J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Race Recap

The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge is 3.5 mile race through downtown Boston. The race starts on Charles St between the Boston Commons and Boston Public Garden. The course wraps around the Boston Public Garden, runs out and back along Commonwealth Ave and finishes back at the start. Registration for the race opens on April 1st, and the limit of 12,000 entrants is usually met by April 2nd. In order to register for the race, you must be part of a corporate team for a company that operates in the Boston area. Team scoring is done by aggregate time of the top four finishers with Male, Female and Mixed categories. A company can score as many four person teams as they like. With 12,000 runners, this is the largest race contained entirely in Boston. I tried to register for the race in 2012 and 2013 but wasn't able to get in. So, I was very excited to be running in 2014.

Coming into the Race:

I felt okay during the day on Tuesday. I still have some lingering soreness in my left hamstring and hip, but it isn't nearly as bad as it was around Market Square Day. I also had an open blister on my right achilles which was kind of bothering me. I don't usually get them, but I made a bad sock choice during a run over the weekend. It is right at the top of my heel where my shoe rubs, and all of the skin has been pulled away. It's a small thing, but it was giving me some issues. Thankfully, I was able to figure out a decent fix in a non-stick pad and nexcare tape. It ended up bleeding through the pad during the race, but it wasn't a factor since it was virtually painless.

My focus was definitely lacking throughout the day. Racing at night is always difficult for me because all I can think about during the day is the race. On the upside, it did give me ample time to figure out my pre-race plan and race strategy. I knew the pre-race was going to be hectic. With 12,000 runners and who knows how many spectators all crammed into the Boston Common area just after rush hour, moving around and getting to where you need to be would be a challenge.

Judging what the competition would be like is difficult with a race of this size and no registration list. The last few years had been won at about 5:00 pace, but 2009 and 2011 both required about 4:50 pace. Last year's winner, Andrew Combs, ran a 4:17 mile on June 5th at the Adrian Martinez Classic, so I wouldn't want to leave it to sprint finish if he returned. Not knowing who I would be up against, I really didn't want to leave it to a sprint finish if I could avoid it. Regardless of how confident I am with my 400 meter kick, any real track runner would be able to take me in the last quarter mile. My plan was to go out at about 4:55 pace and see how things developed.

I hung out at work until 5:30 pm, got changed into some running clothes then rode my bike to a co-worker/teammate's apartment in Back Bay. His place was relatively close to the start line, so we decided to use it as pre-race head quarters.  Shout out to Billy for generously allowing us to his place. At 6:10, I stretched and went out for a solitary 2 mile warm up around Back Bay at 6:15 pace. The rest of my team aren't really competitive runners, and the mile from Back Bay to the start line would be enough of a warm up for them. After the warm up, I headed back to his place for final race prep and to listen to some pump up music. We left Back Bay around 6:35 and did a slow mile jog over to the Boston Common where we parted ways so that I could try to find my parents who had driven down from New Hampshire! I also wanted to scout out exactly where the start and finish line would be. Sure enough, my parents and roommate were there waiting for me. I chatted with them for a few minutes then headed over to the Boston Common entrance on to Charles St where volunteers were trying to get runners ready to head to the start. This is when the chaos began. They were trying to pack all of the runners into the Boston Common so that they could release the runners onto the street at 7:00 to line up in a three wave start at 7:15. I got a spot off to the side but fairly close to the gate that led onto Charles St and watched as the volunteers desperately tried to get people to back up and allow more runners in. Unfortunately, the sound from the megaphones they were using just wasn't carrying over the volume of so many runners. At 6:58, the runners on the opposite side of the street decided they had enough waiting and started a dash towards the start line. The volunteers had no choice but to let us go as well, and I did a "stride" to the start line. Fortunately, I was able to get a decent position on the start line without too much trouble. There is a sharp left hand turn 100 meters into the race, so I positioned myself just right of center on the starting line to avoid getting boxed in. By the time the gun finally went off, I had been waiting at the start or waiting to get to the start for 25 minutes. This was as I expected though. With so many runners, I knew it was going to be a bit of a process to get the whole group doing what they needed to be doing. All in all, I think it was very well organized, and the volunteers did a great job.

