Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Ukraine Do It 5K (PLUS) Recap!

On Saturday, Jeff and I ran the Ukraine Do It 5K (PLUS) - hosted by a local church who is raising money to send some people over to the Ukraine to help out an orphanage - one of their big projects on tap is to build chicken coops so they can have a protein source with the eggs.  The race shirt reflected that in a comical way:
The running shoes on the chicken cracked me up!

This was a small race - when we went to packet pick up, I think the organizer said they had about 65 people sign up...not bad for a holiday weekend and a first-time event.  Everyone was very nice and the route was good - we ran through a neighborhood that we've never been in before, so it was interesting - but the route was long, which is why I'm calling this the Ukraine Do It 5K PLUS.  A 5K is 3.1 miles.  We hit mile 3 and were still fairly far from the finish line...we ended up finishing at just over 3.5 miles and the only thing I can figure is that the person who mapped the route started it from the entrance to the church, but we started and finished well into the parking lot and around the backside of the church.  Not a big deal in the grand scheme of life, but it was funny to have the race keep going!
Ricky Bobby tells the REAL story!

The race started at 9:00 am - it felt so weird to sleep in until 7:00 am on a race day.  As it was just a couple miles from our house, we didn't even leave our driveway until 8:30 am - so casual!  The weather was warming up and the sun was out, which I really felt during the last mile.  I haven't had to wear sunscreen when I run for a long while, because we are usually out before the sun rises, but I'll have to remember it when we do these later-starting races.

Pictures!
Julia and I - you'll be seeing her in all of my spring race recaps!
The dynamic duo?  LOL
 
From a distance, I thought this box was full of donuts and I was all "Cool, sanctioned donuts!" (because I don't eat them normally) but no...just bagels.
This race was dog-friendly - they had bowls of water on the ground, and dog biscuits waiting with the food for after the race.  Paco didn't come because he can't be trusted to play well with others.
After the race - Jeff with a mouthful of bagel, me with my second bottle of water and a slightly-sunburned face.
Julia and I both won doorprizes!  That is another cool thing about a smaller race - your chances for winning a prize increase.  We each won a Road ID - I'll be using mine to get one for my son, Sam, who is a runner now.

Along with a lot of doorprizes, they also had medals for the first, second and third place finishers, both male and female...quite nice for such a small race.  I'd do this race again - my back, which I somehow managed to hurt in my sleep a few days before the race, was still bothering me and I didn't run as well as I could have, so maybe a do-over next year is in order.

19 comments:

  1. What a lot of fun Shelley. And (as you would expect) I love it that it was dog friendly.

    All my planned races for this year are close to home. Especially for a 5K I don't want to travel all day to run for about 30 minutes so I choose them within an hour travel time. The only one that will cost me all day because of traveling and location will be the half that is held in Amsterdam.

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    1. There's A LOT to be said for local races, and the very short commute is a nice perk.

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  2. Sounds like it wasa fun 5k plus run. Cute chicken shirt!

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  3. Such a cool race. Love the # let's see if we have the same one on our next race,

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    1. Better but not normal yet. At least I can raise my arms to put my hair in a ponytail without wincing.

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  5. I love the t-shirt. Those bagels DO look like donuts. I would be so disappointed!

    I'm glad you are having fun at your races now. How cool to have one so close to home.

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  6. Ha, love the shirts too! And for the record, I'd take a bagel over a donut any day.

    It was a fun run, so I wouldn't be too hard on yourself - love that it was so close to home too!

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  7. The shirt is so cute! Such a great cause too! We always donate money for live stock through ADRA around the holidays so this is a cause I would support! Sorry about your back, I was having back trouble until I got new shoes and then my back felt better.

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  8. Sounds like a fun one for a great cause!

    And I too would have been bummed to see the apparent sanctioned donuts turn into boring bagels. Not that I've got anything against bagels, but for a carb splurge, give me donuts or other sweet treats!

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  9. What's with all the disappointment with the bagel?? I'll take all your bagels!! :D

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    1. I would expect nothing less, my bagel-loving friend! :)

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  10. I would have wanted donuts as well! Sounds like a nice little race!

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  11. Cute skirts! Great cause, how fun to run for something so important.

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  12. What a great idea to sponsor chicken coops! I have wanted my own chicken coop in my backyard for some time... It's against the HOA rules, though. Who would really know, though, right? I love the idea of breaking the rules :)

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  13. Fun! The logo cracked me up. Next time, sunscreen. :)

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  14. What a great cause and a cute logo!

    My first 5K will be our Alien Chase. (I live in Roswell, NM). People come dressed as aliens...

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  15. How fun!!! I cracked up at the line "Paco can't be trusted to play well with others". AWWW! Have a great Thursday Shelley.

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  16. Looks fun! And you look just immensely happy. :-) Love it!

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