Keith Elisberg - Grace in Motion 5k Race Report 9/15/2012

Grace in Motion 5K

The Grace in Motion 5K was held this past Saturday in Fort Lee on part of the Ironman NYC run course. This was not your typical 5K. It was all about the orphans. It was the first race they did but one of the most organized and enjoyable ones I have done in quite some time. The directors are triathletes and set up a race in less than three months. It had a high race fee but they raised over 10,000 dollars for the orphans.

Race morning was cold. It was in the low 50s when I got up but knew it would warm up fast and at least the rain from the night prior had stopped. Jackie came with me to the race but didn't compete. She was armed with the camera and coffee. We chose to drive the one mile since walking out is all uphill. This is how organized they were you drove in they

directed you were to park and pointed you exactly to pick up your bib. There were no lines. They moved racers so fast I couldn't believe it. A few photos and met with Samual the director. He could not stop thanking me for getting him prizes from POLAR USA. Went and warmed up and got some last minute advice from Jackie as she scoped out the competition.

Race Time! We went off 10 minutes after the 10k. I have raced up this hill a few times and can ruin your day if you don't pace yourself. Gun sharp turn and up .6 miles at a 9* degree pitch. Half way up a passed most of the field and at the apex was in sixth place. It became a rolling up and down and worked my way into forth place. When the descent approached I lost site of the top three (they were all under 20 just for the record). At mile 2 it went into the trail which was dry and slippery despite rain the night prior. It is still an awesome site running with the George Washington Bridge in the foreground. I has a comfortable lead so I wasn't to worried and just defended my position. Finished forth overall and first in 40-49 age group. My Polar RCX5 did a awesome job pacing me and the GPS never lost a signal.

They really did an excellent job with this true charity race. No race t-shirts so I handed out Polar shirts and no trophies. They really put all the money towards the orphans. I was glad that I didn't hear any complaints about that. Racers where actually more satisfied as I was over this venue.