Friday July 4th I ran in one of the local 5K races to celebrate the 4th of July holiday. It took a while for my friends and I to decide on which race we were going to do because there was also a 5 miler race (reduced to 4 miles due to construction) that we were contemplating. In the end we decided on the 5K.
Once again, I had friends and co-workers joining in on the fun! I arrived at the race around 7:15-7:30 am, and text my friends to let them know I had arrived and that I was in my car. It was a beautiful day, but it was still cool out, so I met Nita and we came back to sit in my car which was in the sun. Shortly thereafter, our friend Mel met us, and we all stood in the parking lot in the sun to stay warm. While standing there my friend Melissa called to let me know she was on her way, and so I directed her to parking near where I was with my friends. She had brought her son Dominic (who is too cute for words) and one of our coworkers was going to watch him while Melissa ran the race. We got our bibs pinned on, and made our way to the starting line. Poor little Dominic was NOT happy with his mom leaving him for the race! :(
On the way to the starting line we ran into 2 more of my coworkers, Olivia and Linda. The race had an 8:00 am start time, and by this point the weather was perfect for running. Melissa and I stayed toward the back of the pack, and I told her I would stay with her for the race. I had my watch set for a 1 minute run 2 minute walk intervals. We all hung out at chatted for a few more minutes before they set us free. I told my friends I would meet up with them after, and wished them good luck.
(Love running with my besties! Me, Nita & Mel)
We were off, and literally right before the starting line a girl had been tripped and she was on the ground holding her ankle. What a bummer! She had people helping her, so I was not going to stop and trip up other people in doing so. Melissa and I started our intervals and were doing great! About a half mile into the race another girl was down on the side of the road (again, people helping her so Melissa and continued on). We made it to mile 1 and my watch beeped 12:19. Not bad, especially when Melissa is new to running!
Just ahead was a water stop so we slowed to get water. I think here we walked 3 minutes as it was already into our run interval. We weaved through the neighborhoods and commented on the beautiful homes in the area. Some of them looking like small castles or like they belonged on a movie set. Before we knew it we were at mile 2, again my watch beeped, 13:13. A little slower, but we also walked a few intervals in a row. We turned right to weave back into the neighborhood, and came up to another water stop, so Melissa and I each grabbed a glass of water and strolled for a while.
Melissa and I were talking about work when all of a sudden I heard something come up from behind us. We turned to look, and there was a car! Um... Isn't this a closed course?! Luckily we were coming up on an intersection and a police officer walked up to the vehicle and asked the person where they were trying to go, and directed them off the course. The best part was that Melissa and I weren't even last, there were plenty of people still behind us during the race.
We turned the corner and I saw the finish line ahead, so naturally I kicked it up a notch to get to the finish. As I was coming up to the parking lot where we had parked I heard my coworker yell my name, I looked to the sidewalk and saw Martha holding Dominic. I smiled, waved and kept going. I crossed the finish line, stopped my watch, and made my way to the end of the chute for a drink. As I walked to the end, one of the volunteers handed me a paper cup. Assuming it was water, I took a sip, and realized it was sweet flavored and fizzy. I looked into the cup and noticed a pink fizzy drink, almost like emergen-C. I took a few more sips, and decided it was not worth it and went for a bottle of water instead. By this time Melissa had finished, and we were slowly meeting up with our friends to see how they did.
We all met in the yard in front of the school where the race started, and there were some post-race snacks, so I enjoyed a piece of watermelon. We all stayed around and chatted for a while before slowly dispersing. Nita and I mentioned that we were going to go get breakfast. On the way to my car, Nita ran into someone she knew, so I went up to look at my "official" finisher time. Naturally, my watch had a better time because their "official times" were gun start, not chip start.
