Race report: Positive Prevention 12k

This past weekend, I ran yet another race. The inaugural Positive Prevention 12k was held at the Biltmore Estate. (There was also a 5k option.) My friend, Carol, and I signed up about 3 weeks ago for the race, which benefited WNCAP (WNC AIDS Project).

The race started at 7:15, and we needed to allow ourselves time to get to the start, since you have to go through the gates and all (and anyone who has ever driven to the estate knows it can take a while to get through.) Lucky for us, the time changed the night before, allowing us one more hour of sleep.

So I sent everything out the night before. I think I remembered everything. My clothes, shoes, Garmin, iPod, water bottle (since this was 7.4 miles, I wanted to have my own water), and even my RoadID bracelet. I was determined to be prepared.

Sunday morning started off well. We got to the start with about 20 minutes to spare. And we quickly realized it was a fairly small race (I think the 5k may have had more runners – we had about 105 people.) We took a quick photo at the start.

The description of the course says that the first half is “one challenging hill.” My leg started giving me problems at about the half mile mark. And it was sore right through the finish line. Seeing how Carol and I hadn’t run since the previous Saturday (the Power of Pink 5k), we weren’t taking this race very seriously. It was just for fun, a good cause, and we were there to enjoy it. I remember our first mile was around 9:08. And then I got slower.



I managed to grab this photo of us running. (We stopped and pretended to run, and then continued on laughing at ourselves. It was that kind of race for us.)

The race goes through so many areas that a normal visitor wouldn’t access. And you run in front of the house.

The 12k runs through the gardens, and along the French Broad River (where we came across a lot of geese and had to stop for a photo!)


It’s a really pretty run, and once we hit the halfway mark, it really was mostly flat and downhill.

The race is difficult for spectators to really get out there and cheer you on. The volunteers were fantastic – some of the best for any race I’ve run. There were only two water stations, and I’m really glad I took my own water bottle. 

And you know that it wouldn’t be an Asheville race without an uphill at the end, right?

In the end, we finished in 1:20:34. (1 hour, 20 minutes, 34 seconds.) That was an average pace of 10:48/mile. Acceptable, for not having run at all for over a week.

If they have the race next year, I’ll consider running it again. It’s a great cause and a pretty run. I’ll train more too.