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Posts from the ‘Races’ Category

Kicking off See Jane Run race season

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I’ll admit to being a horrible blogger again, but for good reason. I’ve had a job application due for the full-time position on my campus and a funding application due for classroom/newsroom equipment for my students. On top of those things, I had curriculum working its way through the system.

The good news is almost all of that is coming to an end soon. I’m waiting for signatures on paperwork right now.

I ran my Valentine’s Day half marathon and did OK. It was the best performance since my daughter was born I’ve had. It’s not where I want to be, but it’s a start. The wear on my body also has me rethinking some upcoming races (specifically trying to fit a full marathon in come May, which doesn’t look probable now).

One thing I know for certain: I’ll be at the start line for the June 21 See Jane Run Half Marathon. As a race ambassador for a third year, I’m excited that this weekend the store is hosting local festivities.

I’m bummed, though, that my babysitting schedule is all out of whack this week and I’ll likely end up NOT being able to go out for a store run. (I’ve exhausted my goodwill babysitting for this week already.)

Fear not, though. You can join a great group of Janes in Northern California if you have time Saturday morning. The three See Jane Run locations – in Danville, Oakland and San Francisco – will have runs at 9 a.m. followed by an informational session about the race.

Instead, I’ve offered myself for questions from the “mom” group I belong to. Quite a few of our members are signed up to run. Some for the 5K and others for the half marathon.

We had a conference call a week ago about the race. One thing that came up was the post-race food. It looks like there will be some changes in that general area. I’ll have more on the race as I get more information and in April I’ll be giving away a free entry to the race.

So stay tune … and I promise when things at school die down, I’ll be regularly posting again.

The long road back at the San Francisco 2nd Half

I told myself after I ran the Oakland Half Marathon in 2011 that once I finished I'd have at least one thing going for me: I would never have to run my first half marathon again.

Fast forward to July 27, 2014.

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Catching up (+ the San Francisco Marathon expo)

So ... my blog had a major issue this past weekend. I spent Friday-Monday trying to get it restored. It took a call, several support tickets and a bunch of anguish on my part to bring it back. I lost one of my personally managed sites in the process. It was all sorts of sadness for me, especially because I truly thought I'd lost my daughter's birth story (even though I had backed up the database).

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An amazing day

At 8:29 a.m. I hadn't stepped up to a race start in seven months. At 8:32 a.m. I was starting off on my first 5K in more than two years.

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Want to run with a great group of Janes?

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I must admit, I’ve been doing a great deal of staring at this little face for the past three weeks. It’s about all I’ve been doing because I’m not allowed to do much of anything else as I recover from my C-section.

My “all clear” date is likely going to be May 23 if I take everything easily.

That gives me one day less than a month to get ready for my first 5K in a very long time. And I’m so glad that it’s going to be the See Jane Run Bay Area race on June 22.

I’m ready to lace back up.

I really, really miss my running shoes (which now fit me since my swelling has gone down significantly since my daughter’s birth). I’m hoping my base is sustained a least a little. It shouldn’t be hard to hard for me to get back to 3.1 miles. I’m not aiming at a PR race now. I’m just hoping to finish after having major surgery only about eight weeks before.

That said, I’m hoping one of my readers CAN make this into either a personal best 5K or 13.1 with a little help from me.

I’m giving away a race entry (either 5K or half marathon) for the See Jane Run Bay Area race on June 22. The event includes the two events, plus champagne and chocolate at the finish.

You’ll be running with a group of amazing women, many of whom will be running their first 5K or half marathon, as the See Jane Run race is a popular destination for first timers.

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All you have to do to enter is leave a required comment telling me WHY you started running and what inspired you and like See Jane Run’s race series on Facebook. There are other options, via RaffleCopter, to earn more entries as well.

The contest runs through May 17.

***CONTEST HAS ENDED***

You know you want to. It’s a fun run and there’s champagne and chocolate at the end. Plus, there’s 1980s-theme aerobics before the race and a ton of “girl power.”

