Bronx 10-Mile

My 77th New York Road Runners race (and 89th overall) since I traded smoking for running in 2006 was the Bronx 10-Mile on Sunday. It was my third of four required NYRR 5-Borough Series races in 2013 for exemption to the 2014 NYC Half, and I will complete that requirement with the Oct. 15 Staten Island Half. I finished the Bronx 10-Mile in 1:56.38.

I parked at Yankee Stadium, and it was a moving scene for me because as I got back to my car following the race, I looked up and there was the intense visage of Mariano Rivera, shown gripping a cutter, with his large name and the now-retired 42. This would be the last day of his baseball career, so I had a pretty cool moment as the wait began for me to vote for him to the Hall of Fame when that ballot arrives in the mail in December of 2018.

The Bronx 10-Mile is an out-and-back, most of it on Grand Concourse. Pretty easy course compared to Central Park, not completely flat but not too bad. What I noticed most was the absence of WIND -- my bane as a runner -- that was common whenever I would run this event previous as the Bronx Half in late winter. Here are pics: