Carter County 5K with Girls on the Run

Waiting at the finish line chute for the final runners and walkers.

I recently returned to my hometown of Grayson, KY to visit family and participate in Memory Days activities. This is the fifth year that I ran in the Carter County Fight Against Cancer 5K, and this year I was happy to see small children in the race.  Five are listed in the official results, but two more might have run unofficially.  A few years ago I found it disheartening that children did not participate.  Last year the high school age group was represented well for the first time in recent memory.  This year the younger set participated. Kudos to the young runners and their families!

Along with the girls' and parents' efforts, The Girls on the Run organization gets credit for helping get two girls race ready.  These two do not live in Carter County. Both of the girls were from out of town and visiting family for the weekend.  I also noted two young boys, the sons of a runner friend in the area.  The highlight of the race for me was seeing the children participate and finish.  One girl ran with her mother, a coach for Girls on the Run, and another ran solo.  That mom watched out for both girls along the course.  I met one of the girls before the race. She is the daughter of a friend from back in the day.  She took off fast at the start, slowed to a walk, and had a side stitch early as a result.  I noticed her distress and called to her to remember that this is a three mile race.  I told her that if she slowed down, she could make it. My own daughter had started a race like this when she first began running.  By running and walking, we made it to the finish in a respectable time.  I was tempted to slow at this race with this young runner and was a bit perplexed about what to do.  In that moment I decided to run the race and catch up with the the men who had sprinted ahead.  I did catch many of them, set a personal record, and was the first female finisher.

I saw the children at the finish.  They all did great!  I celebrated with the mother and daughter team from Girls on the Run.  They both placed in their age groups and were delighted to be called forward to receive special t-shirts.  That made my heart happy.  They had not known that awards could be involved and did not know that a race was to be run that day until the night before the race. Thanks Girls on the Run and the awesome parents who supported their children in running this fun event.

Esprit de She Race and Training

It's finally my favorite month: June.  How could it not be?  I typically train for Spring and Fall races, but I am excited about participating in the upcoming Esprit de She 5K on June 26 in Cary, NC.  The Esprit de She is a designer race series for women sponsored by Athleta and Lifetime Fitness.  I ran in the inaugural race in Cary last year and will return this year with several of my friends.  I invite others to join us for a great girls night out.  Last year around 600 women participated. This year the combined 5K and 10K will expand to 1,500 runners.  In the past week I learned that registration is already at 80% capacity.  I am honored to have been named an Esprit de She Ambassador.  My role as an ambassador is to spread the word about the race.  It seems that the word has already spread!

Cary, NC Esprit de She training group on the first day, May 5.  

As the race approaches, I am inspired by the other women runners in my Lifetime Fitness Esprit de She training program.  I highly recommend this training program for women with the goal of completing their first 5K or 10K, for those wanting to improve upon their past performance, or those looking for group support and accountability.  I paid $3.10 for this 8 week training program with Coach Jen.  I received a stylish training group technical shirt, and by the time the race rolls around, I'll be well outfitted.  The group meets twice per week with specific workouts for beginners, intermediate and advanced runners.  Each session begins with a warm up, and each group of runners works at their own pace. Following the run, Coach Jen is on hand to answer general questions.  This program is perfect for a woman with a flexible schedule.  The group meets at 9:30AM on Mondays and Wednesdays, and runners are instructed to run other days of the week on their own or to join scheduled Lifetime social runs as well. The training routes are scenic and include hills.  It's easier to run up hills with other women by your side than to go them alone.  This past week, we ran the course for the race, which is a short walk from the Lifetime facility.  This seems to be an ideal training situation.  Not much will surprise this group of runners on race day.

The group gathers near the start for a trial run of the race course on May 28.

To register for Esprit de She 5K or 10K in Cary, NC on June 26, go to: http://bit.ly/1cz3Tmb.
If you heard about the race from me and plan to register, use my referral code when asked for a promo code:  EDS83.   Thanks!