The RRCA National Championship Go! Mile, produced by Go! Running, was held yesterday at Burns Park and, in my humble opinion, was a HUGE success! There were, not including the kids' Mini Mile, almost 500 finishers yesterday and even more smiling faces and cheering voices. There was live radio coverage, provided by Wes Moore & Michael Smith of the Game On! radio program from The Source 93.3FM, as well as beverages, snacks and lots of prizes to be handed out.

The excitement began with before the racing did, as folks began to shuffle in from several different states and all over Arkansas. J and I got out at about 7:00am, had a good warm-up run around the park, and then went over to talk with several people we know from the Little Rock running community. Things went pretty quickly (as did the running!) from there; we heard the gun go off to begin the First Mile event, and one of the Go! Running volunteers invited me to clip timing chips until my race began.

I am so thankful that I took the opportunity to do this. While clipping timing chips always brings its own set of dangers (you know...when you run a race so hard that you lose your breakfast afterward?), seeing the faces of those who were finishing their FIRST EVER mile race, and for some of them their first race ever, was well worth any puke I might have taken; fortunately, my stint at the chip-clipping station was uneventful.

There were 83 finishers in the First Mile event; a VERY happy 13-year-old young man, Jonathan Outlaw, finished first in 6:37:03. It was so encouraging to see people of all ages, skill levels and backgrounds complete this event - what an accomplishment!

The greatest thing, for me, about this whole event is the family involvement; there were many kids who ran with their parents, siblings running together, and I watched as three sons pushed their father, who is in a wheelchair, across the finish line together. Powerful stuff, especially since today is Father's Day. This really speaks to the mission of this race, which is to raise money for the Winston Penn Wardlaw Memorial Fund that provides educational opportunities for young men at Catholic High School in Little Rock.

Fortunately, since I spent most of my pre-race time clipping timing chips, I didn't have much time to get anxious or nervous before the race, which was great. I walked over to the starting line and it was time to go!

There were 82 finishers in this division, and some superb running! Randi Whittaker, 23, of Bryant, Arkansas, took first in 6:02:37; Tish Pace, (we finally got to meet in person today - yay!), 39, of Searcy, Arkansas, was the second finisher in 6:04:18; and Nicole Hobbs, a friend and fellow yogi, 29, of Little Rock, took the third place spot in 6:05:20.

My goal was to finish in under 8 minutes, and I crossed the finish line in 7:47:46. I felt REALLY good throughout the race and wonder whether I could've finished a little quicker; of course, I'm sure many people wonder that! I've been nursing my right hamstring for the past few weeks, and also thought about the long run I was going to have to do later in the day, so I was really happy to be able to accomplish my goal without hurting too much.

The third division in the event was the Male 39 and under race, and there were 80 finishers in this one. J ran and, as usual, enjoyed himself; he's competitive, but not so much that it takes the fun out of racing for him. He's always smiling as he appears to breeze through the finish line; maybe one day I will learn how to be more photogenic at the finish!

Kieran Taylor, 16, of Little Rock and son of Gary and Erin Taylor of Go! Running, took first place in this division with a time of 5:11:47 - he looked like he had a great time! Worth Wilsey, 13, also of Little Rock, took the second spot with a time of 5:19:64; Levi Tucker, 32, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, finished in 5:20:77 to take third.

The Female 40 and up division followed with local favorite Cortney Allison in first with a time of 6:19:83; Beverly Smith, of North Little Rock, Arkansas, in second with 6:25:45; and Lynn O'Neal of Bryant, Arkansas who finished third with a time of 6:31:78. There were 96 finishers in this event, the largest number for any of the races - 40 is the new 20, right? That's what I'm going with, anyway.

Frances Barger, of North Little Rock, Arkansas, set the Arkansas mile age group (80+) record for women - incredible!

In the Male 40 and up division, which had 74 finishers, Karl Lenser, of Conway, Arkansas, finished first with a time of 5:19:30; Jerry Prince, of North Little Rock, finished second with a time of 5:28:89; and Kenny Wilsey (whose speedy son ran earlier in the day!) took home a third place finish with a time of 5:35:21.

And last, but certainly fastest, was the Elite division - whew! I get tired just watching these folks, but they make it look so easy. Now, if I could just get my legs to bounce off the ground so quickly like theirs do... anyway, the elite division is always exciting and the event yesterday was no exception, especially since I know several of the people who were participating.

There were 47 Elite finishers and the finish was SUPER fast and SUPER exciting! The top four overall finishers were right on each others' heels and it was truly a sight to see. Michael Hammond, 24, of Greenville, South Carolina, took first in 4:07:54; Rob Finnerty, 24, also of Greenville, South Carolina, was right behind him with 4:07:83; Scott Smith, 27, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, took the third place overall spot with 4:08:05.

Of the female elite athletes, Keri McClary, 23, of Springdale, Arkansas and the University of Arkansas, took the first place in the women's division with a time of 4:52:41; Cheryl Nolan, 24, finished with a time of 5:05:10 to take second and Little Rock's local celebrity, two-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, Leah Thorvilson, 35, took third, in her first race following recent surgery, with a time of 5:05:22. Big things are on the horizon for all three of these amazing ladies.

I also have to give a shout out to fellow blogger, Tia Stone, of Searcy, Arkansas and Arkansas Runner Mom, who placed first in her age group in the Elite race with a time of 5:20:26; she is a RRCA-Certified Running Coach, full-time mom, and she continues to set and reach new, faster goals. Way to go, Tia!

The only reason I would like for this race to go longer would be so that I could have more time to hang out with all of these awesome running folks! Since summer doesn't "officially" begin until next weekend, I know that there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to get together throughout the summer racing season.