I’m still working on my birth story for Cecilia’s arrival. Her original expected due date was yesterday and it was a very emotional day for me, especially since she’ll be three weeks old tomorrow instead. I didn’t realize my heart would be so torn about all that happened. I’m happy and excited that she’s here and she’s perfect, but her labor and delivery – and the subsequent time in the hospital – were incredibly hard for me.

I’m finally starting to feel like “me” again. I’m incredibly excited to get back to running and fitness by the end of the month too.

Reppin’ the East Bay at the Let’s Go 510K

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I don’t hide my love of the San Francisco Bay Area at all. After two years of living in Oakland for graduate school, I found it hard to come back to the valley after spending a summer doing an internship, after graduation, in Dallas. Everything just seemed to slow. I went from areas where there were 100 things to do each night to an area where there were limited opportunities after 8 p.m.

I’ve adjusted better in the past couple years to suburbia. A move to a neighborhood where there were more commuters than not helped. What’s also helped is having easy access to the East Bay, including my favorite haunts in Oakland and Berkeley. My husband works in Richmond every day, so if I really, really need to do something, I can meet him in the East Bay.

I’m more connected to that area than I am my own some weekends. That’s probably why I consider Bay Area runs my “home” races. I know I work in Stockton, and have since I took my first job years ago, my most the races I sign up for and run are close to home the opposite way.

I run the East Bay because I love the East Bay.

That’s why it was easy for me to decide to apply to be a race ambassador for the Let’s Go 510K on Oct. 19.

I was so excited when I got accepted to be an ambassador with a group of other fantastic runners. I was more thrilled that I got to be part of this inaugural race representing the 510 area code. The race comes from a team sponsorship with Represent Running (which also puts on the 415K and the 408K) and Brazen Racing.

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The 10K route is probably the most beautiful one I’ve ever run. It starts at the back of Golden Gate Fields, in the parking lot right along the waterfront.

My husband dropped me off early to make up some time at work, so I had about 40 minutes to enjoy the scenery.

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Yeah, my 10K location was probably so much better than other people’s that weekend. Not even kidding.

Although a mostly “flat” course, runners go on a significant uphill in the first .20 miles. But that’s it.

BUMP ON BOARD

First things first, before I continue my recap, I need to talk about the elephant on the blog: I’ve been running pregnant.

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I’m at 14 weeks now. I was at 12 weeks then. I’m still kind of in the “Is she just gaining weight or is she pregnant category?” with my work and home clothes. I’ve only had to buy a couple maternity shirts because I have a closet of clothes that once fit me when I was 200 pounds, four years ago, that I just couldn’t bear to part with.

In my running clothes, though, it’s a different story. I’ve been bumping out for about six weeks now. Spandex doesn’t do women any favors in hiding a mini baby bump.

Running pregnant has NOT been easy. I always thought I’d be one of those women who ran through her entire pregnancy. But the first trimester left me so exhausted that I did little running. The one half marathon I did took me 3:21 minutes because of fatigue and injury.

Also not easy? The morning sickness that seems to creep up on mornings when I have races. Imagine how happy I was when the 510K started at 10 a.m. and not only gave me time to sleep in, but also to pull myself together in the morning.

BACK TO THE RACE

One of the biggest selling points of the 510K is the location. It starts and ends, as mentioned before, at Golden Gate Fields. In fact, the finish is actually ON THE RACE TRACK.

The route moves along the waterfront, never crossing over the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80) and taking runners around Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley. This inaugural race had about 1,000 people sign up for it, which I learned at the volunteer shift I did the day before the run.

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That meant that there were always a good amount of people around during the run, even though I was a little slower than my fastest 10K time. I was glad too, if only because I’ve been very cautious about racing since finding out baby is on the way.

The first two miles were a little too fast for me right now: I ran a 10:00 and a 10:07. Yikes. It was already an odd warm day in the Bay Area, so I was starting to overheat a little pretty quickly. I carried my water bottle with me, which I normally don’t do in 10Ks, but figured with extra blood pumping through me I would need it, I was right.

