I love running in smaller races. Races that draw large crowds have their place, but my preference is to aim for neighborhood runs. I’m especially fortunate to have a few that run through my neighborhood or are close enough to run to as a warmup.

The Grandin Court Road and Trail Challenge fits that description. Sponsored by a Baptist church, the race is held about a mile from my home and uses a lot of the streets and trails I regularly run for the course. It started as a 5K but organizers later added a 10K option, which is basically a second lap. The 5K is still the popular choice, drawing more than 100 participants this year. The 10K had 18 runners total.

I’ve come to appreciate the 10K distance a lot recently. To me, it requires more strategy and endurance than a 5K. My times running a 10K have improved, especially in the last few years now that I’ve done more training for marathons. The 10K is also the distance I mark off when I’m doing a marathon. After 20 miles, I tell myself “Now, it’s only a 10K.”

The first mile of the course followed rolling hills through neighborhood streets in SW Roanoke City. Runners then entered the woods for the trail portion, which followed a curvy path for another mile. There were certain places where we had to loop around, which I think caused some confusion among the leaders of both races. When I hit the trail portion, it looks like the marshals got confused and directed some of the lead runners to go in a different direction. Not sure how they ended up or if they recovered their lead.

Since it was near my house, I knew the trail well and enjoyed running through the paths. It had rained that morning, which made the path muddy and some of the rocks slick. The last half-mile left the trail and returned to the roads for the finish.

Those of us doing the 10K were directed to run the course again. I felt faster and stronger the second time through, and especially enjoyed hitting the trail again. I crossed the line at 51:37. That’s slower than my PR, but I was pleased with the time given that part of the run was over trails that I typically do at a slower pace.

Since I didn’t drive to the race, I made a plan to walk/run back to my house as part of a cooldown. The rain returned with a downpour which soaked me as I ran through the woods home. Some of the marshals were still on the course and thought I was in the race. I had to wave and tell them that no, I was headed home. I was drenched and muddy when I got home, but I felt great.