Monday, April 13, 2015

Chip's Share it Forward 5k

It's been a long time since I've run a 5k just for the fun and support of it. This past Saturday I did the Chip's Share it Forward 5k. I had not planned on any spring races, but a friend of mine told me about the beautiful course and how low the registration fee was, and I was sold! This was the inaugural race for Chip's. It was put on by a local dentist office. The turnout was awesome! There were 150+ pre-registered with more expected to register the morning of.

I registered about a week and a half before the race so it sort of snuck up on me. I kept forgetting about it. It's a good thing I was going into it not expecting to race it, but just enjoy the course and support the cause. Our registration fee (or at least some part of it- I'm not sure how much) would be going to camp scholarships for kids from the Searcy Children's Home and other underprivileged kids.

I planned to run with my friend, Angela, and her son, who is in kindergarten, as long as possible. I fully expected my friend's son to out run me. The course was hilly but I knew that the last 1/4 or so would be all down hill. Maybe not quite that much, but enough that I knew if I could just get to that point, I would coast to the finish line. It was a beautiful course. I never knew there could be a 5k with this kind of scenery. In the beginning, and again at the end (it was an out and back course), there were two fields and each had horses. They would run along the fence line with us. It was incredible! And also, a nice distraction. :)

Angela and I finished as the clock hit 28:06. I was fairly shocked. I had a great time while at the same time being incredibly challenged by the course. I've decided the area would be a great place to train for my half marathon in October. :) I'll definitely be doing this 5k again next year.