Saturday was a first for me. A 15K. NW Ohio is not a hotbed of 15K races so it was fun to try out a new distance. I have tried all kinds of obscure race distances but a 9.3 miler was much different than anything I’ve tried. I was originally going to run the 25K, but with the mega-cold streak of weather we had in January, I dropped down to the half marathon at Glass City instead of the full and then dropped from the 25K to the 15K.
This was the first year for this race. There was actually a fall race series that was revamped and turned into this race. And I think this series in the spring is a great idea to prep the area runners for the Medical Mutual Glass City Marathon. I got to wear my Glass City Ambassador shirt again, I’m loving that I am able to represent the race for NW Ohio!
I’m really hoping that the speedier runners are seeing me and noticing that even though I’m not elite, I can still be inspirational. I never toot my own horn, but with asthma, five knee operations and a heart issue, I am inspirational to myself. I am amazed that I can run, no matter what the distance.
The race started and finished at a local high school and the nine miles were on country roads. There isn’t much scenery on the country roads around here, but it could be worse. I don’t know how many people were running but when the 25K/15K races began it was pretty busy. In the top left picture below was the final mile of the race. The racers were able to fill out a sign to dedicate your last mile to a loved one who is no longer around. There were so many touching signs of so many family members and friends who are absent from our lives. It was nice to be running for something so sweet.
I wanted to see how each half of the race panned out for me so I took a picture at the half and then the finish. I was definitely slower the second half of the race and I think I know why. It wasn’t because I was tired or not feeling the end of the race. It was because I kept getting pain on the top of the top of my foot over the arch. When I ran it hurt…so I walked a bit in the last mile, that slowed me down. With walking I was still on pace to tie my fastest half marathon, which was in 2011. Not too shabby to me.
This isn’t the kind of race with spectators at all. The races on country roads don’t usually pull a lot of race-watchers. There were three water stops for the 15K and the volunteers were all so upbeat and helpful! The 25K/15K split at one section and then joined up again for the final mile. By the time I hit that last mile where we meet up again, the finishers for the 25K had already passed me.
I really did like this race. It was well planned, the course was clear and easy to run and there was great support from volunteers. Plus, there was some nice 25K/15K race bling!
I was recognized as the Medical Mutual Glass City Ambassador five times during this race. I love that I am helping the NW Ohio area notice more about this race.
Greta‘s time was 1:55:14 and the official race time was the exact same. Seriously, my garmin time and the official race time NEVER match up. But with a 12:22 pace, I’m one happy runner!
Did you get to run over the weekend?
