Okay, I'm going to go all girlie here and confess that entering this race was purely conceived out of jealousy.
I think the confession is supposed to make me feel better...?...or at least a little guilty of registering for reasons other than racing or exercising.... NOT !
I loved this race, really loved this race and was so glad I drug myself out of bed to head down to Freedom Park to see what all the fuss was about. Freedom Park was my childhood playground and while I have fond memories of monkey bars, trains, planes, and water fountains, the park is nothing like my memory. I should have done this years ago.
The course is truly predominately flat, although not completely flat. Flyers promoting the race should have mentioned that there are three entrances now to the park and parking is suggested at the Main entrance since it was closest to registration. Anyone who Googled or Mapquest'ed their destination would have arrived to an empty area, such as I did upon arriving at the ball field entrance in Dilworth but no worries, neighbors are friendly around there and directions are simple.
The race is broken into two separate start times for male and female. The Ladies got a headstart at 7:30am and the Gentlemen followed suit at 8:00am. Needless to say, my arrival at the empty ball field caused me to miss the female start time by five minutes so I was forced... ohhh the agony... to start with the male running group. LOL! Yeah, me and at least 25 other ladies, some accidentally, some on purpose as their running partners were male.
This had both advantages and disadvantages. I won't embark on the advantages, I will simply smile as I type away. The disadvantage though is that due to permit restrictions for race events (length of time roads can be blocked off and police officers paid based on specific time allotments) the latter runners could not afford to fall behind the Trailing vehicle. In this case it was a pick up truck and a young teenager was collecting all the cones, markers, and signage as they trailed the runners. Any runners who lagged too far behind would have no direction, no police protection and no water as stands were being removed.
I kept the truck in view until the last half mile and gave the police officers a heads up to the three runners I was aware of that were still behind me. Twenty persons had finish times after mine, all but one were female so they actually crossed the finish line before I did which supports the organizers methods. Technically, all but one male runner finished prior to the Trailing vehicle making it "all good" in the end and a great way to break up the start line crowd for a good run.
Results were chip timed but with the exception of all second starters not having an electronic start time so the the measuring apparatus could be moved over for the ladies that were crossing the finish line before the males began their run. Results for the latter group simply had their start times deducted by a specific number of minutes for the adjustment.
GUNTIME: 44:38
As for my jealousy... what..?...you thought I somehow lost my train of thought? Nope. I'm still here. My jealousy was stirred when I saw a now retired runner sporting last year's t-shirt. Golden yellow with a bright glaring Sun Logo. I just had to have one - it's a Leo thing. We are creatures of the Sun, born under a Fire Sign and this shirt stirred my inner animal to seek out this attire to compliment my flowing mane. Don't laugh, Leos are all about passion and fortunately we find sunshine in the most inexplicable places. This was a 100% cotton version of radiant light for my day!!
This particular day was also a full class schedule for me - NRA class to be specific. A Ladies Only Gun Range course which began at 9:00am thus entering the race was adding a bit much to my morning's activities. I'm quite glad I did as the race was an excellent way to start out the day's events followed by some serious target shooting. Oh, how I love my Glock!! A wonderful day, t-shirt earned and targets nailed! Out with a Bang!
I think the confession is supposed to make me feel better...?...or at least a little guilty of registering for reasons other than racing or exercising.... NOT !
I loved this race, really loved this race and was so glad I drug myself out of bed to head down to Freedom Park to see what all the fuss was about. Freedom Park was my childhood playground and while I have fond memories of monkey bars, trains, planes, and water fountains, the park is nothing like my memory. I should have done this years ago.
The course is truly predominately flat, although not completely flat. Flyers promoting the race should have mentioned that there are three entrances now to the park and parking is suggested at the Main entrance since it was closest to registration. Anyone who Googled or Mapquest'ed their destination would have arrived to an empty area, such as I did upon arriving at the ball field entrance in Dilworth but no worries, neighbors are friendly around there and directions are simple.
The race is broken into two separate start times for male and female. The Ladies got a headstart at 7:30am and the Gentlemen followed suit at 8:00am. Needless to say, my arrival at the empty ball field caused me to miss the female start time by five minutes so I was forced... ohhh the agony... to start with the male running group. LOL! Yeah, me and at least 25 other ladies, some accidentally, some on purpose as their running partners were male.
This had both advantages and disadvantages. I won't embark on the advantages, I will simply smile as I type away. The disadvantage though is that due to permit restrictions for race events (length of time roads can be blocked off and police officers paid based on specific time allotments) the latter runners could not afford to fall behind the Trailing vehicle. In this case it was a pick up truck and a young teenager was collecting all the cones, markers, and signage as they trailed the runners. Any runners who lagged too far behind would have no direction, no police protection and no water as stands were being removed.
I kept the truck in view until the last half mile and gave the police officers a heads up to the three runners I was aware of that were still behind me. Twenty persons had finish times after mine, all but one were female so they actually crossed the finish line before I did which supports the organizers methods. Technically, all but one male runner finished prior to the Trailing vehicle making it "all good" in the end and a great way to break up the start line crowd for a good run.
Results were chip timed but with the exception of all second starters not having an electronic start time so the the measuring apparatus could be moved over for the ladies that were crossing the finish line before the males began their run. Results for the latter group simply had their start times deducted by a specific number of minutes for the adjustment.
GUNTIME: 44:38
As for my jealousy... what..?...you thought I somehow lost my train of thought? Nope. I'm still here. My jealousy was stirred when I saw a now retired runner sporting last year's t-shirt. Golden yellow with a bright glaring Sun Logo. I just had to have one - it's a Leo thing. We are creatures of the Sun, born under a Fire Sign and this shirt stirred my inner animal to seek out this attire to compliment my flowing mane. Don't laugh, Leos are all about passion and fortunately we find sunshine in the most inexplicable places. This was a 100% cotton version of radiant light for my day!!
This particular day was also a full class schedule for me - NRA class to be specific. A Ladies Only Gun Range course which began at 9:00am thus entering the race was adding a bit much to my morning's activities. I'm quite glad I did as the race was an excellent way to start out the day's events followed by some serious target shooting. Oh, how I love my Glock!! A wonderful day, t-shirt earned and targets nailed! Out with a Bang!
