I Won a Whole Race! (Chain Reaction 5k Recap)

This past weekend was the Chain Reaction 5k. If you read My Preview, you know I had some concerns going in about the course. Welp, my concerns were justified. But I’ll get to that.

First off, let me say that I won the Whole.Stinkin.Race! Like, as in, nobody was in front of me. I was all alone at the finish.

Look at that plaque! I guess I should brush my teeth more. Badumpump.

Yup, that’s right…according to that plaque, I am an overall male. But you probably already knew that.

Anyway, here’s what had happened. My run bud Marsha was also running the race, so she picked me up on the way (not literally, she’s too tiny to hold me up).

Before the race. As you can see by my finger, I correctly predicted my finish. Marsha was one off.

This was a very small race. Around 50 people. I told you it was small.

When the gun sounded I settled in with the lead group – mostly teenagers. After the first lap, it was down to me and one of the teens. I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint at the finish where his youthful energy would work against me, so I made my move when we came to an uphill with 1/2 a mile to go. It worked, he fell behind and I was free to cruise on home!

My finish time: 13:54!!!!!!!!

Rockin a 4:28 per mile pace.

Amazing time, right? I bet you didn’t know I was that fast. Neither did I. But slow your roll, hombre. The course was about A MILE SHORT!!!

So yes, my concerns before the race over the course map were spot on. I spoke with the timing guy and he said the volunteers who marked the course missed a whole section that we were supposed to run.

We only ran 2/3 of this course.

That said, everyone ran the same distance. So in that aspect, it was a fair race.

It felt good, but strange to finish 1st Overall. I don’t think that’s happened since high school track.

Me in high school.

Anykitandkaboodle, at the awards ceremony, they called my name to come get the plaque.

Listening intently as the MC tells me how great I am.

And here’s some more good news…Marsha was also called up as the 1st Female Finisher!!!!! Very cool!!

1st Overall Female & Male plaques selfie.

And the best part, this race gives 100% of the proceeds to a charity that’s a very passionate cause for the race directors. You can read about it HERE.

Final picture of the plaques, I promise.

So all in all, it was a successful race. We had a good time and they raised some funds for charity. Booyah!

How bout you? Prefer small or big races? Ever won a race? Do you have a race strategy you deploy against teenagers?

-Scott

5k Recap – Disney Dopey Challenge Day 1

Day 1 of 4 of the inaugural Dopey Challenge.  This was the 5k Family Fun Run.  It was chilly, but humid.  I was there with my mom and sis.  It was early.  The 2 am alarm clock did not allow for much sleep – especially since I kept tossing and turning afraid we’d miss the alarm.  I also couldn’t shut my mind off while struggling to figure out which outfit to wear for this race (a manly problem, I know).

Sis, mom, me. Before the race.

My goal for the first 3 races was to finish with a PW (personal worst).  I wanted to save my legs for the finale of 26.2 miles in just a few days.  To remind myself to take it easy, I had brought a few outfits to wear.  You can’t take a race too seriously if you’re wearing something silly.  I decided on an old Goofy hat that I own, along with giant Disney cartoon gloves.  And of course, I had to represent my Ohio Bobcats!

The theme of the race was Pluto, but Goofy’s a dog too…isn’t he?

I also carried a GoPro video camera to capture some of the highlights.  If you have a couple minutes, and don’t mind Blair Witch style cinematography, then you can watch the video here:

And while I wanted to get a PW, I still wanted to RUN all 4 races.  I figured part of the Challenge is to actually run, and not walk.  Save for a few photo ops.  Not that I have anything against walk/runners, but for me personally, I wanted to complete what I took to be part of the challenge – running the races.

Yes, I started and finished the race before the sun came up.

The 5k started in the Epcot parking lot, and finished there too.  Basically the course took us on a lap of the park.

The warm-up runs.

I was a tad disappointed with the lack of characters out.  They’re were a few – but the line to get a pic with Dopey was insane!!!  Luckily I got to meet up with him later on (stay tuned for that pic)!

Judging from the photos, I ran the whole race with my arms in the air…like I don’t have a care.

I was also a tad disappointed that they didn’t have all the Disney flair going on – Like lighting up the giant torches.  This was done for a later race, however.

At the finish, next to a lady with a glorious lion mane of hair!

I was lucky to start in Corral A.  From the peeps I talked to who were in the later corrals (through E), it took a long time before they got started.  In fact, I talked to some who said people were finishing the race before they even started!  Apparently the gap between corral starts were kind of lengthy.

Bird’s eye view of the finish. Hands still in the air.

In the end, I reached my goal of getting a PW by about 10 minutes – 35:26.  Considering my last two 5k’s I finished right at 21:50, I’d say this result is a good job of taking it easy!!!

All smiles at the finish photo line!

Race 1 done, 3 more to come!  3.1 miles over, 45.5 to go!  And a fun finisher’s medallion to boot!

Medal 1/6 gotten!

This race was over quick.  Like I said, it was still dark out at the finish.  And it was good to get the race jitters out of the way.  It was weird to line up for a race that I wasn’t “racing”, but like I said – I had a plan and stuck to it!

So there you go, Dopey Challenge Race 1 Recap!  Next up will be the race 2 recap – the inaugural Minnie Mouse 10k!  If you missed my recap of the Expo, you can read it HERE.

How bout you?  Ever ran a race that you didn’t “race”?  What do you think of the Disney 5k?  Holla at me!