Ted's Run Race Recap

This weekend I participated in the first official Ted's Run for Literacy. It was a 10k in memory of Ted Swain, a respected runner and english teacher in Winnipeg. The race was also to raise money for a literacy program called Start2Finish.

Because the race director is a friend of mine and a regular at The Running Room that I run out of, a ton of my running friends were also at the race. It was was fun to see so many people out, both running and volunteering along the route.

The morning started out awesome! The temperature was perfect, the sun was out, and the energy was high. There was great music playing and we even had a group warmup. I was a little distracted because my parents were coming out to the run and I was excited to see them.

This race started at the finish line. After the warmup the whole group of runners walked to the start line together. My dad even came with us to take a couple pictures.

The only picture my dad got of me running, without my butt in it!

Yep, there it is.

Everything started out great and I tried really hard not to look at my watch. I was scared that I was going pretty fast and seeing the pace might freak me out. At the 5k mark I suddenly got a really bad cramp in my side. It felt like my whole right side was starting to seize up.  Luckily the turnaround point and water station was in view.  I decided to take a sip of water and walk a couple seconds which seemed to do the trick.


Around mile 4 I heard a strange sound behind me.  I couldn't place it until he passed me...a barefoot runner.  I quickly pulled up beside him and chatted his ear off with a million questions. (Don't worry I asked if he was cool to chat and gave him permission to tell me to get lost). I've seen this guy at races before, he always has a smile on his face and an encouraging word to share. I'm pretty sure this is his blog.

The last loop of the park felt like it took forever and I was really excited to see the glorious red inflatable finish line. There was loud music and a bunch of people cheering, including my parents! One last sprint and I finished it up in 53:35!!

Considering that my previous PB from my first and only other official 10k was 1:06, I was ecstatic!  It was a great way to end an amazing running season!