Good racing, good spread to be found at masters-only events

It took seven years, but a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to run in my first masters-only road race.

And I had a blast.

For some reason I always resisted running a race with just old guys. Maybe it was because I thought I was still young and fast (wrong) or maybe there just not too many masters races around.

Either way, I never entered one until the annual Pearl Harbor Masters Race in Waterford on Dec. 4. It was my last race of 2009.

I arrived at the Waterford VFW along Route 1 in the late morning and made my way inside to get my number. Inside I saw guys and a few women milling about and talking like the old friends they are.

I quickly realized that these are the people who drove the running boom of the '70s, were the fast, serious competitors of the '80s, and have continued to help the sport grow to a point where getting into some big city races today is as hard a nabbing a Springsteen ticket.

The race also had that laid back, old-school vibe reminiscent of the days back in the late '70s, when as a high school runner I ran my first road races.

They often began at VFWs, Elks Lodges and elementary schools. There were no technical T-shirts, timing chips and iPods just ugly cotton shirts, numbered Popsicle sticks and people cheering along the course. And the race was all about how fast you could run and the camaraderie of the other runners.

A short time later, we were off down Route 1 into a cold headwind. That's when I noticed something else different about a masters race. There were no small kids or anyone else sprinting out at the gun. Instead, these seasoned runners quickly settled into the pace they knew could most quickly take them the 5.1 miles to the finish.

After years of seeing myself steadily fall back from the lead pack as I got older, it was nice again to be running in the front. It's a nice boost for your ego. It also gave me a chance to dust off some sold race tactics to try to reach the second-place runner and then hold on to third, which I eventually lost as a "young kid" passed me on the long hill before the finish.

When I got home and told my wife what happened, she shot back, "How young could he have been? It was a masters race."

Good point. But he was 40. That's young to me.

Still, it was some of the most fun I've had at a race in years.

Afterward, I watched as other runners cheered on the people they have raced against for decades. And I noticed that everyone pushed just as hard across the finish as they did 30 years ago.

Then it was back to the VFW for the best post-race feast I've seen in years, maybe ever. At first I thought there would just be beer, hot dogs and beef stew, which seemed to fit well with the throwback feel of the race. But those were just the appetizers. Soon, out came huge aluminum tins of turkey, fish, chicken, stuffing, pasta, meatballs, salad, bread, and even various types of game meats. Stuffed and happy I headed home.

So as we enter 2010, I now know there's more masters races in my future.

Note

If you're wondering: Fred Zuleger III, who has run more than 2,000 races, is from Coventry, R.I. I left out that very important fact in my last column. My apologies.

Joe Wojtas is The Day's running columnist.