The 10th Annual Candy Cane 5K took place in Winter Springs at Central Winds park. The race is put on by and benefits Boys Town Central Florida.

Training & Goals
Still sick! I hadn't been keeping up my modest base at all. I hadn't run since last week's Pink Feet 10K. I had signed up for three Christmas races and this was the first one. Now I'm thinking three is maybe too many.

Race Day: December 10, 2016
Central Winds Park is about a half hour from our house. I ended up getting lost on the way there, following my GPS after making a wrong turn, but the updated directions brought me to a side of the park that was completely blocked by construction. I felt a bit panicky that I wouldn't make it in time -- I still had to get my packet. Doubling back, I passed a cop directing traffic over a part of the road that was blocked for the race. Fortunately he was able to give me directions (it's not that hard really) and I found a spot to park. I ran to packet pickup, back to the car to drop everything off, and back to the start area. The race began a few minutes after the scheduled 8AM start which worked in my favor. I even had time to snap one photo with a holiday character, but there wasn't any time for Santa.

It was clear and 52°F with 76% humidity at the start.

Mile 1: 10:23
There were lots of jingling bells and costumed runners for this themed race. It was festive! The out-and-back left Central Winds Park and headed into an adjacent neighborhood.

Mile 2: 10:43
There was one water stop in the race, spanning over part of an out-and-back turn-around area. I got some water on the way in. On the way out I thought I heard people complaining that they had run out of water. That's not good.

Mile 3+: 10:52, 1:39*
And it was back to the park for the finish! It's no fun running with a headcold but I made it and earned my cute finisher medal.

Chip time: 33:25
Placement details: 28 of 94 in Age Group; 237 of 525 total finishers
Race Amenities: This race included a long sleeve race shirt (really thin and cheap unfortunately) and a finisher medal for all participants. At the stands around the start/finish area I also picked up some freebies like a travel first aid kit.
Cost: $23.00

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 13, 2016

The 5th annual Pink Feet 5K/10K was originally scheduled to be run in October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The race ended up postponed to early December due to Hurricane Matthew. Proceeds from this race support local cancer patients and affordable mammogram programs. This local race starts at Gemini Springs and runs through my neighborhood.

Training & Goals
I was sick with a head cold that hit Thursday night. I felt okay except for the full nose. No particular goals for this one -- I just hoped to survive.

Race Day: December 4, 2016
Oh, I was running so late Sunday morning! I hopped on my bike about 15 minutes before the scheduled start. I raced by one of the 5K water stops (already manned!) on my way to the park. Luckily I had already picked up my race packet so all I had to do was find a spot to stow my bike and find the start. After I arrived I heard the DJ announce the race start would be delayed by about 15 minutes. Whew. I joined a sea of pink waiting for the race to begin. Conditions were pretty great for this race. It was clear and 63°F with 83% humidity at the start.

Mile 1: 11:39
I had decided to try running with different intervals, and this race was the first time I ran 2 minutes / walked :30. Since I had the cold I did walk each full interval (usually for races I skip or shorten walk breaks).

Mile 2: 12:08
Both the 5K and 10K started at the same time. The split was very clear, as I would expect from a Final Mile race.

Mile 3: 11:50
The intervals seemed to be working out okay. I liked this new pattern.

Mile 4: 11:48

Mile 5: 12:09

Mile 6+: 11:36, 2:15*
A personal worst finishing time for a 10K, but I didn't die! Afterwards I was feeling better and ended up having a fun day with mom and Arthur at Disney. :)

Chip time: 1:13:37
Placement details: 9/14 in Age Group; 57/93 overall
Race Amenities: Swag included pink stuff like a pink tech t-shirt, finisher medal, pink backpack, and pink water bottle.
Cost: $35.00

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 13, 2016

Running & featured photo (c) Almost There Photography

The inaugural Deltona Honor & Remember 5K took place on a very foggy morning at Dewey Boster Park. The race was part of the Live Your Life Well series and meant to honor veterans and first responders, with proceeds benefiting local charities. The run took us through the park and neighboring residential areas.

