Over the weekend I took part in the Baltimore Running Festival 5K. It happened Saturday morning which turned out to be a gorgeous day. It was perfect for a run/walk/jog. Even though I’m local, I snag a hotel room on Friday night. I find it’s easier than trying to deal with parking and traffic Saturday morning. Plus it gives me a chance to pick up my race packet that has to be picked up in advance. Now, I’m not a runner at all. I basically do this race because of the amazing crab medal you get at the end. It’s Baltimore, of course it’s a crab medal. I completed the same race last year and signed up as soon as I could for 2019. The only difference was this year I really slacked on any training and prep. By “slack” I mean, I pretty much did nothing. I just haven’t been super motivated. I signed up though and was committed to finishing the race.
I woke up around 6AM and made my way down to the starting line. The race didn’t kick off until 7:30AM but they obviously wanted everyone down there ready to go. It was great seeing all the different racers that came out for the event. You saw groups, people in costumes, families. I placed myself into the 3rd Wave because I’m slow and again, had zero prep. I was basing my spot on last years results which were around 39 minutes. The started my playlist and around 7:40AM I crossed the starting line and made my way on the course. The course takes you through the Inner Harbor area and is a pretty flat and even course. I think it’s pretty “easy” for first timers and people just looking for a 5K to check out. Plenty of people were out cheering us on which was nice. I even saw a few dogs with signs. You know how hard it was to not stop to pet those dogs? I kept doing my thing though even though my knee was being a dick. As I got closer to the finish line I tried to pick it up some and ended up finishing at around 42 minutes. It’s not last place, so I’ll take it.
I’m not sure I’ll do it again next year. I need to get back to the gym and healthy habits. I should probably look into finding a knee brace as well! We’ll see though. It really is a nice time and they put on a great event. Plus you can hang around and keep an eye on those running the half and full marathons. Can you imagine? Running for four hours? I just. That’s not something my brain will ever understand. How about you? Do any of you take part in running or 5Ks? Let me know below!
