Trail Running Blog

2013 LA Chinatown Firecracker 10K Race Report

This is the 3^rd year in a row running this race, but the most fun by far. Ironically, it was my worse performance but the fact that I got to run it with my entire family definitely made up for it. Results: 46:03 (7:24 min/mile), 12/162 AG, 88/2382 Overall. For days after the race, I thought I beat all of my brother’s friends at the 10K. But the very moment I told my coworker I beat everyone, I decided to check one friend’s official time and realized he had beaten me by a mere 6 seconds! I’m sure the next time I see him in person, he’ll be gloating about his win. Aside from the 2^nd place finish, my time was pretty good for a very hilly course and lack of training. This was also the first year my two little sisters ran the 5K (the last time they raced was back in high school). The cherry on top was definitely having my 2.5 year old nephew running the 1K kiddie run after we all ran our respective races. Hopefully, we’ll continue to make this an annual thing.

The past two year’s 10K course was a little bit different than this year’s. The hills, however, were still present early and often. The first mile is relatively flat, but just before the first mile, you begin what is about a 1.5 mile ascend toward Echo Park. It flattens out a little bit but overall, it’s a gradual uphill climb, which can kill you for the rest of the race if you go out too hard. Just like most of my other races this past year or so, I had not run much prior to this race. But I did my best to prepare for this race by doing some trail runs to focus on hill training as well as leg-specific workouts at the gym. The first half of the race was still tough, but I’m hoping that those previous workouts did help at least a little bit. The rest of the race was mostly downhill, which helped me pick up my pace as well as passing people who were purposely slowing down to prevent any unwanted knee injuries. There were at least 2 smaller hills that I was not expecting before finally finishing back in Chinatown. Splits: 7:22, 8:13, 7:54, 7:02, 7:24, 7:24, :43.

My sisters had finished their 5K before me and my brother’s 10K, so they were able to watch us cross the line. But the main event was really the 1K kiddie run. 3 weeks ago, I went on an easy 3-mile run with my sister. While we were hanging out in the living room after the run, my nephew told us he wanted to go running too. So he went back home to change into his running gear and we put our running shoes back on to go for a short run to the end of the block.

We were hoping he would be just as enthusiastic to run the 1K, but also afraid he’d be nervous around other people and runners that he didn’t know. When the race started, he was scared and my sister had to carry him for 100 meters or so. He finally got comfortable and took off to run on his own. But after running for a little bit, he wanted my sister to carry him again. We kept trying to get him to run, and even ran ahead of him as he cried for my sister to pick him up. And then for the last 200 meters or so, my nephew just took off (kicking to the finish line, I wonder where he gets that from 🙂 He ran by his mom, my brother and his wife and he even stopped for two random girls who was cheering for him that I’m assuming he mistook for someone he recognized? It was a great finish and from the pictures below, you can tell how much fun he had, which was a great way to finish the day.