Training & Goals
This race was the weekend following Wine & Dine weekend. I didn't have any particular goals for this race. I just can't resist local charity races. I was looking forward to a nice training run in a spot I'd never run before.

Race Day: November 13, 2016
The fog made the drive in a bit slow and the humidty was stifling. The temp at the start was a cool 63°F with 100% humidity.

Mile 1: 10:02

Mile 2: 10:24

Mile 3+: 10:34, 1:34*

The fog persisted deep into the morning and the entire run was shrouded in humid mist. I can deal with heat much better than humidity so I was pretty miserable for the duration of this race, oh well!

Chip time: 31:57
Placement details: 7/14 in Age Group; 46/121 overall
Race Amenities: All runners got a cotton race shirt and a small finisher medal
Cost: $23.00

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 12, 2016

Running photo (c) Almost There Photography

Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend concluded with the half marathon on Sunday. I ran the 10K as well so I had an extra medal for Lumiere's Two Course Challenge to look forward to.

I wore a Wine & Dine race-appropriate food-related tech shirt for the race along with my favorite running shorts. And the right shoes -- no blisters today!

The course took runners from ESPN Wide World of Sports to Animal Kingdom and Epcot. We ran a lot of backstage areas, including by a waste water facility and along a bunch of greenhouses.

Training & Goals
This was it! My second and last half marathon of the year. My performance at Lighthouse Loop the previous week was so disappointing. Going into this race I wasn't sure if I would run it or stop for all the photo ops or something between. I just hoped to finish fit rather than unwell. I didn't feel tired from the previous races since I took them both nice and slow. I was ready to run early Sunday morning!

Race Day: November 6, 2016
Again this race started at 5:30. The race started at ESPN but parking was at the finish line at Epcot, which meant runners had to allow time to take a shuttle bus to the start. Arthur and I left home crazy early and arrived in plenty of time for me to get into my corral in time, which was actually shortly after the first runners took off. I was in corral F (out of L, so 6th of 12).

For this race it was 64°F with cloudy skies and 100% humidity at the start. It was a bit chilly just standing around so I brought along a hideous hoodie I had bought at Goodwill a few weeks earlier as a deliberate race throw-away. Next to the garbage bins along the starting area I was thrilled to see bins for recycling clothes.

Mile 1, 2, 3: 12:23, 11:22, 11:35 | 5K split: 36:36
After the congestion at the start of the race, I concentrated on taking it slow. These were road miles along Victory Way out of ESPN, then west along Osceola Parkway towards Animal Kingdom. The first photo stop I saw was with the Country Bears along the road. I took a quick snap of the bears without getting in line and ran on. Arthur went to spectate along the overpass by McDonald's so I saw him and said hi just past the marker for Mile 2.

I had an annoying equipment problem for this race. After the 10K on Saturday I noticed that the velcro on my phone armband was about to fail. I ended up wearing two waist packs for this race: one to hold my phone and one to hold my fuel. Taking my phone in and out of the waist pack wasn't nearly as smooth as in my armband so I wasted some time fumbling with it. I wish I had been able to snap more photos on the run but it was too much of a hassle and took too much time.

Mile 4, 5, 6: 11:11, 11:20, 12:12 | 10K split: 1:13:02
We entered Animal Kingdom towards the end of Mile 4 and were out again at Mile 5. I remember seeing Rafiki and Baloo here but I didn't stop for characters I'd already visited during earlier races. We continued out of Animal Kingdom along Bear Island Way and backstage areas for the next several miles. During Mile 6 we ran by a bunch of greenhouses with large topiaries set out for photo ops. I snapped a few pictures here too but didn't really stop. There may have been more characters on the course but I don't remember what they might have been. Mile 6 included a short out-and-back turnaround where runners were high-fiving each other. Below is a photo from the official RunDisney page from this part of the race.