The Race:

I've got video of both the start and the finish, but the quality isn't good enough to post right now.  I'm hoping to get them cleaned up and posted in the next few days. The start of the race had a decent amount of jostling. The start line was crowded, and everyone was trying to get to the first turn quickly. After 20 meters of bumping into the runners next to me, I was able to get out into space and made it to the corner without any major issues. The course took another sharp left followed by a right all in the first quarter mile before things settled down as we headed out down Comm Ave.

I found myself in a group of about 10 runners during the first mile. We were moving at about 4:45 pace into a 15 mph gusting headwind, so I was happy to just tuck in. Half a mile in, a guy wearing a t-shirt and Nike Lunarglide 5 training shoes made a move on the lead pack (turned out to be Zack Schwartz). He quickly put 15 meters on us, and nobody tried to go with him. I think everyone just assumed he was going out too hard since he wasn't really dressed for a race and it wasn't an ideal spot to make a move. We were running into gusting winds, and he wasn't putting on enough speed to pull away. The gap was maybe 15 meters, and he wasn't trying to increase it. We went through the mile in 4:48, and runners slowly started to fall off the lead pack.

Coming into the turn around at the halfway point, I was in 5th place and ready to make my move. We had slowed down slightly in the second mile, and with the wind about to be at my back, I thought I could create some separation without pushing myself too hard. I picked up the pace as we went around the hairpin turn and quickly started to break away from the lead pack. After about a hundred yards, I was all alone and feeling good. My race plan was working out perfectly. Until I realized that all had not gone to plan. The runner in training shoes was still out in front of me. He must have also picked up the pace around the hairpin turn, and without me noticing, he had built his lead to 30 meters (very impressive and well timed move). I split 4:58 for the second mile and started to get worried even though I still felt pretty good. I didn't have enough energy to significantly pick up the pace at this point in the race, and he wasn't slowing down. I would later find out that Zack shouldn't be counted out of any race with results like a win in 24:43 at the Harpoon 5 Miler in May. That's the interesting thing about races like this. You never know who will show up, and it can be difficult at times to spot the good runners.

I decided to wait it out a bit longer and just held the gap at 30 meters through 2.5 miles. With a mile to go, I started to pick up the effort. I thought 30 meters would probably be too much to make up in the last 400 meters, so I wanted to slowly reel him back in to a manageable distance. I went through 3 miles in 4:55, and it started to creep into my head that I wasn't going to be able to catch him as he still had 25 meters on me. As we came around the Boston Public Garden in the final turns, I really started to pick up the pace. I started thinking about waiting 2 years to run this race and how good it would feel to win. When we came around the final turn onto Charles St with 400 meters to go, I was only 15 meters behind, and I started an all out kick. I doubt it was actually very fast since I was pretty much gassed by that point, but I was making up ground. I passed Zack with about 150 meters to go and put everything I had into creating some distance. I was only able to manage 5-10 meters before I ran out of steam. I spent the last 100 meters just trying to make it to the finish line as I checked over my shoulder a few times to make sure he wasn't coming back on me. I crossed the line with my arms held wide for the win in 17:01 over 3.5 miles. I haven't felt like this after a race since Market Square Day last year, and I have to say that I missed it. I am also very proud of my US Bank teammates who all did a great job. We are still waiting on the team results though.

Just a great overall event. Being able to race through downtown Boston in such a big race with great crowd support was amazing.

Getting my award after the race took a bit longer than I anticipated. Volunteers brought me over to a fenced off section by the stage overlooking the start line and asked me to wait for some pictures and the awards ceremony. After that, I did a meandering 3.5 mile cool down through Boston at ancient marathoner pace. I ended at Billy's apartment to pick up my stuff and ride my bike back to the North End.

Level Renner did a write up and has a video from around the 3 mile mark Here.

Top Male and Female Results:

 

Couple of photos courtesy of the JPM CC site

Spectacular award complete with gloves for proper handling!