Chris Solinsky, Watch Out!

....there is another fat white guy making moves in the 10k!

For those who may not know, Chris Solinsky is an American runner who is the US national record holder in the 10k and this year became the 1st white guy to break 27mins for 10k. At 6'3" and 165lbs, he is pretty big for a runner - especially as he is true distance guy.

While it may come as a surprise to my non-running friends, I myself have been noted as a rather hefty guy on the running circuit. My broad chest, fat thighs and cankles (hybrid calf and ankle) make me stick out on the starting line. And so, given my performane yesterday at the Queen's Open, the title of "Fastest Fattest White Guy" might be up for grabs. I ran a sizzling 29:39 for the 4 laps of the Fort Henry XC course. Despite this blistering time, which reduced my previous personal best time by 2 minutes and 38 seconds, I only managed to come 2nd, behind a young fellow from Rwanda. The conditions were perfect, sunny with a some blustery winds, and surface that was firm yet spongey from the previous day's rain.
Given that there isn't going to be any championship races on this course this year, the field was not as large or deep as it has been in the past, so right from the gun I found myself out at the front with two African dudes. We ran as a trio for about a lap, until one dropped back and it was just the two of us. I was pretty comfy at the halfway point and was really thinking that I might be able to grab the "W". Then the third lap came and the death grimace crept onto my face as my companion began to stretch me out and pull away from me. I was able to maintain the 5-yard gap between us but by the 4th lap it was too much for me and he eventually put 19 seconds on my by the finish. Results can be found at www.runningbydesign.ca/quxc2010.html.
Also worthy of note is my sister Steph....who also placed 2nd in the women's race with quite an impressive run. She has made a big turn-around since last year and is now running to her potential. It'll be exciting to see what she can do in a few weeks time at OUA's and CIS!

Anyway, that's about it for me. Did an easy 10miles this afternoon.....and I mean really easy. The loop that took me 55mins last time, took about 70mins this time. It was the longest and most borning run of my life, but probably very necessary to give my legs a chance to recover.

And one more thing...I should probably confess: the course this year at Queen's Open was 100-150m short per loop. So you can probably add on between 1:30-1:45 to my time. Still not a bad effort though, and would still have been a new PB over 10k. But I guess Solinsky can keep his crown....for now.

Be Easy!