Quest Race Report

With Rita and Alec in Canada, I went with Todd and Kenna to Hurricane for a mini-vacation. The purpose of the trip was for me to run the Days of Camelot Quest Race 10K and for Todd and Kenna to skip school and have fun in the pool.

On Friday morning we dropped off the kids' homework at school and then went to IHOP for breakfast. We then drove to the Days Inn in Hurricane, UT. We went swimming in the hotel pool, then went to Pizza Factory for dinner. After dinner we watched the NBA game in our room.

The next morning the kids stayed in the hotel room while I went to the race. (I ran with my phone in my pocket in case they needed me.) The Quest Race is a small sub-event that is part of the Days of Camelot, which is itself a small event. It was the first year for the race and there were only 26 of us that did the 10K. The race consists of two laps over a hilly cross-country course that circles the Washington County Fairgrounds.

I have been working out multiple times per week the past few months, but I have only run about five times this year. My last run was the Ogden Half Marathon a week ago. My target was a nine-minute mile pace, which is a time of 55:48. These are my splits:

Mile 1 - 8:42 - I started out a bit fast, but settled into a good pace.
Mile 2 - 9:00 - This mile was downhill. I stayed on pace.
Mile 3 - 9:11 - This mile is uphill back to the starting line.
Mile 4 - 9:11 - I started getting hot. This stretch was much slower this second lap.
Mile 5 - 8:53 - Downhill again. I tried to do this mile faster. When I checked my splits here I concluded that I wouldn't reach my goal.
Mile 6 - 9:02 - Back uphill. I was so out-of-breath that I was surprised that I was within reach of my goal.
Mile 6.2 - 1:23 (6:55 pace) - Sprint to the finish as the course levels out. I made my goal!
Total: 55:22
Average pace: 8:56

When I picked up my time card I noticed I was 2nd place in my division. It wasn't until later that I learned that there were only two of us in the division. But, I still got to walk up to the podium during the awards ceremony and accept my framed certificate!


I feel great about my performance. I don't enjoy running as I much as other exercises, but I do enjoy the races. My next scheduled race is the Provo Triathlon on June 20.

After the race, I took the kids swimming again. Then I talked them into attending the Days of Camelot Faire [sic]. The event catered to kids, and Todd and Kenna participated in the Dragon Maze and in the archery practice. The highlight of the event was the professional jousting. They had horses and armor and everything. The lances were made of oak and made a loud breaking sound as they shattered against the jousters' armor.

After the Faire we went to Dairy Queen for lunch and then drove back to Layton. Todd and Kenna were tons of fun and thanked me multiple times for taking them on the trip.