Shamrock 5K Race Report!

It’s been another crazy week in our lives, but first things first:  I must show off the new purchase made in our household this week!

Yep, DS#1 got a brand new pair of shoes—his first real pair of running shoes! Thursday was exactly one month since he started his 10k training plan, and after 30 days of never wavering in his commitment, we decided he’d earned a new pair of shoes.  Of course, only my kid would pick the bright yellow ones. 😉

He was really excited about getting new shoes, and he immediately went home and ran 2 very fast miles on the treadmill to test them out! At the advice of the salesperson at the running shoe store, I got him a pair of “wicking” socks to help prevent blisters.  I even got myself a pair, since they sounded pretty useful!

He was anxious to use his new shoes for our 5k race on Saturday, and since he said they felt great for his treadmill run, I figured it couldn’t hurt.  Who am I to dampen his enthusiasm, right?

Back in early January, I was plotting out my half-marathon schedule and saw that I needed to do a 5k the weekend of February 23-24^th according to that plan.  I looked for one in the area, but didn’t find one that I was overly excited about.  About a week later, a friend of mine (a non-runner) sent out a notice for a 5k she’d heard about to a bunch of her friends who are runners, including me.

She was publicizing it because it benefited Prevent Child Abuse America (formerly the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse), which she believed to be a very worthwhile cause. What she didn’t know is that this organization is near and dear to my heart, because it was the “official” charity of my sorority, Kappa Delta, back in college.  And lo and behold, it turns out that the race was being put on by a KD chapter!  I was a Kappa Delta at Wayne State, and while this was a different chapter (Bowling Green State University), it’s all the same sorority. 🙂

I was positively geeked at finding a 5k that fit perfectly with my schedule and supported some of my sorority sisters in their annual “Shamrock project.” (That’s the name of the charitable event all chapters do in the spring, around St. Patrick’s Day, to support the NCPCA/PCAA.)  I asked DS#1 if he wanted to participate as well, and he was very enthusiastic about running a 5k—even in February! 😉 I signed us up immediately, indicating in my registration that I was a KD alum, and I received a very warm response from the event organizer, who seemed genuinely excited to welcome an alumna sister to their event. I was especially excited to find that they even had daycare available, which was perfect for DS#2, who would have to attend with us due to my husband’s work schedule.

The night before the race, I dug through my closet and found my old KD sweatshirt that my mom had cross-stitched for me.  It was a bit big, but it was nice and warm, and it clearly displayed my status as an official Kappa Delta, so I wore it with pride.  The boys and I left about 7:30am, because we wanted to make sure we got a race t-shirt. (Yes, I know a lot of people get sick of the race shirts, but I’m still new at this, and I love every one! 😉 )

Now, I know sororities get a bad rap in some places, but I am here to tell you—don’t believe the negative hype!  Sorority girls are not the air-headed, snobby, party-hard girls you are led to believe from watching TV and movies.  In my college experience, sorority girls are mature, hard-working, and caring.  They work hard to maintain their grades (there is a GPA requirement, and many chapters pride themselves on having the highest average GPA within their university), they have many responsibilities within their chapter (including organizing charitable events such as this race), and they work very hard to be welcoming and kind to everyone that they meet.  In a nutshell—they are great young women!

When I walked into the BGSU field house with my boys, there were at least half a dozen KDs standing in the lobby, holding signs and welcoming the race entrants with gusto.  And when I say gusto…I mean gusto, lol! They were so enthusiastic, it made me feel like I was at a big-city marathon instead of a small 5k organized by a bunch of college women. 🙂

When they saw me with my KD sweatshirt, they welcomed us with even more enthusiasm, and led us to the registration table.  We were signed in quickly and got our t-shirts, and then the girls explained the child-care area, where they would have their early childhood development majors taking charge of the kids.  (Brilliant idea, I’d say!) I could see they had plenty of games as well as plenty of sporting items to entertain the kids, and I knew DS#2 would be just fine.

