I ran this last Saturday and didn’t have time to write a post until Monday, but by then it just didn’t feel appropriate.
I ran another race today, but I wanted to cover this one first, because it’s a great race!
First, the course is terrific — a fast and flat run up and down Wantagh Ave. I haven’t recovered the loss of fitness from my bout with pneumonia a few months ago, so I knew a PR was unrealistic. Instead, I decided to run it easily with a friend.
When I ran this race two years ago, I was treated to quite a surprise when I found out I took 2nd in my age group with a subpar run. This year the surprise was winning the grand prize in the raffle! It was a bike!
To clarify, I was the first winner of the raffle which gave me the option to choose any prize. At first I felt a little funny about accepting such a prize from a charity, but I immediately realized the next winner behind me would just take it anyway. I already have a bike, but I also realized it would be pretty easy to find a good home for it if I didn’t use it. I rode the bike home and, on the way, I decided to forward it onto another charity, but it turns out a family member of mine could really use it and I think it would fit him perfectly. It’ll have a good home and a grateful owner.
So anyway, I highly recommend this 5k race. It’s a great course and they do a great job with the post-race refreshments and party. Provided I can avoid major illness, I’d like to take advantage of the course and run it fast next year.
