Dam to Dam

Dam to Dam 20k
Des Moines, IA
Conditions: Mild (68°F), No Wind

I think the last time I ran Dam to Dam was in 2002. It's a fast course, mostly downhill. You start at the Salorville Lake dam and finish in downtown Des Moines. I don't remember the last race I ran where I didn't have a timing chip. The race has over 4000 runners, that's a lot of tags to collect...

My dad drove me to the start at 5 AM. I got in a good warmup, scoped out the competition. Lots of good runners in this field. The start was funny, they didn't have a separate spot for elites and they didn't label areas by mile pace, so everyone crowded to the front. Some of the elites were just in front of the start line because they couldn't move back any further. The first two miles are fast! You sprint the dam for mile one, mile two is down a pretty good hill. I settled into my pace around mile 4. The first two women runners were right with me (I was running 5:35 miles) so I hung with them. From that point on, I was no where near anyone in front of me or behind me. I ran with the 2nd place woman until mile 11...where she dropped me (still running 5:45's) A note about the competition, I was 45 seconds faster than Soldier Field at Mile 10 and I was in 30th place! I cruised the final two miles in

Average 5:55

Total 1:13:38 (official)

30th Place