St. Mary’s 21st Annual 5k Run 2009

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While camping at First Landing State Park on October 3 we went to nearby Fort Story for the 21st Annual running of the St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children 5k Run/Walk.

Getting goofy before the race

This was a perfect race, not too early in the morning at 9:00 AM, especially considering the short commute time from the park. Plus, one hour after the 5k start was the start of the kids 1 mile fun run!

The 5k course was flat, the weather cool and dry, and yours truly managed to run real fast, finishing in 24:46! That was fast enough to snag a third place finish for the 35-39 age group! Plus, 24:46 was a new record for me! It was awesome all the way around! I could have been even faster, but I still haven’t figured out how to drink water from a cup while running without choking. So, I spent at least 5-10 seconds stopped drinking water around the 2 mile mark. That still wouldn’t have gotten me first or second, as those guys finished 4 minutes ahead of me! I never even considered the possibility that I would place, so we didn’t hang around for the award ceremony.

I didn’t carry my camera with me for the 5k. I’ve run on Fort Story before (during the Shamrock Half Marathon), so I didn’t think about bringing it. It was a beautiful day, but the areas of the Fort that we ran wouldn’t have provided too many picture opportunities.

The 10:00 AM start for the kids race was also perfect. It meant that Christi and the kids didn’t have to get up as early as I did, though Ruby made sure they were on Fort Story shortly after I finished. Cooper and Sarah had a great time with this one, plus they got medals! I’m still floored by this, because that’s a perk you usually don’t expect from a smaller event like a 5k.

We started the kids race by doing our warm-up with an astronaut. The course was, just like the 5k, pretty flat. It had a couple of gradual hills, but nothing to really wear you out. A quick 1/4 mile loop took us back past the starting line and gave Christi a good opportunity to snap more pictures of us before heading out on the last 3/4 mile loop. The astronaut weaved around all the racers on roller skates (cheater!) and offered to take pictures of Cooper and I–turns out he’s also a photo-journalist! I left Cooper a little before the half-way point and sprinted across a short cut to catch a couple pictures of Sarah before she got into the last 1/4 mile. She was still smiling, which is always a good sign. Plus, I think she liked seeing me out of breath after sprinting to catch her! As we neared the finish line, Leanna and Ruby were there cheering us on, and I managed to get a picture of Cooper crossing the finish line. He actually crossed a couple seconds before the picture, and I think his “official” time was 10:58, Sarah’s was 9:58. This time next year, he may pass her!