We had time to kill before the race, so I went to the lobby and asked one of the girls if she would mind taking a picture of me and DS#1.  They were more than happy to oblige, and a few of them even posed with us, signs and all!

Because they were so enthusiastic, I then asked if I could get a picture of me with some of them to have a “sister shot” on my blog.  They agreed without hesitation, and seemed really excited that I would be posting about their race and their chapter on my blog.

I made sure to tell them that my blog is pretty “small time,” but they were enthusiastic just the same. 🙂

Soon after that, the race began, and DS#1 and I started around the middle of the pack. Unfortunately, we had a pretty good snow storm early Friday morning, and then a slight warm-up that then froze that night, so there was a lot of ice around.  My poor DS#1 must have gotten pretty sick of me telling him over and over as we ran, “Watch the ice! Watch the ice!”  We slowed down when we needed to, and although he did have one close call toward the end, we maintained our footing quite well.

DS#1 was really motivated for this race.  I let him wear the Garmin and the footpod, and he was very cognizant of his pace throughout.  I was surprised when he told me he was running in the mid-10s for his pace…that was pretty fast for him, considering the footing! He was intent on pushing himself, and I had to constantly remind him not to overdo it.  He really seemed to be feeling good, though, so I tried not to be the overprotective mamabear too much. 😉

We had five or size turns on the course, and I found it heart-warming to see all the young Kappa Deltas that were stationed at each turn, with their big, colorful signs in hand, cheering us on and making sure we knew which way to go.  I have decided that all races should hire sorority members to act as official cheerleaders along the course—you can’t get much more cheerful than a sorority girl! 😉

As we made our way around the BGSU campus, we enjoyed the sights, and we even passed a cemetery. (You all know I love cemeteries.) DS#1 had that one near-fall that I mentioned, and that took his pace down quite a bit, so of course my competitive son determined that he had to run faster after that.  When we got almost to the end, he sprinted, like he always does whenever we’re running together.  I almost kept up with him this time, but eventually I said screw it and let him go. 😉 He finished with a GREAT pace…10:16 overall!  I was so proud of him!

I knew he was very proud of himself, too.  That’s actually one of the best outcomes of running with my son: seeing him gain so much self-confidence in his abilities, and seeing how proud he is of his accomplishments. It makes me all teary every time I see his huge smile when he’s accomplished some new personal best.

After the race, we gathered up DS#2 (who was playing soccer with one of the elementary ed majors and, I think, cheating) and then we all quickly went over to the chapter house for the “after-race lunch,” which consisted of macaroni and cheese and hot chocolate—perfect for my kids, lol!

While we were there, I was able to get my picture with some KDs out front.

We didn’t have a chapter house at Wayne State (it’s a commuter school, so no sororities did), and I was fascinated by the sorority housing at BGSU. 😛 After we took that picture, all the sisters insisted we pose doing “the sign.” I will freely admit I had no idea what the sign was, but they did their best to teach me, and I can’t deny it was great fun to try!

I was truly impressed with this race and the young women who ran it.  They did an amazing job at pulling this together with what I suspect were pretty meager funds and resources (based on my recollection of Shamrock projects that we did in college).  Despite the obstacles (money, resources, weather), it all seemed to go off perfectly.

Beyond their impressive organizational accomplishments, however, I was even more impressed with how they handled themselves.  These women were truly a credit to Kappa Delta and to sorority women everywhere:  they were so genuinely enthusiastic about each and every runner, it was truly humbling to watch them give encouragement and praise right down to the very last finisher.

As for my personal experience, all I can say is that from the moment I arrived to the moment I left, I felt enveloped in genuine warmth and caring—these young women truly made me feel like a “sister,” even though I am 20 years older than all of them! It was a wonderful experience, and I hope they have another one next year, because if they do, you can bet I will be bugging my fellow WSU Kappa Delta alum to come down and show their support for our sisters of the next generation of Kappa Delta!

Thanks so much for reading!