When my friend Lesley asked if I’d be interested in helping promote her Ghost, Goblins & Ghouls Spooktacular 5K on my social media in exchange for a few free race entries, I jumped at the chance. I love helping friends, and I thought that it would be fun to give away race entries on my blog and social media sites. I need to point out that even though Lesley gave me a free entry into the race, I will still write my recap with the same honesty as with all of my other recaps.
Since I missed the Friday afternoon packet pick-up, I stopped by The Barn at One Loudoun at 1 PM on Saturday to grab my shirt and bib. Packet pick-up was easy-peasy and I was on my way after chatting with Lesley and getting to meet her mom.
The shirt is cute with a seriously glow-in-the-dark design on the front, and it’s the perfect handing-out-candy-on-Halloween-night shirt. Because most race shirts seem to run small, I ordered a medium and it’s large on me. Guess this shirt ran true to size!
Erin arrived at our house about an hour before the race, and Bill took this picture of us in our back yard. The leaves are finally looking fall-like, and we couldn’t have had a more perfect race day. It was about 60° at race time.
Photo courtesy of Bill
We met our fellow MRTT friends and teammates next to The Barn at 3:30 PM for our traditional pre-race photo, and I wasn’t the least bit surprised that we had 100% participation in dressing up. You know that if anyone had not worn a costume, it would have been me, so I was very happy that I rushed out that morning to pick up my cat ears and tail.
Photo courtesy of Kim
After our group photo, we stood in line at the restroom for about ten minutes and then I took off for a warm-up run. While in the restroom line, I got notifications from my ESPN app and a text from my very handsome and good friend Craig (hi Craig!) that the Hokies had beaten Boston College. You know that if I chose to miss the second half of the Virginia Tech football game, there had to be a good reason, and I couldn’t think of a better reason than racing with friends on a beautiful fall afternoon!
The wind kicked up just before the race and during my warm-up run my cat ears blew off. I scooped them up and realized that I’d have to carry them during the race. With cat ears in hand, I slipped into the starting chute just as Lesley welcomed us to the race.
Photo courtesy of Bill
I snapped a quick GoPro selfie of the crowd (with my ears temporarily back on for the picture), we paused for the National Anthem, I took my ears off, and then we were off!
With a time goal of 25:00, I headed out with my first mile at 8:10. It’s much easier to run fast when being chased by a zombie!
And a little humbling to be passed by someone in a giraffe costume…
While I was still out huffing and puffing on the course, this young man finished in 18:28 (5:57 pace). Did I mention that he’s fourteen?
Photo courtesy of Bill
And shortly afterward, this young lady became the first female to finish in 21:07 (6:48 pace). Did I mention that she’s thirteen?
Photo courtesy of Bill
Kelley was our first MRTT team member to finish with a time of 22:40 (7:18 pace) which earned her a second place in her age group. She’s one fast mama, and one of my favorite people to run with to try to keep up with!
Photo courtesy of Bill
Bill caught me crossing the finish line with at time of 25:04 (8:04 pace) which earned me first place in my age group (out of 25 runners). My splits were 8:10, 8:08, 8:00, and 0:46. Of course, I’m now beating myself up for not pushing just a little bit harder to run a sub 25. Not that I’m competitive or anything…
Photo courtesy of Bill
My friend and fellow Ragnar teammate, Laurie, just happened to be the zombie chasing me in the earlier picture. She had a great race and also won the best costume award!
Photo courtesy of Bill
After having run a 5K just six days earlier, Erin ran a great race; in fact, her best yet since an injury last year.
Photo courtesy of Bill
Another great friend and again fellow Ragnar teammate, Kim, ran with her daughter. This is B’s second 5K this summer, and she rocked both races. And while we’re at it, can we just admire Kim’s arms for a second!
Photo courtesy of Bill
After the race Bill snapped this picture of Kelley, Erin, and me. Such good running friends spending a beautiful fall afternoon together!
Photo courtesy of Bill
It wasn’t until Bill showed me the pictures that I realized he’d gotten a picture of me hugging Vanessa after her race. You see, I first met Vanessa at Kim’s house at a Christmas party last year. That night, Kim and I worked on talking Vanessa into joining our MRTT chapter. Eventually she did, and she’s come out swinging! Bill captured the moment that I congratulated her on another great race, and her husband Gumby looked on proudly. In fact, he was so proud that he never quit smiling!
Photo courtesy of Bill
Bill and I left before the awards ceremony, so I didn’t get to collect my medal, but there’s nothing new there. If you’ve read my blog for long, you know that used to have a habit of leaving the race without checking to see how I’d done and then I’d have to jump through hoops to collect my award at a later time.
Edited note: Lesley was kind enough to mail my medal to me after the race!
Laurie did stick around, and received her best costume award! Congrats, Laurie!
Photos courtesy of Laurie
Once back home, Stella approved of my cat costume, and actually sat still for one millionth of a second for this picture!
Photo courtesy of Bill
Next Halloween, if you’re looking for a fun family race, look no farther than the Ghost, Goblins & Ghouls Spooktacular 5K! Let’s just hope the weather will be this perfect again!
Thank you, Lesley, for a fun race and a fun Halloween afternoon!
- Questions:
- Do you prefer morning or afternoon races?
- Have you ever dressed up for a race?
- Did you race this weekend?
Costumes are not my thing, so unless you count my sparkle skirt, no, I’ve never dressed up for a race. I prefer morning, but a little later in the morning.
Great job on the negative splits!
Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy recently posted…Don’t tell mama my runfessions: can you relate?
Thanks! Later in the morning is definitely a better time to run in the winter to give the sun a chance to warm things up a little.
This looks so fun! People were so creative with their costumes! I am a fan of morning races. I did a night race once (Disney Wine and Dine) which ended up being pretty cool but I really stressed about what to do, eat, nap during the day. Bike races happen at all times throughout the day so that is always a challenge as well, although at least on a bicycle the GI distress potential is lower than while running.
Kelli recently posted…Weekly Wrap: Back to the Track
A night race wound stress me out except at Ragnar! Good point about GI distress during running versus biking.
[…] my friend Deb was able to score some race entries for the Ghost 5k in our town. I entered one of her contests […]
I am not usually a costume runner either but it was fun to do once in a while! Looks like you had a blast
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner recently posted…Cranberry & Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash
We did!
You looked so cute in your Superwoman costume at last weekend’s 5K!
Looks like a fun race. I prefer morning races. They are easier on my body.. Afternoon races make my body and medications all whacky!
Sarah recently posted…#Purplestrong
It was so fun! Of course, races are always more fun when you get to hang out with friends before and after!
Dressing up for races is not a big thing in France. I am not a costume person in general and even less when running. Chafing anyone ?
Karen @ Fit in France recently posted…I did a MAS (Maximum Aerobic Speed) test
Yeah, you could get yourself into some nasty chafing situations with some costumes!
Congrats on the AG win and a great race! It looks like they had a great turnout for the race and lots and lots of costumes. The Gumby picture cracks me up! Also, I can’t believe how big Stella is getting!
Thank you! Isn’t Stella huge? She’s so sweet, too!
[…] first ever Halloween themed race was the Ghost, Goblins & Ghouls Spooktacular 5K. I donned my cat ears, tail, and whiskers and joined my fellow MRTT friends for a fun-packed […]
[…] to say we do it all with the exception of weddings. m.b LoGistics & events owns two events (Ghost 5K and Loudoun Mini Athletes Tri) and has a goal of offering more community style events with a […]