Wildfire smoke drifting into the Seattle area almost caused the cancellation of the 2022 Rave Green Run 5K on Sunday, Sept. 11. But brief overnight rainfall helped improve conditions so that much of the haze from the day before was dissipated by Sunday morning. After the warning email of Saturday night, the organizers got back to us Sunday morning to say, “The race is on!”
Good thing, too, because running in hot, smoky weather is no fun. But the rain apparently helped not only the smoke cloud overhead but also cooled temperatures to the 70s. So, the 3.1-mile run in and around the Seattle Sounders’ Starfire training complex in Tukwila was pleasant, if not well-attended. Only 197 people completed the event, sponsored by the Sounders’ fundraising arm, the RAVE Foundation. The Sounders’ band serenaded runners as they crossed the finish line.
The Covid pandemic that is gradually easing is still affecting race turnouts areawide. But I’m also wondering if the Sounders’ mediocre season in Major League Soccer so far also had an impact Sunday.
This was my third Rave Green Run, the first of which was the inaugural 9K race in Kirkland in 2015. I also ran it in 2018 when it moved to Tukwila, with the starting line on the east side of the Southcenter Mall. In order to start and finish at Southcenter, and enable the jaunt through the Starfire complex, the race then was 3.3 miles (or 5.4 kilometers).
Sunday’s race shifted the start and finish lines a few blocks east to Christensen Road for a 3.11-mile course that made more sense. The course also was largely flat, though it switched surfaces from trail to street to sidewalk many times and included a few stretches of bumpy grass.
Most significant for me, it was my 248th road race since 2001, as I get closer to 250.
I finished 127th out of 197 participants in 42:37 (13:43 per mile) — my second-best 5K time out of seven races at that distance in 2022. The full results are here. Yes, that is more than 18 minutes slower than my PR of 24:32 in 2005, but that is what age and ankle problems have done to my speed and stride. But after two ankle surgeries, I was happy to complete another race without any foot pain. Thanks for reading.
Monte's running commentary 