Mile 7, 8, 9: 11:14, 11:54, 15:51 | 15K split: 1:55:10
Mile 7 went by a backstage wastewater facility and then the road became wooded on both sides. It was really enjoyable but a lot of people complained after the race about stink around the water plant. I didn't notice! Also when I was running by the water facility there were suddenly many loud beeps all around me. Runner phones were sending out an Amber Alert. There was a bit of confusion for a moment - what's that alarm all about? - but someone shouted out "Amber Alert" so we knew it wasn't an alarm message specific to the race.

After the wooded area we ran past Disney's Palm Golf Course. Around Mile 8 Arthur texted me to ask if I wasn't stopping for photo ops since I was running fairly fast. I didn't see his text until sometime during Mile 9 when I stopped to stand in line to have my photo taken with Darkwing Duck and Launchpad McQuack next to an airplane. Approaching the photo op we could hear the theme from Ducktales playing so I knew something good was coming up. After this we turned onto World Drive through Mile 10 on the way to Epcot.

Mile 10, 11, 12: 11:44, 11:45, 12:09
The last miles were along Epcot Center Drive as we ran to the finish in the Epcot parking lot. The photo below of the balloon in the road is from the official RunDisney page.

There were a lot of spectators as we ran into the bus depot area at Epcot. I got a free hug from someone wearing a T-Rex costume before I saw Arthur cheering me on.

Mile 13+: 12:12, 7:59*
The last mile took us through Future World and under Spaceship Earth before we reached the finish line in the Epcot parking lot. Before entering Epcot there was another character photo op. This one had no line so I jumped aside for a quick shot with Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar.

Arthur was there again at the finish line. I ran through and picked up my half marathon medal. A little further on I was directed to the challenge medal area to pick up my Lumiere's Challenge medal. This process was impressively smooth and I was able to get out and meet Arthur fairly quickly. I was extremely pleased with my finish time -- better than Lighthouse Loop and I paused or flat-out stopped for a couple of photos!! And I was pleased with how I felt -- really great! Tired but not exhausted. Happy to be done and ready for more Disney fun! It was a big boost in my confidence and just what I needed after Lighthouse Loop.

Arthur brought my other race weekend medals to me so I could have some photos taken with all of them.

Finally we caught Emile together with Remy. I had arranged my medals in chronological order but Remy moved the 10K race with his image to the front. Sneaky rat!

Chip time: 2:41:07 for 13.52 miles
Placement details: 368 out of 1174 in Age Group; 4728 out of 12651 total finishers
Race Amenities: All the great Disney stuff including long sleeve tech shirts for both the half marathon and the challenge, plus a bonus glow in the dark Lumiere challenge medal
Cost: I did the challenge which included both the 10K and the half marathon, which cost $351.95 total (YIKES).

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 12, 2016

Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend had a new race this year: the inaugural 10K.

The race was presented by Remy from Ratatouille. I found this shirt on Zazzle that features Remy and his brother Emile eating cheese. A common t-shirt slogan for these races is "Run Now, Wine Later." I customized the top by adding a rat-appropriate version of the text and bought it in a tech style for the race.

The course took runners through Epcot and parts of the Boardwalk area.

Training & Goals
The plan for this race was similar to my 5K plan: take it easy in anticipation of the half marathon. Stop for all the photo ops. Have fun!

Race Day: November 5, 2016
The race started at 5:30 which required an even earlier wake-up call. Arthur came with me for this race and we left a bit later than I had hoped, but we were still in time for the race. I was in corral B so there wasn't too much waiting around to start. I found a place in the back of the corral.

For this race it was 66°F with clear skies and 94% humidity at the start. Here's a photo of the start from the official RunDisney page:

Mile 1: 11:26
The run started in the Epcot parking lot. The first mile took us out towards a turn-around at Epcot Center Drive. The crowd thinned out pretty quickly on the wide road so this run was nice and easy.

Mile 2: 19:34
There were two photo ops in Mile 2: with the penguins from Mary Poppins and with Flik and Atta from A Bug's Life.

Mile 3: 11:38
This was another easy mile on the road with no photo ops. At one point we passed a sweeper bus next to a speed camera. I saw several runners veer towards the camera to try and trip the speed indicator. It was funny.

