2009 Laranda Nichols Memorial 5K

Charette Takes Top Honors in Guntersville

By ERIC CHARETTE, Senior Writer www.siriusultrarunner.com
May 9, 2009

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – In a last minute decision to attend, Eric Charette of Huntsville, Alabama runs away with the top honors at the 10th Annual Laranda Nichols Memorial 5k in Guntersville.

Charette outlasted 230 other runners, clocking a time of 17 minutes and 28 seconds for the 3.107 mile race. The course was certified by USA Track & Field and took runners south along Sunset Drive on the Guntersville Isthmus, and returned them back on a paved walking path winding along the shores of Guntersville Lake. On a day where the temperatures were in the mid 70's by the 8am start time with high humidity, Charette's nearest competitor was more than a minute behind.

Charette was coming off a heavy stretch of races, where over a 14 week period, he had competed 12 times, including four ultra marathons, the Boston Marathon and seven other shorter distance races. Only 7 days prior, he had finished 8th overall at Strolling Jim, which was even longer than the normal 41.2 miles, when heavy rains washed out a section of the course, causing the course to lengthen by more than a mile.

"I was still recovering from running Strolling Jim last weekend, and I had no business entering a 5k," Charette said. "I knew that the smart thing to do was to sleep in or take it easy, but at the last minute, I decided to make the short drive down to Guntersville and see what I had in my legs."

At the start of the race, Charette let a few others take the lead and run out front. "My plan was to let the others sprint out ahead, while I held back and eased into it. I really had no idea if I could run hard or not, so I was just going to take it easy and see how the race progressed." By the half mile mark, Charette pulled away from the pack and never looked back. "After I caught up with the pack, I decided to put on an early push and make the other guys work hard early. Then with any luck, I'd be able to run even through 2 miles and then ease up coming in."

Charette did just that, splitting the first mile in 5:35. He noted afterward that he was having some difficulty breathing as the humid conditions had dried his throat. "I was hoping for a small gulp of water at the turn, just to generate some saliva and make it easier to breathe." At the end of Sunset Dr, runners make one small loop up to the water treatment plant before making the turn around. "I was able to get a small splash of water which really helped."

Seeing the rest of the field for the first time, Charette was able to see how close the next runner was to him. "Even though I was still running strong, the next runner was a lot closer than I was comfortable with, so I knew I had to keep pushing," Charette later said. He split the second mile just 1 second off of the first mile, clocking 5:36. "When I got to mile two it really reinforced to me that I was running even, as planned. Hitting 11:11 through two miles was exactly where I wanted to be."

Charette slowed slightly in the final mile, as the tight winding path made it difficult to maintain an even pace. "Even the lead biker was having trouble keeping his speed," mentioned Charette, who at times would pull up even next to the Guntersville Police Officer. "I was backing off a little, preparing for a good final kick at the end."

As the course turned 90 degrees from the path back onto Sunset Drive, Charette passed the 3 mile mark at 16:57. "I was clearly off my personal record pace, but the conditions were not ideal to run much faster."

Coming down the home stretch toward the finish line, the police officer turned off and Charette picked up the pace with a strong kick, running the final 160 meters at an average pace of 4:54. "I wanted to put on a little show for the small crowd," joked Charette.

Laranda Nichols is Charette's 10th career victory, of 125 races since he began running in 2003. "I didn't come here just looking for a race to win. I wanted to support the race director and fellow teammate Dana Overton. Also, I was hoping for some new competition to run against and figured that we had good representation for the Fleet Feet Racing Team in Decatur and Huntsville, so I'd try out a new venue."

"Winning the race was very special to me, but what was really moving was what I discovered when I went back out onto the course to cool down," mentioned Charette. "I went back out and met an amazing 91 year old guy who was competing and another very nice woman who was using the aid of a walker to complete the distance. Seeing people like that out there was very moving for me and couldn't help by make me smile for the rest of the day. I hope that I can still be doing this when I am that age. It was very inspiring."

Charete has no immediate race plans for this up coming weekend, but will be competing at the Cotton Row 10k and 5k in Huntsville on Memorial Day.

Full race results were not available at the time of this article.

Eric Charette writes race reports after every race and posts them at www.siriusultrarunner.com