Official Race Recap: Purple and Gold 5k Edition

You may have thought you weren't going to hear about my most recent racing exploit but I wouldn't want to disappoint you, my faithful readers, that way.

The race was on Saturday at 9ish in the morning. It's a fairly new part of the Homecoming festivities at my alma mater. I was surprised and pleased by the level of participation from students, alumni, and community members.

Originally, the race was set for a rather hilly, paved course that took one on a tour of the campus but, a few days before the race, they switched to a grassy course that's used for cross country meets

I started out at a pretty good pace but, as has been the case lately, my legs felt like lead by the end of the first mile, which I finished in just under 12 minutes. The weather wasn't hot or cold but it was incredibly humid. At times, I felt like I was swimming more than running.

Though several friends were running the race, I trucked along the course on my own because they are all in better shape than I am right now.

There was an optional color element to the race. At two points, there were volunteers directing runners which path to take if they wanted to get plastered with purple or yellow corn starch. I unabashedly avoided being doused.

My second mile took about 14 minutes. By that point, my goal became finishing in under 40 minutes.

With about a quarter mile left, my college roommate and running inspiration, Rebecca, found me on the course and we hightailed it into the finish. She'd already scored a second place overall female win and was cooling down. I didn't feel like I had much energy left but it was a lot easier to push my pace with someone by my side. (I really need to find a running buddy.) Our friend, Rosa, also picked up an award: third place in our age group.

I managed to finish in 38:35. It wasn't a great time for me but it was a fun race and I'm glad it's been added to the homecoming line-up.

And, the best part was that almost all of my Houghton running buddies were there for the race. We were only missing Hillary and Lauren. Maybe we'll see them at 15 or, hopefully, before.

Rosa, Beth, Shelley, Rebecca, me, and Becca. Photo credit to Marlene, our cheerleader.