Mile 4: 20:14
Halfway through this mile we entered World Showcase in Epcot from a back entrace by Mexico. There were two photo ops here: with stilt walkers and with Pinocchio and Geppetto in Germany. While waiting for Pinocchio I took a short video of runners going by.

Mile 5: 23:15
We continued through World Showcase towards the Boardwalk area where we could stop for photos with Genie in Morocco and Chip & Dale in front of ESPN Club.

Mile 6+: 15:54, 8:39*
We continued on Boardwalk back towards World Showcase. Before entering Epcot again we could stop for a photo with a giant Sebastian (Little Mermaid) figure. Then it was straight through Future World for the finish.

I had started in corral B but ended up finishing among the last runners! I stopped for every character and some lines were longer than others. Although all of my photos didn't all come out very well I'm glad I stopped and I had a really great time during the inaugural Wine & Dine 10K!

After the race I met with Arthur and he waited with me to get photos with some characters.

We stopped by the Expo for a bit afterwards. I managed to get a photo with Remy after several failed attempts before and after the race (they kept closing the line).

Chip time: 1:50:09 for 6.68 miles
Placement details: 835 out of 888 in Age Group; 8794 out of 9260 total finishers
Race Amenities: All the great Disney stuff including a sweet long sleeve tech shirt.
Cost: I did the challenge which included both the 10K and the half marathon, which cost $351.95 total (YIKES).

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 12, 2016

Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend started with Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K. These short races are fun runs at Disney -- they are not timed. When I ran my first Disney 5K back in April, the Star Wars Dark Side 5K, I was in the second-to-last corral. For this race, I was in corral A -- and it made a huge difference! This time, I was able to stop for every character photo op and really enjoy the run. It still took me over an hour to finish, but for these races the only goal you should have in mind is to PR in fun!

Disney races are fun to run in costume. I decided to run this race as Judy Hopps from Zootopia. I bought a bowler hat off eBay and added dollar store ribbon and police badges to clothing pieces I either had in my closet or picked up at Goodwill. I made a pair of long rabbit ears out of felt to hang off the hat and safety-pinned a couple of plastic carrots to a wide belt to complete the look. I got a few compliments and it was really easy to run in -- though I carried the hat in my hand a few times because I was afraid it might fly off.

The course took runners through Animal Kingdom and then past a lake in a backstage area of the park.

Training & Goals
The plan for this race was to take it easy and rest my legs for the upcoming 10K and half marathon on Sunday.

Race Day: November 4, 2016
To arrive in time for the 6:30AM start means a crazy early wake-up time. Traffic was backed up a bit on the way in but I arrived in time to grab a few photo ops before the race began. I was in the very back of corral A for the start. It was 64°F with clear skies and 94% humidity.

Mile 1: 11:18
The race started in the Animal Kingdom parking lot and the entire first mile was mostly outside the park. Photo ops started inside the park so this was a pretty straightforward slow and easy run.

Mile 2: 21:27
Time for some photos! This mile was almost entirely in the park, and there were four characters posing for photos with runners. I stopped to have my picture taken with Rafiki (Lion King), Baloo (Jungle Book), Turk (Tarzan -- my one photo with her didn't come out), and Santa Goofy. Goofy was alternating with Donald; they did a switch right before it was my turn.

Leaving the park a cast member saw me walking and shouted "Pick it up, Hopps!!" So of course I had to run. "Yes sir!!"

Mile 3+: 19:47, 7:30
Here we left the park and ran an out-and-back behind Expedition Everest. I stopped to take a bunch of photos of behind-the-scenes stuff, including floats for the upcoming Rivers of Light attraction that may still open at Animal Kingdom in our lifetimes, haha! I actually texted a couple of pictures to Arthur during the run and he asked me to send more.

At the end of the turn-around Pluto was available for photos in his doghouse. A quick snap with the pooch and then it was back to the Animal Kingdom parking lot for the finish!

After the race I was able to take a picture with Mickey and Minnie. Since I didn't have park tickets I just headed home after the race to rest up for the coming two days.

