If you live in Northern New Jersey, the Montclair 10K is an absolute must run.  I run it last year for the first time, and I was as excited today as I was last year. I remember being so thrilled to discover it; I didn't bother the look at the race route. As I had anticipated, the route channeled and sneaked through the beautiful Victorian homes, and showed of nice ambience of Montclair, NJ.

Last year, I enjoyed the run very much, and even though I started of too fast as I imprudently estimated a flat race, the snakingly friendly hills intermittently reminded me of the high demands of oxygenation that my body will have to endure to overcome them. 

Amidst all, I finished at a good pace and met my goal in less than 60 minutes. I learned to pace myself, and not to be too intimidated when a 99-year old man/woman who has been running all her life passes me.

This morning, I said to myself, "self pace and enjoy the run". At 60 degrees, well deprived of rain, and blessed with a friendly cool breeze, one couldn't ask for a better Spring-Summer weather to run. Compared to last year, this year’s race was not as packed with many runners, and in a way was advantageous to-me. I arrived early, shortly before 9am, as it took me 0.7 miles to jog to the YMCA.

The kids’ race/2mile race had started and I was childishly so excited to see the kid’s race, I enjoyed every bit of it. Seeing other parents run with their infants in strollers, and people from all age groups run the two-mile was both inspiring and entertaining.

The time set for the 36th annual Montclair10K start(930am) is very convenient for those traveling far, and allows for enough time to arrive. The race finishes early enough for one to still soak in some daylight on a Sunday. In my case, I was able to run this year 10K today, and go work afterwards. Not too shabby!

The organizers also offered same day registration at a decent price. This I believe endorses the fluidity and convenience for runners who find out about this race at last minute. 

Most importantly, this is a must run race because the proceeds goes towards a charitable cause: Montclair YMCA and the Montclair Recreation Scholarships.