OHIO STATE FOUR-MILER A WELCOME RETURN TO RUNNING AFTER POST-MARATHON BREAK

Buckeye pride ran wild at the inaugural, sold-out Ohio State Four-Miler on November 10.

More than 9,400 runners - including several former Buckeye football and basketball players - started outside Ohio Stadium with a goal to "Finish On The 50" on a blustery Sunday morning. I finished just behind linebacker great Bobby Carpenter.

The course wound throughout The Ohio State University campus and never felt crowded despite the narrowness of some of the streets and the high number of participants.

The touchdown came when entering the stadium, running down the field and turning to the finish for a view of each runner on the giant South Stands scoreboard screen.

The Ohio Stadium medal will be hard to
top, especially for the scores of running
Buckeyes in the inaugural edition of
the Ohio State Four-Miler race.

Only my second run since the October 20 Columbus Marathon, it was an invigorating jaunt and a certain tradition in the making for an OSU alum like myself.

The 10 a.m. start made for a more leisurely morning than most race days and the single water stop around the halfway mark ran smoothly for all.

Given the inclusiveness of the distance and the Buckeye ties, look for M3S Sports to grow this to 15,000 or more participants in the very near future.

My Ohio State Four-Miler Running Statistics:

0.43 Mile Warm-up in 4:27
Mile 1: 8:16
Mile 2: 8:42
Mile 3: 9:07
Mile 4: 8:44
Total/Average Mile Pace: 34:51/8:43 per mile
1849/9409 Overall Place
1209/3832 Men's Division
134/655 50 & Over Men's Age Group

*My Ohio State Four-Miler Race Day Soundtrack:

1. We're All Gonna Die Someday by Kasey Chambers from The Captain
2. Super 8 by Jason Isbell from Southeastern
3. Carl Perkins' Cadillac by Drive-By Truckers from The Dirty South
4. Box Full Of Letters by Wilco from A.M.
5. Silver Threads And Golden Needles by Linda Ronstadt from The Best Of Linda Ronstadt -The Capitol Years Disc I
6. Lungs by Lyle Lovett from Step Inside This House Disc I
7. Flyin' Shoes by Lyle Lovett from Step Inside This House Disc II
8. Marry Me by Drive-By Truckers from Decoration Day
9. Girl Of The North Country by Johnny Cash with Joni Mitchell from The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-1971
10. Jagged by Old 97's from Fight Songs

*Pulled from 2013 Columbus Marathon Soundtrack on iPod shuffle.