Garmin final time: 1:00:01 for 3.42 miles
Race Amenities: All the great Disney stuff including a cotton unisex t-shirt.
Cost: $75.05 (yes, it's crazy expensive)

Report written December 11, 2016

Lighthouse Loop is an awesome local race that benefits the athletic departments of 10 Volusia County schools. The schools man 10 water stops on the half marathon course and the stop with the best cheer squad wins the most spirited award (and a cash bonus for the school's department). The race is put on by West Volusia Runners. The Lighthouse Loop 5K was my very first race ever one year prior.

Training & Goals
This, and the Wine & Dine races the following weekend, were supposed to be my goal races for the fall. But I let my training slip for two weeks mid-October when family visited. Before that I had also missed a couple of runs because of Hurricane Matthew. And I'd gained a bit of weight over the summer. But I was still looking forward to running Lighthouse Loop and hoping for a half marathon PR for my second race of this distance.

Race Day: October 30, 2016
I drove over to Port Orange for the race by myself. I had a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast and packed a couple of gels and sport beans for the race. Weather was clear. It was 64°F with 100% humidity (!!) at the start.

Mile 1, 2, 3: 11:00, 10:43, 10:50
I positioned myself by the 2:30 pacer but I was feeling good and started out at a faster pace at the start. The course follows the coast as we run through Port Orange, Daytona Beach Shores, Wilbur-by-the-Sea, and Ponce Inlet.

Mile 4, 5, 6: 11:00, 11:05, 11:20
I was still feeling fine and felt good about my pace. I ate a gel after about 45 minutes.

Mile 7, 8, 9: 11:29, 12:25, 13:02
The highlight of the race is running through Lighthouse Point Park at the end of the peninsula in Ponce Inlet, and then swinging around the lighthouse. A lot of runners paused to take selfies with the monument before running on.

Shortly past the lighthouse there was a runner in trouble; EMTs rolled up in an ambulance as I ran by.

Somehwere during this part of the race I realized I wore the wrong shoes. I started to feel friction and the beginning of a couple of blisters forming.

Mile 10, 11, 12: 13:55, 13:54, 16:20
I suddenly started feeling really fatigued at the end of mile 9 and into 10. I ate my sport beans but they didn't help. I took a few extra / longer walking breaks as I powered on. The blisters were annoying but they weren't slowing me down. I just felt extremely tired and a bit unwell and lightheaded. I had water at each of the water stops and I had hydrated before the race. I don't know what went wrong but this wasn't my race. During one of those miserable walk breaks the 2:30 pace group passed me and I felt completely defeated. I ended up walking nearly the entire last two miles.

Mile 13+: 15:52, 2:47*
Right at the end a fellow runner from the club (West Volusia Runners) saw me and my club shirt and cheered me on, running me in a little bit. That lifted my spirits briefly and I was able to run over the finish line, but as soon as I got my medal and a bottle of water I sat down, feeling ill.

I felt sick and I was so mad at myself for the poor performance. I had a second bottle of water and some orange juice but I didn't feel like having any of the breakfast buffet or any of the other treats being offered at the finisher party.

I really wished Arthur had come with me because I didn't want to drive home alone. After sitting for about a half hour I finally managed to stagger over to the car and drive home.

I had so been looking forward to this race and hoped for a PR so I was extremely disappointed. It took a few days for me to feel proud of finishing the race. The medal is really cool (for the 5th anniversary of the race the lighthouse medal lights up!) and I'm proud to have earned it. My second half marathon! Not the outcome I wanted, but I did it.

Chip time: 2:44:15
Placement details: 57 out of 97 in Age Group; 522 out of 838 total finishers
Race Amenities: Nice tech shirt and light up medal. Great post race party.
Cost: $54.50

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 11, 2016

Running photo (c) Almost There Photography

The Celebration Rotary Club 18th Annual Pancake Run took place on a rainy day in October. This 5K and 10K race event put on by the Celebration Rotarians benefits the Central Florida USO.

