It was a rough race for me - I was emotional to say the least. You can't have your best race every race and I accept that. It was so great though having my friends waiting for me at the finish line and cheering me on for the last push. I ended up running my best time on this course by almost 5 minutes. This course always gets the best of me and I tend to run some of my slower 10K times on this course, so to improve by 5 minutes from last year really gave me something to smile about.
Since Pappy passed away 4 years ago over Memorial Day weekend, I have ran the Marietta Memorial Day 10K each year since and in memory of him. This is always a hard race for me emotionally, but it is what I do. A few of us were running this morning which is fun. It is great to have friends to hang out with before the race as well as cheering each other on along the way and at the finish line. Becky stopped by to hang out a bit before the race and my friends Smitha and Julia were set to rock the 5K. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30. Well, come 7:30 there was still no sign of the race starting. This has been a trend the past 2 years as well. We stood around for a while waiting for the start with not explanation of what was holding up the race from starting. Around 7:35 the wheelchair racers started and around 7:40 we took off. The 5K and 10K both take off together and run the first 1.5 miles together. Congestion was not too bad and things thinned out fairly quickly. The course is fairly flat for the 5K with some rolling hills but nothing too bad, however the 10K is rolling the whole way with some pretty tough spots. I typically run well on hills, but this race gets me every year which I think is a mental/emotional thing. It was a rough race for me - I was emotional to say the least. You can't have your best race every race and I accept that. It was so great though having my friends waiting for me at the finish line and cheering me on for the last push. I ended up running my best time on this course by almost 5 minutes. This course always gets the best of me and I tend to run some of my slower 10K times on this course, so to improve by 5 minutes from last year really gave me something to smile about. After crossing the finish line I received my finisher medal and met up with my friends. The post race area was small. The food included bottles of water and bananas and granola bars laying on a table. There were very few vendors to visit but nothing too big. It is always great to kick off a holiday running with friends. I was able to have a great time, log some miles, and honor my Pappy this morning - a total win in my book! Even though the course is a bit tough and it isn't the biggest or fanciest race, this race has become a tradition for me and one that I plan to keep doing as long as possible.
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BrandiI love to run and most importantly I love to have FUN while I run....I am the "Funner Runner" Feedspot's Top 100 Running Blogs
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