This is a low key event organized by our city, Cupertino. It used to be on Easter Saturday, a date which drew families with young kids for an Easter Egg hunt. Needless to say, the event attendance suffered the pandemic hit. I was told it was still not back to pre-COVID registration levels, yet slightly better than last year. 509 names on the result sheet from SVE Timing.
After breaking my meniscus exactly a year ago, it felt great to have been able to work on rebuilding some speed in preparation of this race, at the track. After last week's workout, my goal was to break 20 minutes, with sub 19 as a big bonus.
In addition to the excitement for this race, or rather stress as I take running rather seriously, my mind and heart were filled with emotion and excitement after watching Ireland-France: what a game for Les Petits and Les Bleus! The game finished 15 minutes before the start of the race, not much time to warm-up! I got to the start just in time, literally! As I got to the front at 8:28, the speaker announced 4 minutes before the start. That was helpful to catch my breath but then, 10 seconds later, it was a 40-second warning. Then "runners take your mark" then... another 10 seconds. Then a 10-second count down. Certainly not a USATF-sanctioned event...
As usual, a few kids rushed out of the gate like it was a 60-meter dash sprint. With my own rush before the start, I didn't have my GPS watches on the right pacing screens so I just went all out as well. Passing by the house at 0.7 mile, I was still in good company.
I ran the first mile in 6:02 which was on the aggressive side, given my current fitness level. And age, I may say. It wasn't too uncomfortable but I didn't believe in me enough to hold that pace. A tall runner I didn't know, Chris Heinonen, 46, was running just behind and I was secretly hoping he was going to pass me to lead the second mile but that didn't happen. Instead, two teens, one with a Lynbrook shirt, pulled ahead while maintaining the 6-minute/mile pace. And, as opposed to 20 or 10 years ago, I had lost sight of the leaders...
My GPS watches buzzed at the exact same time at the end of second mile: 6:25, yikes! Still within my sub-20 goal but better not slow down more, I was eating the buffer... Thinking of my fellow Frenchmen's battle in Dublin gave me a kick and, pushing the pace, I managed to pull away from Chris. Agnès snapped another picture before the end of the third mile which I ran in 6:12.
I kept sprinting to the finish for a chip time of 19:02. Ahh, so close to 19 but I'll certainly take that milestone as a proof that hard work is starting to pay off. 8th overall, 2nd Master (40+) albeit far behind Jonathan Kimura who took second in a blazing 16:31.
Speaking of sub-17, I do miss these years... That was was only my 9th edition as, for several years, the event conflicted with my Boston runs (seven there so far). 16:54 in 2002, 16:50 in 2004, 16:06 in 2005, 16:33 in 2006, 16:09 in 2007 (the year I started blogging), 15:54 in 2008, 16:36 in 2010, 16:20 in 2013, 19:02 in 2025 (12 years gap including two key injuries...). Let's see what's in store for a number 10, hopefully next year, and shaving off 3 seconds!
Quick chat with a volunteer queen, Fari, who keeps our neighborhood safe and prepared for disasters.
I went back on the course to run another loop as cool-down and to net 10K today. The award ceremony started around 10:20. The weather and family spirit were so great that many age group winners were still here, to get the honors of the podium. For a nice change, it started by the 80+ category so I wasn't too far behind! ;-) With Big Bunny, and Alejandro Gonzales who, at 63, was the last of 15 to break 20 minutes today.
The metric I'm the most pleased with is my average stride of 1.38 meters. The longer it is and the faster I go, the least pounding and stress on my knee! I still need to rebuild my glutes, they are the ones screaming at that pace, more than the lungs.
Back to the title, it was humbling and cool to see so many teens among the fastest time today, hats off! The winner of this 2025 edition was Leo Silberstein, 14 years old, in 16:28! 6th and 7th place were 14 too and 10th place, only 12!!! 8 teens or under in the top 20, bright future ahead!
Look at this age distribution. This event is a family one, many parents running or walking with, or behind, their kids.
Good diversity on the gender side too.
And on the world representativity as well, based on people's names. I've lived in Cupertino for 26 years and love that diversity, from Asia to Europe and the Americas of course. Well done, Cupertino, stay healthy!
After this stint into road speed, I need to switch back to endurance and longer runs to prepare for the 50K Nationals in Wisconsin next month, then adding some serious hill training before Quicksilver 100K in May. This polyvalence is both challenging and exciting! And more complicated now that I can't log as many miles as before given my damaged meniscus.
With that, don't forget we change time tonight and see you next year, Big Bunny!
PS: the title is also a wink to my boys who sat on the Cupertino Teen Commission, 10 to 15 years ago...
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