run a 5K Archives - Becoming Elli

Ready for a race recap of the Good Hops 5K Beer Run 2018? It was a fun but very hot race held on the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend.

I went on vacation last week. I spent several days at Kure Beach in North Carolina with my son and his girlfriend. It was great: lots of sun, swimming, eating, and drinking beer at breweries. Kure Beach is on the North Carolina coast, about 15 miles south of Wilmington and next to Carolina Beach. It’s a great little beach town with a nice beach and restaurants and shops nearby.

We went to Good Hops Brewery in Carolina Beach to sample the local beer and while we were there, we saw a sign for a 5K to be run in a couple days. The sign said the race was both dog and stroller friendly. Somehow, we discussed the idea of my doing the race and maybe taking Stella, my son’s girlfriend’s dog, who had come to the beach with us.

I signed up for the Good Hops 5K Beer Run while sitting there in the brewery.

The next day I took Stella out for a trial run. I decided that she could become a great running dog but needs to be trained to run with someone. So, I decided not to take her on the race. As it turned out, I’m very glad she didn’t go.

The race had awards for the fastest dog. The dog who won, a lovely German Shepard, was so hot by the end of the race that they took him to the vet’s office immediately afterwards. The dog was ok, just hot and tired, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be responsible for overheating Stella.

Race Recap of the Good Hops 5K Beer Run 2018

The race was a trail race through the Carolina Beach State Park. It was a trail run with much of the trail being sand or packed sand. The trail wasn’t too tough, but it was narrow in places and did have roots and rocks on it. I saw at least one woman fall on the trail. She tripped over a root and went down hard. Several of us stopped to help her up and make sure she was ok. She brushed herself off, said she was fine, and continued the race.

There were 200 participants in the race with a great mix of people. There were a few dogs and some strollers. We met at the brewery and when it was time to start the race, we crossed the road to the state park and lined up there. The race was conducted completely in the park and when we crossed the finish line, we then crossed the road back to the brewery.

The race organizers kept asking for the faster runners to move towards the front. I thought I was far enough back, but I didn’t realize how the race would start. When we crossed the start line, the trail was narrow and had brush along side, so it wasn’t easy to pass people. I felt like I was being swept along and ended up running much too quickly for the first part of the race. I could see on my Fitbit that I was running way faster than I normally run and tried to slow down but it took a while for me to drop back to my normal speed. When the trail opened up a bit, it was easier for some to pass and the rest of us to drop back.

The trail was pretty though I was sort of hoping to see some water along the course. I was from out of town, of course, so really had no idea what to expect. No water, just trees and the sandy path.

It was hot. Really hot, in the high 80s. I didn’t have a cooling towel with me and I wore my compression calf sleeves, making me way overdressed. I carried water with me and I added some electrolyte water to it but still ended up being too hot.

By the time I finished the race, I was in bad shape, overheated, and miserable. It took a long time for me to cool down and get back to a normal temperature. I know that I got overheated last year at the Akron Marathon when I ran the half marathon but this seemed worse. I actually scared myself because I was so hot.

I’m holding the free beer in this photo but I didn’t drink it. I gave it to my son and stuck to water and my electrolytes.

Awards

The award categories were:

1st Place Male/Female
1st Place Masters Male/Female over 50
1st Place Father/Kid Combo – (This was Father’s Day weekend, of course.)
1st Place Stroller
1st Place Dog
1st Place Costume

I only saw a couple strollers and only one or two dogs. I gather one person ran in a costume but I didn’t see him. Needless to say, I didn’t win anything.

My results were good. I completed the 5K in 36 minutes and 32 seconds, smack in the middle of the pack as the 101^st person to cross the finish line out of 200 participants. Given how I’ve been running this year, that’s a good number for me. I just wish I had done it at a more consistent pace and didn’t get so hot.

I was so glad that I didn’t bring Stella. She’s a big black dog and it would have been horrible for her to run in the heat.

