The race was an event held in Minden Ontario, on July 29th at 6:00pm. We arrived at the race about an hour early. I found out just after I arrived that this is the last year they will be running this race. This is unfortunate because I was really happy when I found out there was a race up in Haliburton because it meant that I could also visit my mom at the same time. The charity run is an AMICI group organized race to raise money to allow underprivedged kids to go to summer camp. The event was started in 1971, and has been running with much success since that time. Although this year is supposedly the last year it will be running, I am hopeful that another charity will take over this excellent event.
We arrived at my mom's just before we had to leave. It was great because we had enough time to unpack our stuff for our two weeks holidays and still had time to get a quick snack before we had to leave for the race. My husband came with me which was great, because he was able to get a shot of me running as well as some shots of the race site.
I started at the front of the pack when the horn went off, only because it was a walk/run and I wasn't sure where to place myself based on the experience of the other runners in the group. Although several people passed me early in the race, my starting place was fine because after the first 300m noone passed me. If your starting position is good, this is exactly what should happen.
I started out a bit fast in the beginning, and even though I felt fine, I had to force myself to slow down. I ended up getting a bad cramp which may have been a result of going out to fast. I also wondered if maybe I had too many snacks and/or drank too much water before the start of the race. I tried really hard to run out the cramp using good breathing but it remained with me for the whole 5K. It wasn't good because it interferred with my ability to run. I did the best I could though and tried to keep up with the pack.
The first three kilometers were fairly straight forward but the last two were fairly grueling. There were some tough hills that were a bit relentless. I am not a big fan of racing when there are hills, but nevertheless I perservered. When I rounded the corner and saw the last 400m stretch before the finish I was feeling a bit tired but I was able to maintain a reasonable strong pace to the finish. I tripped over the finishing mat and managed to cross the line with a time of 26 min and 3 sec.
My time was a bit faster than I expected considering that I had a bad cramp and that I don't run 5K that fast in training. I ended up winning 3rd place in my age group (W40-49). My finish was 3/16 for my age group and 16/63 for my gender place. I was absolutely thrilled with the results because it was my first medal in a road race. This is an excellent accomplishment for me because I consider running to be a weakness. The prize for winning 3rd place was a water bottle, which was great because I needed a new one which would fit in my bike holder, so I was also very happy about that.
What a great race! I hope to do this one again in the future so I am hoping that another charity organization will pick this race up again for next year. Because it is a great purpose for a charity race and I was glad to be a part of it.
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