As we made our way into the park, I started to slow and take some walk breaks. I probably should have went out at an even 11 pace and then worked my way down and pushed it at the end if I felt good. Instead those two 10-minute miles, which are pretty common for me in 10Ks, were kind of killer.

My next two miles were reflective of that: 11:46 and 11:32.

I definitely went out too fast and buy the time we were working our way back up along the scenic San Francisco Bay, my heart was beating a little too heavy and I was fading fast.

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I may look strong in the photo above, but by then I was dying. At the second water station, I chugged down two cups of water and two cups of electrolyte. I was also sipping from my bottle more frequently.

My last two miles were similar: 12:38 and 11:42.

That said, I wasn’t disappointed by my finish time. I ran a solid 1:09:17, averaging 11:11 miles.

The best part, though, was finishing along the race track. The material on the track was interesting, to say the least. The last .20 included something of a single-track finish-area as people didn’t want to carve out new tracks on the track.

I actually ran ahead of quite a few people and kind of created my own path. I don’t want to say it was hard, just weird. I’m definitely not used to running on that sort of surface.

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Represent and Brazen had a great finish-line festival after that included the typical Brazen set up of food and refreshments. And the medal was ridiculously awesome.

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It’s bigger than some of my marathon medals!

Since my husband was still at work, I stopped by the Represent Racing booth and said hi. I also sat down for a little bit and took in the scene. The race track was a vastly different environment than I’d ever finished in.

The best part was the interaction with betters.

Case in point was a man who stopped me to ask what was happening.

Him: “Did you get in free? What was happening here?”

Me: “The runners got in free. It was for a race.”

Him: “Was there betting on it? Did I miss it?”

Me: “No. There was no betting. At least not that I know of … “

Awkward. When I mentioned it to my husband, he laughed for a good while.

LASTING IMPRESSION

The Let’s Go 510K quickly became one of my favorite races this year. I was actually excited to run a 10K instead of a half marathon. I was happy for the 10 a.m. start time and more excited for the course that kept it close to the bay.

The aim of Represent Running is to showcase different parts of the Bay Area by offering races in each of the area codes. Runners can get a “Run the Bay” medal if they complete all three races in a year period.

I would be all over the challenge, because the medal is pretty sweet, but I haven’t registered for any races after the Nov. 24 Berkeley Half Marathon. I think I’ll still be running, but not racing into my mid second trimester and my third trimester.

This is a GREAT race, though. And the first year event went off so well. I haven’t seen a first-year race so organized in a very long time.

Overall, the 510K was an amazing experience. It is definitely a race I’ll sign up for next year.

Disclaimer: I was given a free race entry as part of the Let’s Go 510K ambassador program, but the thoughts and race report are my own opinions.

Today was a good day to run

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To say running has been a struggle lately might be an understatement. It’s been impossible on most days. In four weeks of scheduled races, I only made it to two. But the two I made it two were like night and day.

Two weeks ago, I ran a horrible half marathon. To make matters worse, my running buddy was having such a hard time with the race that she kept telling me to go ahead. I didn’t want to. As much as I had invested in it, I didn’t feel the need to do run away from her or go on without her. Nope. Wasn’t happening.

So Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose didn’t go well for either of us. She was trying to keep me at a slower pace, too. If she hadn’t have paced me through the first eight miles, I probably wouldn’t have finished.

Today, though, marked the inaugural Let’s Go 510K.