We got a nice T-shirt. Adult runners go a free beer and a plastic beer glass with a race logo on it. After the race there was a party going on. There were food vendors and music playing. It was an enjoyable time.

It was fun to be able to decide to run a race without a lot of thought, but I got so hot that I was a bit sorry that I ran it. I really needed to be better prepared for running in the heat.

What’s the magic of a 5K? Why is it such a popular race?

If you have never done a 5K, you may be wondering about doing one.

What to expect: A 5K is 3.1 miles. It is a long enough distance that you should prepare. Don’t just decide to run it without training for it — unless you regularly run a similar distance and have pretty good cardio.

I made that mistake with my first 5K. The very first 5K I ever did, I hadn’t trained a bit, I was very overweight and I was shocked how hard it was. The course had hills and it was in the middle of April. It was a race that isn’t held any more – called the Bogsucker Strut. (I think a bogsucker is a bird.) The Bogsucker Strut 5K was held in Twinsburg, Ohio in early April. On that particular cold and rainy morning, I ran it with zero training. I didn’t know about racing. I started off as fast as everyone else, but in less than a minute I had to walk. There is no record of my finish time that I can find on the internet. I’m not even sure of the year, but I think it was 2004. I do remember having ordered an XL shirt. And it was tight. I came in last – way, way last. As in, no one was even at the finish line, except my husband. (Other years’ results show the last place person was at a 11:30 pace, which is faster than my Personal Record.) They had already finished the announcing the awards when I got to the end. Not a good memory. It took me a very long time to ever try a race again.

Now I love to race, but I did most things wrong about the first one. I would suggest if you decide to do a 5K for the first time, don’t do one in Ohio in early April — it seems only the serious, experienced runners go out that early. (The photo to the right is a local fundraiser in 2015 in my town called Race to the Taste, usually held on Labor Day Monday each year.)

There are lots of reasons to run a 5K. Here are 5 reasons I would suggest it:

Fundraiser – many of the 5K’s are fundraisers for disease research or schools or other worthwhile causes. So by registering for the race, you’re supporting a good cause.
Timed results – Year after year, you can compare your results to see your improvement! Many 5Ks have timing chips in the number bibs or on the shoes or at least a giant clock. You can run the race and have a line in the sand. I like to compare my time from one year to another. It almost always varies by the weather and how much I weigh at the time or how much I’ve trained, if my achilles is acting up, etc. But running the same course, at least the hills and terrain stay pretty much the same so I can compare year after year.
Friends – My next four 5K’s were walking with a friend in 2009, I think. We were doing Weight Watchers together and decided to “earn more activity points” by walking some races. Although we came in last or near the last (back of the pack) with the other walkers, it was really fun! It almost took an hour when we were walking. We paced around 20 minute miles and the 3.1 mile distance was a challenging distance for me at the time.
Affordable – Here in Ohio, a 5K in a smaller town is about $25. With that, you usually get a t-shirt, a bottle of water and a banana, plus the bonus of people encouraging you at the one or two water stops. Sometimes there are volunteers holding up traffic so you can easily cross roads where you generally have to wait for traffic.
Motivation – Signing up for a 5K as a first race means thinking about it, working toward it. The couch to 5K program is a great way to start. I find that wearing the t-shirt to remember the race is added motivation afterwards to stay in 5K shape. When I wear a race t-shirt out – it always seems someone comments and makes mention of the event… and that comment motivates me to do another one.

I’m doing a 5K early tomorrow morning and I’ll post my photo on the Facebook page. When you run your 5K, please post a photo of you at the finish line on our Becoming Elli Facebook page! Or if you are shy about it, joint the private Becoming Elli group on Facebook and post your photo there instead! See you at the races! – Chris

Tag: run a 5K

Race Recap of the Good Hops 5K Beer Run 2018

Race Recap of the Good Hops 5K Beer Run 2018

Awards

5 Reasons to Run a 5K