Huntington Health Revolution 5k

2014-05-03 Huntington Health Revolution 5k

(I am behind the stroller – you can laugh later)

The race had an 8:00 start time. We were able to arrive at 7:15 and have more than enough time to amble around Pullman Square. The race was a little disorganized in that people did not know where to register or where the starting line would be. There were no volunteers in the area of Pullman Square to direct the stragglers on where to go. I had followed the instructions on the confirmation email and had no issues (Mander and I registered the evening before because both of us prefer to sleep those extra precious minutes on race morning instead of standing in line for bibs). Knowing the location of the starting line was a little confusing, but after a few minutes was easily sorted out. It felt as if they might have been short-handed on volunteers.

It felt a little chilly at the start of the day so walking around pre-race kind of chilled my bones. I was a little cranky (for no real reason) and told Amanda I would be an angry runner for the event. There was a pushy woman with a stroller who was determined to step backwards without looking and continually nudge into me, positioning herself and her stroller where she wanted (the very first person at the very front of the line) with no regard to my positioning or where I wanted to be. I wanted to feel happy for her that she was serious about her health post-pregnancy. However, when she kept invading my space (and then looking at me as if it were inconvenient of me to be an obstacle in her path), I really wanted to do a Three Stooges smack to the back of her head and tell her I was running with my kid too and to bugger off. Fortunately my kid is old enough that I don’t need to push her in a cart (though I am sure she would have enjoyed that thoroughly). A few people away was a gentleman with a child about mid-thigh age. Now, to the credit of Ms. Stroller and Mr. Toddler – they both ran a great race with their children in tow (both on wheels and on little legs). However, shouldn’t someone be concerned for the safety of other runners who now had obstacles below their line of vision? I saw a runner (looking ahead, not down) almost trip over the child at the start. Luckily, they did not fall or step completely on the child. Maybe I am being obnoxious in my point of view but I would think (for the safety of all involved), that strollers and little peeps would start in their own designated area so as to avoid injury to themselves or others. Ok, I am finished whining on that one…

The race was one long rectangle starting at 9th Street and 3rd Ave, taking a left on 7th, running until the Marshall University Stadium, taking a left on 20th street and then a final left back onto 3rd Ave. The thing that gave me a little umph at the end of the race was coming up over the rise (at the Veterans Memorial Blvd/3rd Ave split) and being able to see the blue arch of the finish line. Blue was my favorite color on that chilly Saturday morning and was my motivation to push a little harder. Because of that extra push, I had a PR of 35:26 (shaving over four minutes off my last race time). Because I never expected to place in my AG Division (45-49 F), Mander and I left the race once we finished and headed to NY Bagels for our post-race routine of everything bagels with egg and bacon. As we were heading to Dad’s for a visit, we pulled through McDonald’s for a coffee fix. I thought I would check the results to confirm our finish times. That was when I figured out that I had placed second in my AG Division. A woman named Wendy placed ahead of me, running seven and a half minute miles. Someone would have to dangle a warm Krispie Kreme in front of me to get me to run that fast… Congrats to her, I am impressed. Now my dilemma, we left before I could retrieve my award. I believe it was a trophy (I wish it had been a medal – there is something in me that remembers watching the Olympics as a kid and envying the people on the podium with their shiny medals hanging from around their necks). So, Mander is tasked with the job of picking up my award this week.

All-in-all a good race with a finishing time to be proud of. Below are some pictures and stats.

Ciao!