Of course any time there is a race challenge involved I just can't pass it up, so I ran the Double G Challenge (Barb's 5K on Saturday and JG 13.1 on Sunday). The weather forecast was less than ideal for the weekend. A cold and drizzly morning on Saturday for the 5K and a similar forecast on Sunday for the half marathon. Being optimistic, I laid out my flat runner for the half in hopes that the forecast was wrong and that we would have warmer and drier conditions come morning.
Jennifer and I met up around 7am which gave us an hour to eat, walk to the start line, use the portos and gearcheck our jackets for post-race. It was pretty perfect timing as we didn't have much time to just 'wait around' which is always good, but we still had time to meet up with friends and snap a few pictures in our "poncho chic" attire.
When I got into my wave I found my friend Kelley (from California) who was one of the pacers. Kelley asked if I was running with their group today and I just basically giggled and said "that's cute." My body and legs are toast from the past few weeks of racing, weekends full of traveling, and the stomach virus last week. I had no expectations for myself today and I decided that I would stay with them as long as I could and would likely fall off a few miles in.
Just as the National Anthem finished and the the first wave was about to start, the rain stopped! Now, can it hold off the rest of the race?
The post race area was small in terms of vendors, but it was very spacious so you had room to gather with friends and family and not feel like you were in people's way. It was a little on the cooler side and I had to get those extra 4 miles in, so I bailed out pretty quickly after finishing.
I am definitely a huge fan of the Jeff Galloway 13.1 weekend - both Barb's 5K and JG 13.1. Both races were well organized, featured great courses, offered great support and were amazing experiences. No matter if you are a competitive runner, someone looking to complete your first 5K or half marathon, or a back of the pack runner or walker, these races cater to all levels of runners. If you are up to it, I highly recommend taking part in both races and completing the Double G Challenge to be able to experience both races. As a bonus, you get an extra medal and this year we received a Double G tumbler.
Thanks to the Galloway's for putting on such an awesome race weekend! It was a blast for sure and definitely one that I hope to run again in 2019!