The Honest Mother Runner: Granville Maple Leaf 5k/10k

What a great race! I'm a sucker for cheap races. For these short races, I don't need the medal. I think my requests aren't too much to ask for:

A registration fee that doesn't break the bank.
A course that is true to the distance that you are advertising.
People who are excited to be there (whether you are a volunteer, spectator, or racer).
Atypical swag (i.e. coffee mugs, maple syrup).
Proceeds go to something meaningful.

This race got a check mark for all five. It cost only $20 if you pre-registered online (5k or 10k); $15 for youth and only $5 more to register on race day. This included a great t-shirt and all of the other things in these pics (except the Army stuff and syrup...that was part of my prize):

The course, per my Garmin, was 3.12 miles. I can't speak for the 10k, but they ran the 5k course x2, so I'm guessing it was close. I've never seen volunteers and race directors so excited on race day. They even got the kids at the school involved by having them make signs. It was so cute! One of them said "Everyone is a WINER!" Ha!! They definitely treated you like royalty. For the top overall and top in each age group, you won maple syrup! I'm not a huge syrup fan (my boys are), but I loved the idea. On top of that, they were giving away raffle prizes to the participants. The proceeds of the race went to the Granville Kiwanis Club...specifically, a project to renovate a local playground.

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Amanda picked me up around 7:15 a.m. (so the hubs could let the kiddos sleep in and come a little later). We did not get lost on the way there so that was a good sign that this would be a good day!

Part of my cheer squad.

Turn into the school driveway. Be blinded by the sun. Run over turn around cone. Almost run over the competition. Pick up race packet. Look at cute signs. Poop. Warm up for two miles (8:49/mile).

There was no chip timing, so they encouraged the faster runners to go up front. Based on last year's results, Amanda and I decided to get close to the front. Amanda wanted a slow start (her slow start is my race pace!!!) and stayed with me for the first half of the race. We headed east, away from the school, before turning on the main road. As we started, this race was bringing back very frigid memories of the 2015 Granville Winter Run. It was a blistering cold 15 miler. I remembered it had some rolling hills, so I was expecting the potential for some elevation. It didn't seem bad at all. It seemed that we were always going up or down...rarely flat...but I wouldn't say there were any significant hills...very, very minor.

As we reached our first turn around point, we had to run into this lady's looped GRAVEL driveway (pre-approved by the resident, of course)! That was a nice change in terrain (insert eye roll). Just after the gravel, we reached mile 1 [7:04]. I was actually shocked. I didn't feel like I was running that fast. I went into this knowing I likely only needed to run a 23 or 24 minute 5k to win the syrup. I knew I wanted to try to get one more good mile to distance myself from the other girls. There was one girl...I think she ended up getting 3rd place...that seemed to be staying with Amanda and me in the first quarter mile, but she quickly slowed down. Unfortunately, at the turn around, I had no idea how close the other girls were to me.

We now headed back to the school to do another out and back going the other direction. As we passed the school, Jimmy and the kids were just arriving. It was awesome to hear them cheer me on!! This was also about the time that Amanda parted ways. As we were approaching 2 miles, I was anxious to see my split. I got distracted by one of the awesome signs that I missed my split! Ugh. I had no clue how fast I was running and no idea if any other girl was close to me.

I knew the second turn around was coming up. Seeing Amanda would pump me up in addition to finally being able to see how close the other girls were to me. After the turn, it appeared that I could slow way down and still win. I decided to give myself a break and take it back a gear. As I was approaching the finish, everyone was so excited! What a great crowd!!

Cool down for me...warm up for James. What a gorgeous day!

After I crossed the line, I had a case of the dry heaves! Ha!! Not sure what that was about. I looked at my watch and it read 3.12 miles, 22:21.

They grabbed the tear off section of my bib, gave me some congrats, and handed me my syrup. Yay!!! I hugged the fam and waited for the other girls to run in.

Winner winner syrup dinner.

I was curious about my splits since I missed the last two miles. Mile 2 ended up being [7:00] and mile 3 [7:25]. Maybe my 5th best time? I guess I can't complain about that.

1st and 2nd place.

I then got to enjoy watching Amanda run by for her second loop. She was dominating the women in the 10k. Not only was she 1st female, but 3rd overall! I ended up 6th overall and 1st female. Official time of...

22:22.