Warm up: Nope it never did… 36 degrees (feels like 28) with 93% chance of rain.

The week of the Extinction Run I bet I checked the weather three times a day while thinking to myself this is going to be ugly. But in true F3 CSAUP fashion we had 33 HIM, M’s and 2.0’s toe the line for the inaugural F3 Extinction Run benefiting Holy Angels.

For those of you that may not have heard, it went something like this. One mile run against the clock; one mile at a time. Each loop begins and ends at Primal Brewery. From the start the first mile must be completed within the 13-minute time limit. The second mile cannot be started until the siren sounds at the 13-minute mark. Second mile pace and each mile following will be reduced by 15 seconds. Mile two must be completed within 12:45 time limit, mile three within 12:30 and so on. Runner must meet the time limit to proceed to the next mile.
The siren sounded the start of the first lap as the Cheer Dinosaur and DJ Huckleberry were hyping the crowd. Thirty-three runners sped through the course and returned to the line to watch the timer count down the first lap. A quick reset of the timer and we were off for lap number two. A couple of miles in we lost a few runners to the timer. Next the weather started to flex its muscle. Intermittent rain, variable winds, and a temperature that refused to rise. Around the five-mile mark we had a few more runners pull into the pits. This may have had something to do with the fact that the brewery had opened early for us. Time for a breakfast beer! As the miles clicked away some runners added an extra layer, a hat or dry gloves while others were running without these items, including two 2.0s running without shirts. Ten miles in and the field was still running strong. We passed the half marathon point and still had a sizeable field running against the clock and the elements. Mile fourteen took off at a 9:45 pace and our last two 2.0s bowed out. They had plenty left in the tank but their running coach told them to pump the brakes at this point.
Miles fifteen through eighteen the recovery time between laps was getting shorter but the drive and determination of the pax was in high gear. A few more had to drop due to weekend HIM time constraints. I believe these guys are already looking for a rematch…
If the weather would have been spectator friendly the crowd would have been going wild at this point as this race was getting more and more exciting with every lap. Instead, they were inside Primal Brewery getting warm, watching through the windows. With the music still pumping and the wind and rain still playing along the last two laps were left to Bono and MiniVan.
They pushed through and finished the 20th mile loop below an 8:15 pace before pulling into the pits and bringing the Inaugural F3 Extinction Run to a close. Great job by everyone! Next time I will work harder on the weather!

Here are your winners!

PAX
1st Place = Bono
2nd Place  = Hauschka
3rd Place = Purple Haze

M’s
1st Place = Fresh Prince
2nd Place = MiniVan

2.0’s
1st Place = Omaha
2nd Place  =Yo Pauly
3rd Place = Phelps

After a cheers to the runners and the crowd in the brewery and a brief medal ceremony we made not so quick work of naming M Tiger with her new F3 name MiniVan. Next up the 50/50 drawing. The 50/50 pot grew to $186 after Musicbox and Erica worked their way through the crowd making it a $93 each split for Holy Angels and the ticket holder. The winner was drawn and Medicine Woman had the lucky number, but the lucky ones turned out to be Holy Angels as Medicine Woman donated his winnings too. Now that’s a HIM.
The near final tally of the day cleared $700 for Holy Angels with a few more dollars still coming in. YHC will provide an update on the total once later this week. We hope to present the check to Holy Angels at Cherubs after The Fighting Yank on Saturday. Thanks to all of you for your donations.
And last but certainly not least, Thank You to all of our volunteers! Pilgrim, Musicbox (AKA Cheer Dino), Carrie (AKA M Pilgrim), Flintstone, Medicine Woman, Huckleberry, Roscoe, and BuckShot. With your help setup, parking, traffic control, runner safety, music and entertainment made the day a complete success! Would anyone like to volunteer to take on weather control next time?
I hope enjoyed it. Until next time!
BOS