Saturday was the Human Race 5K. It was a really great event.
Can I just start by saying how great it is to run a race in your own town. I left at 8:25 and showed up at 8:30 for sign-in. They had a very well-staffed sign-in table to handle race sign-in and t-shirt pickup.
The t-shirts were very well done and they had plenty in every size.
After signing in, I said hi to Linda Kalanquin, the Director of CareNet and looked for my friend Tom, who is a fellow pastor in our community. Tom is a three-time marathoner and I hoped to see him at the event.
The race was scheduled to start at 9:00, so I went for a little warm-up jog just before then. I'm not much a warm-up guy, preferring usually to just warm-up as I go, but I figured that 5K was short enough to warrant a little warming up. I got back from the warm-up and they had a few preliminary remarks--thanking the supporters, a quick story from a CareNet client, and then Tom shared a little--then off to start line.
A crowd of 40 or so participants lined up and away we went. The course was 1.55 miles up the Paradise Memorial Trail and back. They had volunteers doing traffic control at the three road crossings and a manned drink station at the turn-around point.
I quickly took the lead position and most likely started out way too fast. The trail goes uphill with a 254 foot elevation gain over the first 2.5K. I was going too fast, but it felt ok. The hardest part was actually being in the lead. I am used to being able to cue my pace off of runners in front of me and it felt a little loose without that. As I made the turn I passed my nearest competitor, a young lady who was about forty feet back. I told her "you're gonna beat me." She caught me a little ways down the road. We ran together for a while, but it was clear that she had more speed and more gas in the tank, so I told her not to let the old man slow her down.
She eventually took off and grabbed her first place finish. I came in second overall and first place among the men. It was a also a PR for me at 22:59. I'm going to cherish the race, because it will probably be my only opportunity to lead the pack.
After crossing the finish line I congratulated the winner and went to grab some water at the snack tent. I decided that I would just take a case of water over to the finish line and encourage the finishers with some water.
What a fun day! Can't wait until next year's event.
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