The Shorty is back! I've been looking forward to this series for the last few weeks, with it being the only race in Marin going on this year, and having missed a couple races already this season due …

[Mark Gibson]

The Shorty is back! I've been looking forward to this series for the last few weeks, with it being the only race in Marin going on this year, and having missed a couple races already this season due to work commitments. It's great to have a local race series, and a huge thanks to Jim and Scott for all the work put in with this event.

It was good to see a lot of the Acme team, as well as some of the local High School racers using the race as a great mid-week intensity training as they come toward the end of the High School season with just two Championship races left.

After getting in a few practice laps with Greg and Mark, I lined up in the A category next to team mate Phil Mooney, who I knew was going to destroy me and everyone else, and at that point I started to remember just how damn hard this race is. It's a 6 x 1 mile short course track, on which you're pretty much full gas the whole time. It hurts.

Jim signaled the start, and off we went. By the beginning of the 1st climb I was in 3rd position behind Mooney and another racer I didn't recognize. There were a couple HS racers right behind me sheltering from the headwind. I made it up into 2nd behind Phil as we started the descent at the end of the 1st lap, and there was a group of probably 5 of us fairly close together, with San Rafael JV racer Robert Raffo right behind me. On lap 2, Mooney took off and we never saw him again! Robert was doing the smart thing and sitting in behind me out of the headwind on the climb. I knew I couldn't let him do that the entire race, and noticed on the descent I was gapping him a little and tried to shake him on laps 2 and 3, but he was able to make back up the 5 seconds or so on the climb. I tried the same thing on lap 4 and it stuck this time. The last 3 laps were just out on my own with no chance of getting anywhere near Mooney, but with a good enough gap over 3rd place that I could just maintain a good pace to hold it. I rolled in taking 2nd place about 50 seconds behind Phil, and 15 seconds ahead of Robert. Eric Hill, who I had some great races with last season including a really tight race at the Old Cabin Classic, came in 4th place.

As always, it was a really hard, super fun, race. I can't want until next week.