Run Hard 5K Recap

I know, I know.

 

Another 5K?!

 

Yes, another 5K. Mostly because this is the best time of the year to run: it's cool outside, there are plenty of races to choose from each week, and it's the only time of the year that we're not busy traveling {I'm looking at you, tax season}.

 

There were two guest appearances this weekend though to make this recap a little more fun: my mom & my newest sister-in-law, Jen!

 

How I talked them into waking up and getting to downtown Columbia at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, I'll never know. But it does mean that I have some sweet running pictures at the finish line this time!

The race, the Columbia Run Hard Race Series, this weekend also had a marathon, half marathon, and a 1K kids run. The half and full marathons started at 7:30 so I was able to watch the beginning of their race before the 5K started at 8am. Here's the crazy thing about one of the runners in the full marathon: he was running is 85th consecutive marathon that day. Not like 85th weekend in a row of running a marathon. 85th DAY IN A ROW of running 26.2 miles.

Insane.

Anyway, on to the less crazy portion of the day: the 5K!

 

Mile 1

8:57/mile

I knew going into this race that the entire first mile was either flat or a free fall downhill {reverse of the insane Blossom Street Hill from the old Governor's Cup 8K race}. The race started out on Sumter Street down near the Horseshoe and the Long Street Theatre. From there, you ran onto Greene Street and onto Main Street before turning left onto Blossom Street.

Free. Fall.

I could run down Blossom Street everyday! We hit the bottom of the hill, ran along a flat portion for a second, and right before we got into 5 Points, we finished the first mile and took a left on Laurens Street.

 

Mile 2

9:56/mile
Holy. Hills.
 

I also knew going into this race that after that free fall in mile 1, we'd be turning around and going straight back up hill for all of mile 2. I like running hills y'all but a mile straight up? Uh, no. Even my legs were like "nope!" and I ended up walking for about 30 seconds of this mile during one of the steepest parts of the hill. I wish I hadn't though... because the hill wasn't a mile long like I had thought, but only about half a mile. I walked right at the very end of it.

The rest of mile 2 was pretty flat and easy to run along. But my time for mile 2 definitely slowed down a lot thanks to that hill!

 

Mile 3

9:23/mile

Time to speed back up! The last mile of the race is a flat rectangle that shares some of the Bunny Hop 5K and MGC Not So Long Run course. It was super easy running during this mile which was much appreciated after the brutal hill of mile 2.

 

Finish

The finish line of this race is 100% why I had this one on my list all year to run. You get to run straight through Soda City & finish on Main Street! Plus, you get a medal when you cross the finish line. ALL the reason to run this race y'all, all the reason.

 

Final Results

Watch Time - 28:49 

Chip Time - 28:50

Pace - 9:23/mile

Age Group - 3/16

Gender - 22/144

Overall - 70/246

{can you see where I walked? Ha! This elevation map though doesn't show you how crazy steep that hill was}

 

 

28:49 wasn't good enough for a PR for me, but it was good enough for 3rd place in my age group! Y'all. This is a bigger race that usually has some fast competition in it and I was not expecting to place at all. I just wanted to run it so that I could run through Soda City Market & walk away with some sweet bling. But I placed!



They had a bigger awards ceremony than most 5Ks do and there was definitely a photo op with all FIVE Chickfila Cows that they had on hand. There was even a cool beer glass for all of the award winners.



If you need a fun race to run in Columbia next year, sign up for this one. Don't let the one hill scare you because I've already {mostly} forgotten about the pain from that hill and am already penciling this run in for next spring.

 

Next up: March for Meals 5K this coming Saturday because it's running on my favorite new greenway in Columbia, Timmerman Trail.