Training & Goals
I was following a self-made training plan for the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon and the Wine & Dine races at Disney World coming up at the end of October and beginning of November. This race fit into the plan, although training ended up getting a bit derailed for various reasons. Anyway, a big reason I wanted to run this race was because it coincided with a visit from Arthur's family from overseas. I thought it would be fun for them to attend a race during their trip. A bonus was that spectators could partake of the accompanying pancake breakfast for a small fee. The location was about an hour from home so we planned a nice day out following the race in the surrounding area.

Race Day: October 15, 2016
My mom met us at home before we left early on race morning. The drive in was overcast but rain was not in the forecast. We had some drizzle as we approached downtown Celebration but I was still hoping the race would remain dry. It was cloudy and 73°F with 94% humidity at the start of the race. There was no rain as we started the run, but the roads were wet from earlier precipitation.

Mile 1: 10:26

Mile 2: 10:31
I was hoping my pancake t-shirt would get some compliments but I guess the print isn't very clear. Somewhere around mile two a fellow runner told me she finally could see what my shirt was -- honey! What?!

Mile 3: 10:44
The route took us through the pretty streets of downtown Celebration. At the halfway point water stop some enthusiastic volunteers recognized my pancake shirt and gave me a shout-out. Yay!

Mile 4: 10:49
The routes of the 5K and 10K overlapped in some spots. Around mile 4 we split again and I don't feel like it was very clearly marked. I really thought I was running with the same 10K folks for a while but when the turn for the 10K came, they followed the 5K route. I was super confused.

Mile 5: 10:49

Mile 6+: 11:08, 3:08*
The rain started up again at the end of the race and it really came down hard at some points. I had to watch my footing and it really slowed my pace (not that I was on track for a PR anyway...).

After the race I met up with my family and I changed out of my wet clothes awkwardly in the car. We huddled under an umbrella to eat our pancake breakfast. The pancakes were the best I've ever had at a fundraiser breakfast and they were served with some delicious berry compote and honey butter. Unfortunately the rain kept coming and there wasn't really enough space under the firehouse roof for everyone to keep dry.

The results of the race show some strange anomalies that I don't think were adequately addressed after a couple of runners (including me) emailed the race directors and timing company. The 5K race was supposed to start 15 minutes after the 10K, and several 10K runners (including some in my Female 41-59 Age Group) show a ~15 minute difference between their chip time (time their actual bib crossed the start/finish line) and their gun time (time it took them to finish from when the starting gun was fired). Maybe they ran the 5K race but had 10K bibs?

The course through Celebration was really pretty and I enjoyed the run. The rain was a bummer but the race directors can't help that. The unresolved results weirdness puts me off doing this race again, though.

Chip time: 1:07:08
Placement details: 12/25 in (41-50) age group; 91st out of 211 finishers
Race Amenities: Swag included tech shirt, tiny medal, pancake breakfast
Cost: $45.00

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 10, 2016

The Global Energy Race is a series of 10K and 3K runs around the world all taking place on the same day. This was the second year of the race and the first time it took place in Orlando. Sponsor Bimbo Bakeries donated bread to local food banks on behalf of every runner. The race set the Guinness World Record for the most 10K race runners in the largest number of cities on the same day with more than 85,000 participants in 36 cities around the world.

Training & Goals
My training plan calls for several back-to-back runs to prepare for the back-to-back-to-back runDisney races during the Wine & Dine festival at the beginning of November, and this race paired up nicely with the Endless Summer 10K I ran the day prior. Entry was also very cheap (many runners got free entry with discount codes released closer to race day -- they really wanted to pack this race!). My only goal was to have a good run and enjoy myself.

Race Day: September 25 2016
I drove to Festival Park in Orlando for the race. Parking and packet pickup were both a breeze and I was ready to run with plenty of time to spare. It was 79° with 89% humidity at the start of the race.

Mile 1: 10:52
The race took us through residential and commerical streets south of Colonial and east of Mills Ave in Orlando.

Mile 2: 10:44
I tried to keep a nice slow and even pace and didn't take any walking breaks until later in the race.

Mile 3: 10:49
The course was nice and flat and I think if I wasn't on tired legs I might have had a PR.