A few moments later Linda came up to me and told me she had run the race in roughly 30 minutes! She then went on the explain that her bib was assigned to a 15 year old boy, so she didn't get credit for the race. When she went to the race relations tent to tell the woman of the mistake, the woman basically brushed her off like it was no big deal, and that it didn't matter. The woman wrote down Linda's finishing time on the bib, and then started to walk off with it. Linda then asked for her bib back because she liked to hang on to them. The woman snarkly replied, "Oh. Well, I never keep my bibs or accept the medals or awards when I do races." I could not believe how rude the woman was to Linda! I, like Linda, like to keep my bibs, so I can look back and see what progress I've made from where I started.
Nita and I made our way to my car and headed to our breakfast spot. We walked in the door and who do we see? Linda and her husband! Linda had heard Nita and I talking about getting breakfast, and they thought it was a great idea. We all sat together outside on the patio and enjoyed a nice breakfast and talked about the race, and talked about how disgusted we were at how the woman acted when Linda went up to talk to her. We also talked about our plans for the evening and for the rest of the weekend.
All in all, the race was fun! The weather was perfect, and it was in an area of the city that I had not run before, so it was great to see some different scenery. I was not pleased with how the woman reacted when Linda went to talk to her about the bib mistake, but a majority of the volunteers I encountered during the race were very pleasant and supportive!
QOTD: Did you run a race to celebrate the 4th of July? Have you ever encountered some not so pleasant race volunteers?
We turned the corner and I saw the finish line ahead, so naturally I kicked it up a notch to get to the finish. As I was coming up to the parking lot where we had parked I heard my coworker yell my name, I looked to the sidewalk and saw Martha holding Dominic. I smiled, waved and kept going. I crossed the finish line, stopped my watch, and made my way to the end of the chute for a drink. As I walked to the end, one of the volunteers handed me a paper cup. Assuming it was water, I took a sip, and realized it was sweet flavored and fizzy. I looked into the cup and noticed a pink fizzy drink, almost like emergen-C. I took a few more sips, and decided it was not worth it and went for a bottle of water instead. By this time Melissa had finished, and we were slowly meeting up with our friends to see how they did.
(Hanging out with friends and co-workers after the race!)
We all met in the yard in front of the school where the race started, and there were some post-race snacks, so I enjoyed a piece of watermelon. We all stayed around and chatted for a while before slowly dispersing. Nita and I mentioned that we were going to go get breakfast. On the way to my car, Nita ran into someone she knew, so I went up to look at my "official" finisher time. Naturally, my watch had a better time because their "official times" were gun start, not chip start.
A few moments later Linda came up to me and told me she had run the race in roughly 30 minutes! She then went on the explain that her bib was assigned to a 15 year old boy, so she didn't get credit for the race. When she went to the race relations tent to tell the woman of the mistake, the woman basically brushed her off like it was no big deal, and that it didn't matter. The woman wrote down Linda's finishing time on the bib, and then started to walk off with it. Linda then asked for her bib back because she liked to hang on to them. The woman snarkly replied, "Oh. Well, I never keep my bibs or accept the medals or awards when I do races." I could not believe how rude the woman was to Linda! I, like Linda, like to keep my bibs, so I can look back and see what progress I've made from where I started.
Nita and I made our way to my car and headed to our breakfast spot. We walked in the door and who do we see? Linda and her husband! Linda had heard Nita and I talking about getting breakfast, and they thought it was a great idea. We all sat together outside on the patio and enjoyed a nice breakfast and talked about the race, and talked about how disgusted we were at how the woman acted when Linda went up to talk to her. We also talked about our plans for the evening and for the rest of the weekend.
All in all, the race was fun! The weather was perfect, and it was in an area of the city that I had not run before, so it was great to see some different scenery. I was not pleased with how the woman reacted when Linda went to talk to her about the bib mistake, but a majority of the volunteers I encountered during the race were very pleasant and supportive!
QOTD: Did you run a race to celebrate the 4th of July? Have you ever encountered some not so pleasant race volunteers?
Great recap - I was thinking about running that 5k but decided against it. Then, when I saw the super cool T-shirts, I was had serious regret!!! Thanks for posting your experience. Maybe I'll do that one next year...
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