and water for finishing.  Again....I don't know how they did it but it was a fantastic FREE run and it will be on my calendar next year.