So many things were amazing about today. I’ll write a race recap later, and hopefully be back to regular blogging, but a couple standouts included:

  1. An excellent turnout of people: I was given the chance to volunteer thanks to my race ambassador duties at packet pick up on Friday and was told that around 1,000 people signed up to run the event. THAT’S AN AMAZING NUMBER! Especially for a first-time event.
  2. Good running conditions: The race start was at 10 a.m., which meant that I could sleep in! It was still cold and slightly windy when we started our trek from Golden Gate Fields toward the Berkeley Marina.
  3. Plentiful support: The East Bay really came out to celebrate this run. We passed members of the Oakland Raider’s Black Hole, young soccer players and avid bird watchers — all cheered loud and proud.
  4. Location, location, location: A start along the San Francisco Bay? A route that winds around Albany and Berkeley’s picturesque shoreline? A finish ON THE TRACK at Golden Gate Fields? I haven’t run an in-city 10K with that much to offer ever.

The best part, though, was that I ran decently. Not well. Not PR status. But good enough that I feel better about running again.

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I haven’t had such a “runner’s high” in quite sometime. But today, surrounded by a group of ridiculously excited first ever “five and dimers” I found a new spark in my passion for running.

Yes, something is up

But I’m not quite ready to share.

There’s a great concern among readers of this blog when I suddenly drop off the face of the world for awhile. It’s not deliberate. I promise. I’ve been busy with my students (journalism conference last weekend and a new issue this week), website work and family stuff.

There are some confessions, though:

  1. My nutrition is still in flux and I’m working through it. I say that because I have received many, many suggestions for things that are “easier” on my stomach. The problem is I still have no gallbladder, so what works for one person sometimes (usually) doesn’t work for me.
  2. The nutrition aspect has wrecked havoc on my training. My mileage will be severely cut this month, likely in the 65-70 mile range.
  3. For two weeks, I couldn’t run without feeling like I was going to throw up. TMI, I know. But it was really bad there for a minute.
  4. I’m still running the Half Moon Bay Half Marathon, but I’m pacing myself. That should translate into “I’ll likely be slow and I don’t care.” And I’m already slow-ish. So “slow” may take on a whole new meaning.
  5. I’m still signed up for multiple races this month and have every intention in running them. Slower, with more deliberate thinking and motion going into each step.
  6. The “Year of the PR” is officially over for me. I’m completely OK with that. I’ll hold my 2:16 half marathon finish very close for awhile. And my 5:12 marathon finish. (Not to mention running a 5:15 in San Francisco on a tougher course than San Luis Obispo.)
  7. I’m OK with my level of fitness devolving a little right now. I ran a six-mile taper run yesterday. Today my butt hurts in a way it hasn’t since I trained for my first half marathon. I haven’t hurt this bad after a six-mile run in forever. After tomorrow’s 13.1, I may pass out. It’s likely.
  8. My marriage is fine, my husband continues to be the most supportive man I know. He even let me drag him to Walnut Creek last weekend for packet pick-up for the Half Moon Bay Half Marathon. He stood by me as I traded in my personalized marathon bib for a half one. I think he realized how bittersweet it was for me, but both of us KNEW it was the right choice.
  9. My mental health is fine. That comes up, not surprisingly, because it would be easy for me to regress into an anxiety-ridden, panic mode. That hasn’t happened.
  10. All of this equates to nothing bad. I ran with a cranky gallbladder for two years before the damn thing was removed. I’ve had to work much harder than this. Right now, though, every step feels like a mile. I’m working through it.

Working through it means I haven’t wanted to share as much, for the first time since I started this blog. So I’ve been stepping back and prioritizing. It doesn’t mean I’m joining the mass exodus of bloggers who stopped blogging either. I’m not there yet either.

I just ask for a little patience as I put my health back together. And a little understanding when my half marathon times really start to take a hit.

Halving it for Half Moon Bay

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As of 11 a.m. today, I am officially no longer running a marathon in a week. I traded in my dark-blue bib with my name emblazoned on it for a teal replacement that signifies the switch to 13.1.

I had a moment, as I was walking in to Sports Basement in Walnut Creek, where I asked my husband if he just wanted me to try and run the marathon so we could get our money worth. We both agreed that with the stomach issues and training changes over the past couple months, it would be best to not go that route.

