This is my first time writing a Race review so hopefully it goes well; or at least hopefully it is more successful than my race. I won this race entry in my first team Running Free lottery and was a little nervous racing this half so close to one of my goal races where I was trying to PR my 5km time. However I put on my positivity pants and thought let’s see how it goes.
I was able to carpool with a fellow racer and teammate which I was very thankful for as I am very directionally challenged. It turned out to be a perfect opportunity to get to know my teammate better. We struggled a little bit to find appropriate parking but we made it eventually. We found other Team RF members as we hung around the start line. I found this course to have a very hilly first have and a flat second half. I don’t mind hills as I train in Orangeville however what I did mind was the out and back x2 structure of the course.
What I disliked strongly about this race was that at about 11km you are feet from the finish line and then you look down at your watch only to realize that despite the fact that you could touch the finish line you are still required to complete about 10 more km’s in the complete opposite direction. During this race I also experienced my first side cramp about 20 feet from when I was actually allowed to run towards the finish line which caused me to stop dead in my tracks. People were yelling “Go go go!” and I could not.
I cried and somehow pushed my body forward and there was another teammate waiting for me to cross the line so we could go out and knock off a bonus 5km for training purposes lol. People thought we were crazy holding our giant medals and going back out on the course for more but that’s what was in the training plan. My poor teammate was the one I felt bad for having to listen to me whine and cry for 5 more km’s.
I love the medal (beer opener and magnet) and I loved the Tee (fits longer, well the female version anyway) and I loved the post race pizza that I was finally able to eat after completing my bonus 5km.
Cheers,
Vic
