Breakfast Club: September 25, 2018

breakfast club

the east bay's running newsletter 

Paul Balmer sprints for the finish.  Photo: Isabel Whitcomb.

Good afternoon!

It was a glorious weekend in the Bay Area.  The weather was clear, the air quality improved, and the temperatures cool.  On Saturday, I joined That's Fine Track Club for a hilly cross country meet in the East Bay hills above Hayward in Garin Regional Park.

Cross country is like getting kicked in the teeth before being thrown into an MMA fight.  The start blazes out unsustainably as runners jockey for position.  You try to hook yourself onto a pack that's moving quicker than you'd like to go and just hang on. 

Running at your redline for the entire race, moving up through the field requires gargantuan mental and physical effort.  A good race entails utter focus and holding on for dear life to the singlet in front of you. 

On Saturday, I got my butt kicked trying to hang on to the chase pack led by Alex Varner, who charged up the course's hills.  As I dangled off the …