So I walked it, turned a corner and found my way to packet pickup. I went through pickup for the full, with my number 344 being assigned to me. I grabbed the shirt and headed around to the answers desk. The race director was cordial about everything and got me switched out really, really quick.

Part of me wants to be sad. I wanted to finish 2013 with six marathons under my belt.

Instead, I’ll be running 13.1, likely slowly, and adding another half marathon to my list.

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Speaking of that shirt, I love it. All the shirts are the same, saying “26.2 Miles of Running Heaven” so I didn’t have to switch my full marathon shirt for a half shirt. It’s a large Brooks shirt, so it’s good quality. This will be my first of two Brooks shirts in the next couple weeks. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series also has Brooks shirts. I love how durable they are.

I don’t know much about this race, but I’m already liking what I see. The Half Moon Bay International Marathon has only been around three years now. It seems to have gathered some great traction, though, with a hefty list of sponsors.

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When I first found out about it, I was excited because it sounded exactly like a Big Sur race without the need to travel a long distance and book an overnight hotel room. (It’s about an hour and 15 minute drive early in the morning from where we live.)

Big Sur, though, is a very well established race that splits its main event into two: An April marathon and a November half marathon.

I actually first ran the Big Sur Half Marathon in 2011 on suggestion from my mom. She had a friend who had run the marathon. I, without really looking into the run, decided I wanted to do the 13.1. The full marathon included way too many hills. I found out later, during my 21-miler along the coast there, that it was a tough one.

But the Big Sur Half happens in Monterey and in nearby Pacific Grove before finishing near downtown. It’s not exactly the same as running along Highway 1. That said, I love the Big Sur Half. It’s one of my favorite races. I’ve already told my husband I hope to be back to it in 2014 as I ramp up for California International Marathon next year. Schedule conflicts have prevented me from doing so many of my favorite races this year.

That said, I’m hoping I enjoy Half Moon Bay just as much. I love the feel of smaller races. And I love that more and more are popping up in coastal areas. One of my best experiences in running was at the San Luis Obispo Marathon this year. That route doesn’t run along the coast, but it is beautiful.

So as much as I’m upset that I won’t be tackling the full 26.2 next week, I have a lot of reasons to be really excited about taking on 13.1 along the California coast. I just hope my stomach and body cooperate.

A colorful 5K in San Jose

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Today my morning run was a lot more colorful than it typically is — and that’s saying a lot because I love wearing neon running clothes.

I ran my first color-type run today in San Jose with the Color Me Rad 5K. After walking around at a local festival for about three hours last night, I was thanking the race gods for a 9:40 a.m. wave start. It meant my husband and I could get on the road from our home, 60 miles away, later than a normal race. It also meant I got to sleep in some.

After an uneventful ride from Tracy to San Jose, the first major obstacle hit us: parking.

I had read reviews, and heeded the advice of the Color Me Rad website, to arrive early, especially since I was unable to attend an early packet pick up.

The problem wasn’t the organizers, though, in this case. Instead, it was the venue’s parking attendants. My husband was concerned I wouldn’t be able to get my packet, so he literally forced me out of the car as quickly as he could before driving off to pay $8 for parking.

But he literally sat in a traffic jam, only about a quarter-mile long, for 40 minutes. Why? Apparently one of the attendants kept having conversations with every driver coming in. Seriously.

My husband texted me that is was “awful” with an expletive in front of it. Yikes.

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Thankfully, inside the Santa Clara County Fairgounds, everything was moving much more smoothly for me. When I got at the venue at around 8:45 a.m., there were very few lines leading up to race-day packet pick up.

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I walked right up, picked up my bib, then got my sunglasses and race T-shirt (see above). The race T-shirt is one of the best ones I’ve received from a race and, hands down, the best from a 5K. It’s a cotton-blend shirt, but it’s also a fitted tee. And it runs true to size. When I took of my color-covered shirt today, I wore it home and then changed back into it after my shower.

After packet pick up, I had a lot of time to kill. Unfortunately I also had a lot of swag and wasn’t too sure my husband was going to make it into the venue before I started. He was still battling parking.

