10K

On Saturday morning a small group of us joined 2,212 other shivering soles running the Christie Clinic Illinois 10K road race. The 10K was held as a part of the larger Illinois Marathon and Half-Marathon races which wound through the campus of the University of Illinois and the sister cities of Champaign and Urbana - an event that drew well over 15,000 runners from 48 states and numerous countries around the globe. The starting line was quite a sight.

It was my first 10K, and I'll have to admit to being a little nervous. I was sure I could go the distance, but wasn't so sure about the 55-minute goal I had set for myself. I had even dared to think about a 50-minute pace a couple of times leading up to this race, motivated especially by my dad's best 10K time of 42 minutes, but I knew that I just hadn't gotten the miles in to realistically expect that kind of performance. But the weather was perfect for running, the course was flat and fast and the adrenaline must have given me a little extra boost; I finished in 51:36, 16th in my age group, 179th overall. Not too bad.

In the chaos of the starting line crush we couldn't find the rest of our group and didn't think to get a before-race picture. Andrea did get hooked up with the rest of the 'support team' to cheer us on at the one-mile marker, and did get a shot of me (in the white shirt) crossing the finish on the 50-yard line of the football field amid the thunderous roar of the frenzied crowd.

 

Here's the crowd that really matters. Andrea and the kids braved the chill to cheer me on. Thanks guys!

 

Our group, minus Kyle, looking good after a nice post-race breakfast. From the left: Amanda, Stacy, LeAnn, Amanda, and Your's Truly.