Before I get into my race recap, I have to mention that it’s June 7th, also known as Global Running Day! This is literally like a second Christmas for runners! It’s a day “for people around the world to celebrate the joys of running”! How will you celebrate Global Running Day?
In honor of Global Running Day, StrideBox is offering 50% off of the first box for a new regular monthly subscription with code RunningDay17!
Now onto the race recap! On Sunday, I participated in the Hope in Motion event for the 5th time. I previously did the 5K but started doing the 10K once they added it a few years ago. It’s the biggest local race in Stamford and there’s always a great turnout! This year there were 549 runners in the 5K and 133 runners in the 10K. This was also the first year I took fundraising more seriously for the race. Thanks to everyone that donated! I ended up raising $355 for the Bennett Cancer Center. I was short of my $500 goal, but there’s always next year! So far the event as a whole has raised almost $650,000!
I had 8 miles on the schedule for marathon training, so I decided to run 2 miles before the race. This worked out really well as I only live about 1.5 miles from the race start. I ended up running to the race start and then running up and down a few blocks to hit the 2 miles.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve done this race several times before. You can read my race recap from 2015 to get the overall details of the race, but for this race recap I wanted to focus on the pros and cons.
Pros
Post-Race Food – The food is always amazing after the race! They had bagels, chips, pretzels, Nature Valley bars, apples, bananas, orange slices (always appreciated after a race!), trail mix from Trader Joe’s, KIND bars from Whole Foods and drinks from Body Armor. Body Armor had TONS of drinks and they kept telling everyone to take several bottles so I did! I never tried the drinks before yesterday but they were pretty good! Walgreens was also on hand to give out drawstring backpacks containing a few items – bag chip clip, pedometer, sunscreen wipes and a mini first aid kit. Lots of awesome swag!
Finisher Medal – This was a complete surprise! In the past, the race never gave out medals for the races. This year they gave out medals for the 10K and they were super cool. Let me tell you, getting a medal when you aren’t expecting one is a pretty cool feeling!
Race Shirt – In the past the shirts have been cotton but this year they upgraded to the sweat-wicking material. It was a nice change!
Local Race – The race literally runs right by my house so my dad was able to get a few good photos of my mom and I as we ran by, lol
Cons
Street Closures – I didn’t run this race in 2016 because I did Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, but I don’t remember having any issues with street closures back in 2015. There were a few times on the course when I saw cars that should NOT have been there. I don’t know if they used less cops this year to direct traffic, but there were two spots that really should have been closed to traffic. Runners could have been hit..it actually made me quite angry to be honest.
Start Time – If closing the roads is an issue, I think the race could start earlier. Even starting a half hour earlier (at 7:30) would make a difference. Also you never really know how the weather will be in early June. Thankfully the weather yesterday was great, but on a hot or really humid day, an earlier start time would be great!
I’m linking up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Jen from Pretty Little Grub and Nicole from FitFul Focus for Wild Workout Wednesday.
Do you have a favorite local race that you run every year?
It drives me crazy when cars are allowed on a race course. I mean I understand that they need to get through but it seems so dangerous because runners aren’t expecting to see cars. Look at all that swag you got!
Definitely dangerous! It threw me for a loop, that’s for sure!
I love that you ran to the race to get your miles! And kudos to your dad. He got some great photos of you and your mom.
I figured it only made sense to run to the race and then I also didn’t have to drive and deal with traffic, lol!
How fun that this race runs right by your house and your dad could watch you all go by.That’s a lot of swag and food for a 10K race!
Right?! I was really impressed with all the swag this year 🙂
Love that your dad got pictures of you and your mom!
Yeah it was awesome and very much appreciated!
Sounds like an awesome race for a great cause with cool swag! LOVE the medal – always a fun surprise 🙂
The medal made my day – you know I run for bling, lol 🙂
I’ve had the body armour drink before and I thought it was really good! I like that races are picking that up as post-race fair! Also – today’s for Global running day – I nailed negative splits! WAHOO!
I’ve only tried one flavor but I liked it! I wish it had less sugar though 🙁
Congrats on nailing negative splits today!!
Do I have a favorite race that I run every year? 😉 Why, yes, I do…the Dam to Dam half marathon…this past weekend was my 10th time 😉 Your medal is so nice…what a great surprise!
LOL, I thought about you when I wrote that question because I know how much you love that race 🙂
Sounds like a great race despite the traffic concerns. I’m never a huge fan of partially open courses. Cars make me nervous, especially for small races.
Awesome race pics from dad!!!
Same here. I always worry about distracted drivers.
Glad you had a good race! It would be fun to have a race go by my house! The Denver Colfax races really wreaked havoc on the city because of the number of road closures but the cops were AWESOME. They were so encouraging to runners as they kept the cars waiting. 🙂
I love when the cops are out there and they encourage the runners! I always try to thank them for helping the cars off the road to keep us safe!
We have TONS of great local races here. I am so grateful that I live in such a huge running community – I swear there are events every weekend, all over town. There are some I love more than others, but I really have my pick of what to run.
Congratulations on what looks like a great race!
Thanks so much Jenn! I wish I lived in a bigger city like NYC or Atlanta where there seem to be local races every weekend, lol.
How fun that you made it a family affair with your parents! Getting the family involved in multiple ways is one of the many reasons why I love local races.
Totally agree. Whenever I can exercise with family, it’s always a good time!
Oh wow what a great event! I’m glad you were safe with those cars about.
Ye sI was very happy that were no accidents or anything!
That is so cool that you can run to the start of the race! Love all of that swag you got. I like how it is the local races that provide more treats than the big races (RnR and Disney). Love the pictures of you and your mom. Congrats!
Definitely, that’s such a benefit of local races!
I hate when they don’t close all the roads.
The road closures is one of the reasons races are different than normal runs. That stinks.
Exactly! Where there were cops we had about half of the roads, which was fine. I just didn’t like that some entrances and exits from certain places were not closed off.