Two or three phone calls later and I was heading back out to where I entered the venue and waiting for him. After I handed over all my swag, I decided to go line up.

I didn’t know what time it was, but when I got over to the start, it was WAY before my expected wave start. No one checked my bib, and I was a single runner, so I figured I’d just start with the next wave.

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That scene is about 10 minutes before the wave I started with. I figured there were still more people coming in the gates, so some people were probably late. I also heard a woman outside the corral area say she was just going to start at the 10 a.m. wave because she wanted the course to be less impacted.

It all worked out.

After some fanfare that included the emcee’s microphone cutting out, we were off.

Except there was a snag nearly immediately.

No one was along the route to direct the massive group of runners out. Instead, everyone just kept following the wave before the others. The problem was, it significantly cut the 5K down. It wasn’t until other runners mentioned the error that people started turning around.

It was then a woman asked me if I was going back. I wasn’t using my Garmin or anything, but I would have missed the first color station if I had kept going. So the woman and I turned around and started running back.

Her name was Darlene. She was from San Jose. And we started running together.

For awhile, we were the ONLY ones along certain parts of the course. Then we were behind all the walkers. Toward the end we made our way up to the runners again. With the detour and the backtracking, we probably logged about four-miles today instead of the 3.1.

The color stations were split between cornstarch color being thrown at some and color being sprayed at others. The color spray didn’t get nearly as much of the runner’s clothes, but covered brighter. The course, in this specific location, kind of zigged-zagged through the fairgrounds. We crossed over ourselves numerous times before coming to the finish line.

And the finish line was confusing for me. As someone who had NEVER done a color-themed run, I threw up the “color bombs” as soon as they handed them to me near the end. Actually Darlene and I each snagged two, so I threw them both up.

Apparently I was supposed to wait until the end. Oops. Rookie mistake.

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I haven’t run a 5K in so long I forget how quickly they go by. As soon as we started, and just when my legs were really starting to come alive, we were heading in toward the finish line.

Darlene and I had kept a conversational pace throughout the run. As someone who came to run without any “crew,” it was nice to stumble upon someone who wanted to run the complete course and was willing to backtrack. I enjoyed the conversation.

Darlene said she is running the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half in a couple weeks, so I’m hoping I can catch up with here there too. It will be her first half marathon.

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That’s Darlene and I, post race. Excuse my bed-head. I didn’t exactly get myself all dressed up for the run. And thanks to the LaraBar crew for being kind enough to take our photo post-race.

Despite missteps in parking, course routes and knowing what to do with a color bomb, Color Me Rad was actually a really good time. I enjoyed seeing new runners and families spending time together on the course. The great thing about themed runs is that the events attract a diverse range of runners, but usually newer runners gravitate toward them.

The runs are good ways to get runners hooked. I’m all for more people getting in shape and living healthier lives.

It’s a bonus that the events are also a hell of a lot of fun.

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Too bad I don’t look as “colorful” as I actually was. Hours later I’m still trying to get the color off my skin. I haven’t even washed the running clothes yet. I’m soaking them in some stain remover beforehand. I purchased the white shirt for $5 at a discount store when I was scheduled to do a different color run with friends this summer that I ended up not going to.

I’d definitely recommend this run, particularly with Color Me Rad.

Not only is the swag superior to other 5Ks (shirt, sunglasses, temporary tattoos), free Larabar samples were offered, bottles of water were handed out at the midway point and, overall, the organization was good. Color Me Rad runs are also very reasonably priced, starting in some cases at $35. There are also frequent discounts codes given.

If I was on a timed course, I would have been more upset about the course mishap. But I rolled with the punches today and was glad I did.

Not only did I have a good time, I had a great conversation and run with a complete stranger who just made the experience that much better.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free race entry as a Color Me Rad Ambassador as part of my affiliation with Fit Approach’s Sweat Pink group, but the thoughts, opinions  and newbie mistakes are my own.