This is a mile race located at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. It is all downhill and very fast. This is my second year doing the race so my prior … MORE
This is a mile race located at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. It is all downhill and very fast. This is my second year doing the race so my prior review has more info. There isn’t any swag for the race but it is very cheap. You start at the Rochester Running Company Store and walk together to the top of the hill. This year production and timing was precise. It is chipped timed at the start and finish and runners left in small waves so no congestion. I was a little nervous about a downhill race since I reinjured my foot on the downhill section at Yosemite. I knew this was not going to be my fastest mile ever and to be careful on the really steep downhill in the beginning but really wanted to finish under 10 minutes. I ran the steep first section carefully. There were markers every 10th a mile which is helpful for pacing. I ran the first half mile in about exactly 5 minutes. The last half mile is a more gradual downhill which I actually ran quicker and managed to finish quite a bit under 10 minutes though still about a minute slower than last year. I was still happy with my time. The scenery is really cool in the cemetery but hard to enjoy it when you are focused on going fast. At the end there was Italian ice and water. Then back at the running store there was pizza including vegetarian option. There were also granola bars if you want a smaller food item. Overall this is a nice, fast low key race. Since it is a weekday I will likely continue to do it as long as I am in town
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One Fast Mile
This is a mile race located at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. It is all downhill and very fast. This is my second year doing the race so my prior … MORE
This is a mile race located at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. It is all downhill and very fast. This is my second year doing the race so my prior review has more info. There isn’t any swag for the race but it is very cheap. You start at the Rochester Running Company Store and walk together to the top of the hill. This year production and timing was precise. It is chipped timed at the start and finish and runners left in small waves so no congestion. I was a little nervous about a downhill race since I reinjured my foot on the downhill section at Yosemite. I knew this was not going to be my fastest mile ever and to be careful on the really steep downhill in the beginning but really wanted to finish under 10 minutes. I ran the steep first section carefully. There were markers every 10th a mile which is helpful for pacing. I ran the first half mile in about exactly 5 minutes. The last half mile is a more gradual downhill which I actually ran quicker and managed to finish quite a bit under 10 minutes though still about a minute slower than last year. I was still happy with my time. The scenery is really cool in the cemetery but hard to enjoy it when you are focused on going fast. At the end there was Italian ice and water. Then back at the running store there was pizza including vegetarian option. There were also granola bars if you want a smaller food item. Overall this is a nice, fast low key race. Since it is a weekday I will likely continue to do it as long as I am in town
All Downhill from here
This is a downhill one mile race produced by Rochester Running company that takes place in Mount Hope Cemetery on a Thursday night. Usually it takes place in June but … MORE
This is a downhill one mile race produced by Rochester Running company that takes place in Mount Hope Cemetery on a Thursday night. Usually it takes place in June but this year it was held in August. Packet pick-up along with some pre-race running tips and a warm-up was outside the Rochester Running Company store. Packet pick-up was easy and I like that it was outdoors. There is no swag but this only cost $12. I’m not sure if that is the case every year or just this year since this was only announced about a month and a half ago so may not have had time to get the swag. The running store is about 1/2 mile away from the start and we walked up together as a group. A few of the crazy people left early and did some warm up running first. The walk is obviously just about all uphill and you walk to the top of the hill in the cemetery. The Mount Hope cemetery is pretty cool and some pretty awesome people like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony are buried there but it’s kind of a creepy place for a race. There was a timing mat at the start and finish and we went in waves. There was about 100 participants and we went in self seeded waves of about 25 people. The RD had a megaphone and it was small enough that it worked well. The course is very simple with a steep about 1/4 mile straight down then you continue straight for a gradual downhill then a right turn that is about 1/2 mile gradual downhill. I put a pic of the elevation profile from my Garmin. The start is crazy fast. I went out a little too hard but the whole race is fast. The only downside is you go so fast you can’t really appreciate the surroundings and it’s kind of cool to run through so much history. There were cones marking each 10th of a mile. There was also a nice finish arch. It was not as hot as yesterday though still quite hot. I did not reach my primary goal of under 8 minutes but was happy to have reached my secondary and more reasonable goal in this weather of under 8:30. At the end there was Rita’s frozen ice which was a nice treat. There were also water bottles but they were lukewarm and not refreshing. Afterwards there was a post-race party at a nearby Italian restaurant right by the store. Again about 1/2 mile walk. You had to pay for drinks. The beer was cheap at $3 but the soda was kind of expensive at $2.50 but I wanted something cold so I got a diet coke. They also served some pizza and 3 out of 5 pizzas were vegetarian including a margherita pizza, a white pizza and a veggie pizza. There was also some delicious bruschetta. I liked they we had a reserved outside seating area. I guess there were some timing issues with the wave start and a few peoples chips were read earlier than when the runner started. Mistakes happen and the RD did stop by and ask everyone at the after party what times their watches had to see if the result matched. Mine was correct. He also sent a email promptly thanking us for running and letting us know he was fixing the results. While I’d prefer accurate timing I appreciate the email and personally trying to fix it. This is what an RD should do if there is a mistake. Overall I had a good time with this race and the timing issues didn’t affect me. To make the race a 5 start event along with fixing the timing issues I do think it would be nice if there was a swag item since it is a cool concept with the graveyard. I understand wanting to keep the costs low so maybe a shirt or swag item you can purchase additionally. I also wish it were cooler weather since this would be a very fast course if it were. It be nice to run a fall maybe Halloween addition of this though I do like the late 7pm start time so there is no stress coming from work and it may get dark too early in the fall. I will do this one again.