Mile 1: I always struggle through mile 1 of a run. It takes a lot for me to convince myself that I don't hate running and that I actually can run for longer than 5 minutes at a time. Actually it's usually around 8 minutes that I start to struggle (as I did in this race), and it takes until about 13 before I get into a groove.

The start was absolutely packed! At first I thought maybe I'd accidently gotten in the walkers start or something b/c I was passing ppl wearing jeans and walking with small children. It wasn't a walkers side...and I don't understand why those ppl couldn't start further back. I'm glad that they're out there and all, but come on! I managed to keep a run the whole time but there was lots of crazy weaving around ppl.

Mile 2: Started feeling better. Got into a nice groove and felt pretty good. Once the 5k course split off, the road got, not surprisingly, much more clear.

Mile 3: It hit me during mile 3 that I've never actually run an entire 5k without walking, and wouldn't it be cool if I could do that today. I was starting to get tired and wanting to walk, but the Americorps volunteers that I knew out there cheering me on helped a lot. Most of the course marshals were ppl I work with, so even if I didn't know them personally I'd shout out and get lots of cheers back. I can't say enough how much they helped me keep goin.

Mile 4: I hit the 3rd mile marker at a time of 34:40, which is faster than my 5k PR (though I don't know how long that extra .1 would've taken). I decided to make sure I kept running past the 3 mile mark to get a full 5k in. I found myself feeling pretty good again though, so I kept finding little things to convince me to run a little further. The course went right by the downtown park where i did a couple of training runs, so I told myself I had to run too there, and then past there. Before I knew it I was seeing the 4 mile mark up ahead. I broke into a huge grin when I realized I'd actually run a full 4 miles.

Mile 5: At about 4.5 miles in I really started to struggle. My legs were hurting badly and I wanted to stop but I was afraid if I changed my motion at all I wouldn't be able to start running after I stopped. I basically went into autopilot and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I saw 2 of my really good friends along this mile and they both screamed their heads off for me, which was awesome and helped a lot.

Mile 6: Definite autopilot. No more calling out to ppl I knew...no more thanking volunteers, just focus on one foot in front of the other. After running 5 miles there was no way I was gonna let myself walk. At this point the 10k course merged in with the 5k, which was all walkers at this point...I focused my attention on interesting ppl in the walking crowd just to take my mind off of running. I let my legs do their thing and did what I could to not think about it.

The last .2: Came around a corner and knew I was getting close. The 5k course suddenly got wider (we were sharing the street at this point) which made the 10k course only wide enough for about 3 ppl shoulder to shoulder. Right at the 6 mile mark some idiot came over from the 5k side going super slowly, causing me to have to move over quickly and I ended up running in to someone. That someone turned out to be Brandon, a good buddy of mine from work. Crazy. We exchanged a "holy crap we're about to finish this thing" and headed into the home stretch. I saw what I thought was the finish ahead and sped up, only to realize that that was the 5k finish and our course turned a corner. Thankfully the finish was still close but I wasn't sure I could keep the pace up. Brandon started a sprint and passed me. Unwilling to let him, I sprinted to match him and we finished together. With such a huge crowd of strangers there it was great to finish with someone I knew, and we exchanged big high 5's at the end.

Absolutely nothing. I had 3 goals for this race...one I really wanted to do (finish in under 1:20), one I thought maybe I could do (finish in under 1:12), and one I thought there was no way in hell I would do (run the whole thing). I accomplished all 3 and couldn't ask for anything more. An absolutely perfect first 10k.

Walked around until my stomach calmed down and noticed I was super hungry. Went on a mission through the crowd to find the food table, which was really well hidden and pretty sparse by the time I got there. Got an incredibly stale snickers energy bar (which tasted amazing at the time though I could barely bite through it) and made my way back to the start to meet the rest of my group who was all waiting for me, since they were all either doing the 5k or doing the 10k much faster than me.


As I say at the end of all of these...clearly I'm lacking in running ability and I need to continue to run more, but this was really the perfect day.


Amazingly well organized for such a huge race. The lines weren't bad at all, plenty of porta potties, and the start was right on time. My only complaint is that I wish there could've been a seperate start for walkers.

This was the perfect race for my first 10k. Great atmosphere, lots of support from surrounding neighborhoods, and so many ppl that there was definitely no fear of being DFL!