Fall Color Run Race Report

Yesterday was a special 5k race for me, because I got to join a long-time friend for her first-ever race!

My friend Cindy and I met more than twenty years ago.  We both showed Morgan horses when we were younger, and we met at a horse show when I hitched a ride home with her from Columbus in about 1990. (Yes, we were both 12 at the time. 😉 )  With anyone else, it might have been a very long ride with a total stranger, but Cindy and I hit it off immediately, and we’ve been friends ever since.  A lot has happened since then—marriages, jobs, kids, and all that—but we still keep in touch.  She still rides and owns a horse, and I just enjoy listening to her “barn stories.” 😉 Her oldest son played hockey for quite a while, so have that in common as well.

A few months ago, Cindy mentioned to me that she was going to start running.  I was quite humbled for her to say that she felt inspired by the running I’d been doing, and I was very enthusiastic about her decision to run.  She began the couch-to-5k program, and I encouraged her to find a race to mark the end of her program.  She found one not far from where she lived, and I was thrilled that we had no hockey that day and I could actually go and run with her!

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When race day dawned, it was more than a little brisk—about 40 degrees, to be precise.  Brrrrr!!!  My husband and boys came with me, and when we arrived, we walked down a path to a clearing where they had the race start.

Cindy and I immediately picked up our bib numbers.

I took a shot of her with her sweet son, who came to cheer on his mom.

While we waited, I took a few pictures…duh. 😉 It was hard not to take pictures, though.  The name of the race was the “Fall Color Run,” and let me tell you, it lived up to its name!

The run was a dual charity event for the Thin Blue Line of Michigan as well as the Michigan State Troopers Fallen Heroes fund.  Besides a very moving presentation on the importance of those two charities, there was also a bag-piper who played a beautiful song as she led us down the path toward the starting point.  She was kind enough to let me take her picture before we started.

As I mentioned earlier, it was only about 40 degrees yesterday morning.  We could easily see our breath, and there was a lot of waiting while they did the presentations and got things set up to start. By the time they were ready to begin the race, Cindy and I were just about frozen!  My fingers are always the first to go (you’d think all these years spent in hockey arenas would have toughened me up!), and for the first time in all my different races, I actually felt the need to wear gloves!  Here we are right before the start.  I don’t know about Cindy, by my teeth were chattering in this shot!

Finally, we set off!  It was a very odd course.  They had us run along the asphalt path for only a short while before we suddenly were taken along a dirt trail.  I think calling it a trail might almost be an overstatement! It was incredibly narrow, not well-marked, on uneven ground, and it was rife with tree roots!  No lie…some of those roots were as big as my  head!  I saw at least one person trip and fall to their knees on those roots. 🙁

So here we were, a few hundred runners, all bunched together on this narrow trail, trying to not bump into each other while at the same time, trying to not trip over these roots.  It was…interesting.  Cindy and I did our best to navigate the obstacles, but I was surprised at how difficult it was.  I was thrilled when we finally ended up back on the asphalt path!

Once we were off the dirt path, and I no longer had to constantly look down to watch my footing, I began to look around and I was thrilled with the view.

Those pictures really don’t even do it justice.  I actually took them after the race, and I only had the time (and energy!) to go a few hundred yards back down the path.  There were so many times we’d come around a bend and the oranges, reds, and yellows would just be stunning.  It was an amazing course in that respect!

Cindy and I ran at her pace, which I thought was pretty darn good!  I was definitely not feeling like it was an “easy” run by any stretch for me.  The race was held in Northville, which is an area where I used to board my horses, and one thing I had forgotten about that part of southeast Michigan is that it’s quite hilly!  I was surprised at how many inclines we had to run up. It really didn’t feel like we had an equal number of declines. 😛

Cindy and I chatted some while we ran.  I probably shouldn’t have talked quite so much, because I remember my first 5k and how I could not possibly hold a conversation while I ran it, but it’s just not in my nature to be with someone and not have a conversation. 😉 We talked about various things, including the “flag” runners that were keeping pace with us. They were two men, both of whom had backpacks on (and pretty full-looking ones at that!).  One of them was holding an American flag on a pole, and the other had a POW-MIA flag on a pole.  They stayed with us for most of the race, passing us, then we’d pass them, etc.  Cindy and I marveled at how they could run with all that extra “stuff.”  They were quite impressive.

We walked a couple of times, but for the most part, we ran at a pretty decent pace.  As we neared the finish line, we were both getting excited.  I suspect Cindy was excited because she was about to finish her first 5k race…I was just excited about getting back to my car to thaw out my fingers!! 😛  (Yes, even after running 3.1 miles, my fingers were still numb!)

Okay, okay, besides my frozen digits, I really was excited to watch Cindy finish.  I lagged back a bit so I could watch her make her way around the final bend.

And there she is—finished!  I was so excited for her, I immediately went up and gave her a huge hug.

She says she thinks I was holding her up in that first photo, but I can assure you that she was doing just fine on her own!  I was really impressed with how well she ran the race.  She was tired when it was done, but she looked great!  I still remember my first 5k, and I swear I thought I was going to die when it was over.  Cindy seemed much more composed than I did.  😉

Her son found her and of course I had to get a post-race photo of the two of them.

I love that photo.  You can really see how proud he is of her.  🙂

While we were there, we ran into a friend Cindy knows from her golfing league.  She and I waited at the finish line until her friend came around the bend, and then we cheered her to the finish line.  When she was done, we got a post-race photo of the three of us.

And for posterity, I got a shot with my favorite runner.

(My DS#1 really wanted to run the race with us, but since he had a hockey practice that afternoon, I didn’t feel that was in his best interest.  However, we’ve already decided on our next race together in November!)

When we’d had a chance to catch our breath (and warm up!), we headed over to see our results.  Cindy did a great job, finishing in less than 37 minutes!  So awesome!!  I was so happy for her, and I was so thrilled and honored to be there for her first race.  I had a ton of fun…I’m learning that running with friends is a great way to race!

Cindy has told me that she’s already signed up for another race, which I believe is in December, and I know she’s going to do great.  I hope to be able to cheer her on for that one, too!

Thanks for reading and for sharing in my joy to celebrate my friend Cindy’s first 5k! (First of many, right Cindy?? 😉 )