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| Hanging out before the race |
There was a drone hovering over the race, taking pictures, and that was extremely cool. Here is a picture from the drone at the start of the race:
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| Can you see me? Photo Credit: Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon |
The Good: There was a lot of good here. The course was fabulous for a 5k. The first two miles had a lot of downhill, and there were a few slight rises in the third mile. It made for a fast run. We had the whole stadium before and after the race, so there were plenty of bathrooms. The medal was FABULOUS:
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| It's a Hall of Fame ring, and it weighs as much as a can of your favorite beverage. When my husband saw this, he told me to sign us both up for another Gold Jacket 5k. Win! |
The day started a bit chilly, but running hard is a great way to warm up! At the finish we got a high-five from Dan Marino, and that was incredible. Let me just tell you (before my husband does) that I am happy to high five Dan Marino because I loved him in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Shhh. Don't judge.
To sum up the good: drone (way cool), medal (wow!), course (fast), bathrooms (more than enough), Caveman bars (yummy), and Dan Marino (#starstruck).
The Bad: It's difficult to really identify something bad about the race. The weather was chilly at the start, but nobody can control the weather, and we had a warm place to stay. The awards were held outside the Hall of Fame, which normally would be awesome, but I started to shiver, so I had to go inside to warm up. Again, nobody can control this. I'm going to say that for an inaugural race, this was very organized.
The Ugly:
The ugly has nothing to do with the organization of the race, but with certain groups of people who participate in theme races. The slogan for this race is "Walk, Run, Jog, Compete," and I think anyone who wants to sign up for a 5k should do so.
But.
At the start, Joy and I tried to jockey into a position with the middle-of-the-pack runners. We don't like to anger the elites and really fast runners, and we don't like to dodge slower runners and walkers. There should be a middle ground, and most of the time there is a middle ground. Unfortunately, there were walkers scattered all over the starting line: front, middle, back. It was impossible to avoid them. Normally that would be ok because most walkers in a race know to start at the back of the pack and walk on the side. In fact, the race instructions include a page on runner's etiquette which spells this out. It was obvious that the runners/walkers from this race paid no attention to etiquette because as soon as we crossed the starting gate, the walkers spread themselves out from one end to another. Sometimes they held hands or linked arms. Joy and I had to go from one sidewalk to another to get around massive walls of flesh who refused to move, even when we said, "Excuse me."
I'm not going to go on about this (much), but I have to get this off my chest: My first mile was more than 30 seconds slower than my second and third miles because I had to dodge walkers or stop dead behind them. I wasn't trying to PR at this race, but I COULD HAVE, PEEPS. Anyway, I am preaching to the choir here. If you are reading this blog, you wouldn't have started at the head of the line and then linked arms to block every other runner. I don't know what to do about this because obviously the ugly is my problem. I need to relax when I'm running a theme race, so I guess I am the ugly.
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| I may be "The Ugly," but I look pretty good with my medal here. |
My husband and I are wondering if we can get a trip out of town in. . .and I'm hoping to get the kids trained to run/walk a 5k. Of course we will run/walk from the back and the side!
I want you to join me, Peeps, so thanks to Jim Chaney, race director, I am giving away an entry to a Gold Jacket 5k. If you have already purchased your entry, I can't reimburse you; this is only good for one person, one 5k. Enter the Rafflecopter and follow the directions to win.
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