It was a glorious Saturday morning in Baltimore Maryland. I had not participated in an organized running event in over 15 years ( maybe even longer ) and there I was standing shoulder to shoulder with two of my kids – the tallest kids. We were in position for the big start just moments away and discussing strategy. Mike was going to try to keep up with Matt, Matt was going to run a steady race as he has been out of the race ciruit himself for over a year, and I was, well, I was going to finish the race. Putting into consideration my lack of a rigorous training schedule I figured I could at least finish it in an hour ( walking time of 20 minute miles ).
So, my boys said to me “Mom, just don’t walk”. That was the goal they set out for me. Matt thought I could do it in 35 minutes – Mike gave me 40 minutes. And then we heard the start gun and the race had begun. That was the last I was to see of the boys until after the race.
There was a cool breeze and the sun was up but the course ran through the downtown area and so the course consisted of shadey areas mixed in with sunny spots – it was perfect. I started out at my regular jog pace and decided I would just run at my own pace and not let the excitement of the crowd get me too burned out too fast.
At the beginning there were lots of people passing me but by mile 1.5 I started passing a few folks and that gave me a boost of energy. Then around mile 2, I started to feel like I was getting warmed up for this thing and I could really jog at a decent pace. I was feeling pretty good coming into the homestretch until I realized I was getting beat by a little old 90 year old man jogging next to me. Holy Moly, surely I could beat this guy to the finish line. So, I put my head down and said to myself over and over “finish strong, finis strong”. And I was past him. Ha. I knew I could do it. The finish line was almost in site. Then suddenly from almost out of nowhere, here came that little old dude flying by me.
So, I was smoked by the 90 year old but I still finished with my best time of 38 minutes.
The race was really well organized and the finish area was filled with volunteers, water, oranges, bananas and other assorted treats. There was also a celebration village with live music, food, refreshments and some vendor booths. There was also a booth where we could go and get our official times printed off on a sticker that we stuck to our race bibs. It was easy to meet up with the boys and then even more fun to have Cousin Monty there to cheer us on at the finish line. We met up with Monty, walked around the party and checked things out and then left.
It was a great day and my kudos go off to the Baltimore Running Festival. It was a fabulously organized event that included a family fun run, a 5k, a 12 mile and a marathon. It was sponsored by underarmor and the race T-shirts are all time one of the best shirts from any race I have ever run.
Check out the website. If you like to run, or just are interested in visiting Baltimore, it is a great event: Running Festival