Hello fellow runners from the Snohomish/Lake Stevens area! I’m tired of running by myself, and I don’t want to drive travel very far to participate in a group, so I’m trying to organize a weekly group run on the Centennial Trail. The first outing will be Thursday, April 12 at 5:00 p.m. at the Machias Trail Head. Don’t worry about being late! If you don’t have time to go home and change, bring your running clothes with you. The Machias Trail Head has a covered area where we can meet if it is raining, and rest rooms where you can change your clothes.
Calling Snohomish Area Runners!
April 2nd, 2007Walk & Roll Run
April 1st, 2007The Arlington Runner’s Club is a small but ambitious group. They put on five races each year to encourage healthy lifestyles, and raise money for local charities. Today was their first race of 2007, the “Walk & Roll Run” benefit for the Eagle Wings disAbility Ministries. Though small, the race was extremely well organized with a 5K walk/run event, a 10K run and a kids dash. There were 125 runners and walkers for the 5K, and about 30 runners for the 10K. Though small in number, the 10K group was a serious bunch, with the last runner coming in at 1:02. I’m glad we signed up for the 5K, because I wouldn’t be feeling nearly as satisfied with my finish time!
For the first 1.5 miles of the race, it seemed as though we were in the middle of the pack. What I didn’t realize was that the majority of the people in front of us were the very serious 10K runners. We stayed with the pack, and passed the 1 mile marker in 8:59. After the turn around, the group thinned out. Mr Diva stopped for a drink, but I was feeling fresh, and kept running. Eventually I got bored with following the three women in front of me, so I picked up the pace. Soon I was running by myself. There were several streets to cross, each manned by a crossing guard or law enforcement officer. Each time, I thanked them for helping grandma across the road, and the response was always about being a fast grandma. I just thought they were being polite. I was starting to tire when I headed down the last hill and into the last 100 meters. I thought I might not have much of a kick, the site of the finish line was enough to make me dig a little deeper. According to my iPod, I finished at a 7:30 pace, after 2 miles at 8:30. The iPod also thought the 5K ended 100 meters before the finish line, awarding me a 26:08 finish. My actual finish was 27:17, a new PR for a 5K race by nearly 2 minutes.
Since the race was fairly small, and my time was fairly good, I thought I had a shot at winning my age group. When the results were finally posted, I had trouble finding myself on the list, because I wasn’t looking high enough. I finished the race 13th overall, and was the 3rd woman to finish. The first woman was also in my age group. She finished with a blazing 21:58. It was an honor to be second to a runner of her ability. We snacked on hot dogs and apples, and listened to music while waiting for the award presentation. I was a little surprised when they didn’t call my name when giving out the #2 ribbon. They awarded me the #1 ribbon, instead. I guess the overall winners don’t need age group prizes, too. The ribbon was nice, if somewhat undeserved. The really big excitement came when they called Mr Diva’s name as the winner of his age group. It was his first age group win. Together, we were the fastest grandparents there!
Congratulations to Mr Diva on his big win, and to Arlington Runner’s Club for hosting such a great event!
Event: Walk & Roll 5K
Date: 3/31/2007
Place: Haller Park, Arlington WA
