Decker 20k Course Preview

I drove the Decker course on Thursday, and I'm glad I did. They've changed it from a 12 miler to a full 20K this year, and they did it by changing the start and finish substantially from years past. The course start is quicker out of the Expo parking lot, and the course itself, for the first 10+ miles, is the same as in the past. Lots of rolling hills, very little in the way of flat spots, but no hills that are as individually nasty as the bad ones at Pervasive or Motive. I've had good races here in the past. Now, the finish is very different. You enter the Expo parking area as usual, and there's a long steady uphill right at the entrance of it. Then, it levels out and curves towards the finish area. You pass the 11 mile marker right before a 180 degree turnaround at the base of a short hill, and then have to turn away from the finish and climb that hill, while listening to the sounds of the race announcer calling out names just a couple hundred yards away. Mentally, this will be a tough spot. After climbing that short hill, we'll curve way around the perimeter parking drive, in back of the barn there, and finally climb one last nasty little rise. After that, about 12 miles in, we turn and run across a gravel path for about 50 yards, and then string around the lower parking lot, and finally turn for home and a very short home stretch run up a slight incline to a finish exactly where we started. This race will be all about proper pacing, since the course is equally challenging throughout. Going out too hard will make for a really really bad day, especially with the new finish that teases us so much with still over a mile to go.