Mile 4: 10:22
During this mile we headed out to run around Lake Underhill and we could see the lead runners heading back towards the start/finish at Festival Park already. It was pretty motivating seeing them so it seems I picked up my pace a bit.

Mile 5: 10:44
This took us about 3/4 of the way around the lake.

Mile 6+: 10:58, 4:30*
I was pretty pleased with my final time considering my somewhat tired legs and the heat/humidity.

At the finish line there were lots of treats for the runners, including bananas and water, plus goodies like cereal fruit bars, bags of mini muffins, and bagels. They were giving away whole packages of bagels and boxes of the mini muffins. All runners got a voucher for a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich from a food truck as well.

The winner of the 10K race at each location won a trip to next year's Global Energy Race at any city of their choice. The female winner in Orlando was champion Russian marathon runner Lyubov Denisova who now lives in Gainesville. The male winner was an Orlando resident who had qualified to run in this year's U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials.

Chip time: 1:07:37
Placement details: 110th out of 360 women participants and 554 finishers total
Race Amenities: Swag included a nice Kappa tech short sleeve shirt, drawstring backpack, sport towel, and big finisher medal.
Cost: $12.00 via Groupon

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written September 30, 2016

The Endless Summer 10K is a trail race through Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine. The race is accompanied by a 5K beach run. Both races are fundraisers for Friends of Anastasia State Park and Don's Friends.

Training & Goals
This was my first trail race and my main goal was to not fall down and hopefully cross the finish line in under 90 minutes.

Race Day: September 24 2016
Arthur and I left home at around 5:15 and we arrived at Anastasia State Park in time to watch the sun rise over the ocean. I got my packet and found the starting area. This race consistently sells out so it was crowded at the start with no pace markers. It was about 75° and clear at the start with a light breeze.

Mile 1: 10:21
We started out running on the beach. Between the parking lot to the hard-packed beach sand we had to run through some relatively soft sand and I was looking down from the start to watch my footing. There were shells on the beach and the sound of us runners crunching on the shells was funny. We split from the 5K runners at the Mile 1 marker and turned around to run back towards the start. We would do this out-and-back several times through different parts of the park.

Mile 2: 10:35
This was another 3/4 mile running on the beach and about 1/4 mile of boardwalk heading towards the parking lot and roadway. I took a short walking break through the water station at about the Mile 2 marker.

Mile 3: 11:03
From the parking lot we headed to a forest trail. As we ran in, a volunteer said "Here's the fun part!" Roots on the dirt trail were marked with neon spray paint. We had to watch our footing. Running through the trail was a lot of fun. It was narrow and hard to pass other runners, so I just tried to keep up with the runner in front of me. At one point I had a runner breathing down my neck but I wasn't sure if I should step aside or just press on. I pressed on, hoping if someone wanted to pass me they might say something.

Mile 4: 11:16
This was half trail and half road as we made a sharp turn around and headed back towards the starting area. I was feeling good but I got passed by some runners during the trail portion here as the path widened. I took another short walk break through another water station. I had read a tip once to point at the water volunteer from whom you'd like to take water, and Arthur caught this picture of me pointing at the water station kid.  :)

Mile 5: 11:13
More road running and another sharp turnaround as we headed back out on the main park road towards the entrance.

Mile 6+: 11:48, 3:44*
At about the 5.2 mile mark we turned around again for the last time and headed towards the start/finish area along an open grass-covered beach path. Here footing was really tricky and with the sun beating down it wasn't as fun as the forest trails. The last half mile was back on the road straight through to the finish area.

It was an enjoyable race and I was happy to accomplish my meager goal to not fall down during the run! I snarfed my post-race banana and a couple of waters before Arthur and I headed to St. Augustine for a walk through the old city.

Chip time: 1:09:47
Placement details: 8th of 11 in age group, 90th overall out of 178 finishers.
Race Amenities: Swag included a nice ladies tech shirt and a drawstring backpack. No finisher medal.
Cost: $39.98 including $3.98 Active.com fees.

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written September 29, 2016

Finish photo screenshot from (c) RaceSmith YouTube video