My family has a history of running and racing together so it’s no surprise that we usually find a local race whenever we all get together. A 5k in a strange city? Sounds great! We found the Run, Walk, and Boom 5k several months ago when we had our trip dates set but I waited until about two weeks before the race to register my dad, my older two kids, and I. My sister also registered along with a few cousins, and my Uncle and Aunt. I did not look up previous winning times and I obviously had no idea who the competition was. I was going into this race untapered (ran 12 birthday miles the day before) and stress-free. Race day temps in Chillicothe, Ohio were in the low 60’s and it felt great compared to recent race weather in central Arkansas. Race did not start until 9 so we had plenty of time to get to the race and warm-up.
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
5ks are notorious for having fast starts and it can be so hard to reign in the pace when everyone around seems to go out sprinting. My coach had recommended a pace plan which included a pace of 5:55-6:05 for mile 1. After this I was going to shoot for 5:50-6:00 range for the last 2 miles. When the starting gun went off about 10 runners shot out in front of me, including a college-age female. I reminded myself to stay in control.
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
Photo credit @ Cathy Zangri
By the end of the first mile I had slowly passed all but two runners. By mile one and a half I passed the first man and woman putting me in first overall. This adds a little pressure because once I pass someone I really don’t want them to pass me back so I had to keep pushing the pace. I also had no clue where I was going (as I had not studied the race map at all) but fortunately there was a golf cart lead vehicle.
Photo credit @ Cathy Zangri
I don’t remember seeing any mile signs except for mile 2 but it was around mile 2.7 on my watch. I panicked wondering if the lead vehicle had led me off course and I’d somehow taken a wrong turn but I think the sign was just misplaced. I did slow down in my frustration because I thought I might have an extra half to one mile to run. The race did run long but it was better than I thought. It measured 3.3 on my watch and my cousin and uncles watch as well.
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
Splits: 5:55, 5:59, 6:09, 6:13 avg for last .30. (6:02 watch avg.)
Official Finish Time: 19:48 (1st overall)
John was a little confused by my time (he knew I was going for mid 18’s) but happy to see me finish first. After I grabbed some water I headed back to check on the kids.
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
The kids and my uncle, aunt, and cousins did well. I’m so glad we all did this one together.
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
Photo credit @ Michael Ziogas
I won a beautiful potted plant of begonias, theater tickets (both which I gave my aunt who lived there), and a $50 gift card to a local shoe store which we spent right after the race. What a nice surprise!!
Overall great local race with free race photos, and fun atmosphere. My two main recommendations would be to certify/ remeasure the course to make it a more accurate 5k distance and then offer age group awards. (The only awards were for top 3 overall.) If we ever happen to be in Chillicothe again over the weekend of the 4th I would definitely do do this race again!