Pat’s Run is more than just a race, it’s an experience. This year’s event highlighted not only performance progress, but also key lessons in preparation, pacing, and keeping things simple. If you’re new to running events, there’s a lot to take away from this one.
What Happened?
Pat’s Run is not your typical race. It honors Pat Tillman, a former Arizona Cardinals player who left the NFL after the September 11 attacks to serve in the Army. The event is 4.2 miles, tied to his jersey number at Arizona State University. What really stands out is the scale and energy brought by nearly 30,000 runners, a shared purpose and a course that’s more about the experience than chasing a perfect time.
What Worked?
Travelling lighter worked well. While I still overprepared, I did leave the camelback at home this time.
What Didn’t?
My goals were too ambitious, I set A, B, C and Just Finish goals. My A goal was the idea of finishing in an hour (14:17 min/mile). My B goal was not far behind with my recent 5K PR (14:36 min/mile). My C goal was beating last years time (18:32 min/mile). My A and B goals were too ambitious, they didn’t factor in the large number of people (that you often have to work around) as well as all the time spent getting there and waiting for my group to start. I don’t feel bad about the A goal, but the B goal probably should have been closer to splitting the difference between A and C (16:24 min/mile).
Generally speaking, I come overprepared for events like these (except when I forget stupid things like goggles to a swim/run event). I brought my own water bottle, I didn’t need to. I brought headphones, I couldn’t use most of the time because of the large volume of people and sounds. I brought nutrition, which there were samples (of real food) provided at the event that sufficed.
What am I going to do about it?
I will continue to do Pat’s run, but one of my frustration with many short runs, especially larger ones, holds true here. I was away from home for 6 hours and just over an hour of that was running. The rest of the time was driving to and from the light rail station, riding the light rail and walking to the venue and back. This also showed in my steps, ending the day at nearly 22,000 while only 9,000 of that was from the race itself. I plan to continue to this event for the time being, but will continue to limit the other 5k’s I run, especially large ones in busy areas like our Rock and Roll or Hot Chocolate series (though both have longer options and Hot Chocolate does have great swag and an awesome treat bowl at the end).
I will continue to bring my running bib belt, sunglasses and visor. While I will not bring water, I will bring a hydration packet to slip into my bib belt. I also saw some belts that were larger, not quite fanny pack sized, that might be nice.
What do the numbers say?
I finished the race significantly faster than last year, increasing my pace by ~2:30 minutes/mile, finishing a full 11 minutes quicker than I did the prior year. This is great progress and it aligns with what I’ve been seeing in training. While I know I’ve been doing better, I have felt like I’ve been on a pit of a plateau. This helps give me confidence and continue working harder to continue seeing more progress.
Summary
Pat’s Run reinforced a few key principles: keep things simple, expect imperfect conditions and focus on long-term progress. If you’re just getting started, you don’t need perfect gear or perfect races, you need consistency and a willingness to learn from each experience. Keep showing up. The results will follow.