Biggest Loser 5k

Here we are! Aren't we all just fabulous in our race shirts?! I ran the Biggest Loser 5k with some of my closest friends on Sunday, July 14th: Tabitha, Patti, and Kelly. A great group of friends!!!
There was a pretty big turnout for this race. Here we all are lined up and ready to start the race. I'd say we were in the middle somewhere.

My little family came out to cheer me on!

Chris got a great shot of me (and part of Tabitha's face) starting the race. Kelly ran it with us too, but she got caught up in the crowd at the start.

Race review: This was the worst organized race I've ever run. If I thought the ZOOMA Annapolis race was bad, then this was horrible. Packet pickup was the day before in downtown DC - in a bar! It was complete chaos with different lines forming all over the place. Adding to the confusion was that they changed the packet pickup location three times! They announced the week before that they were going to go ahead and have people pick up race morning. We decided to pickup on Saturday and just make a day of it in DC, since I wasn't sure how bad it would be race morning.
We took the metro into the race and that worked out just fine for my little family. Tabitha drove in and said she had no problems...in fact, she was expecting delays so she went early and had no problems. On our way up to the start I saw some port-a-potties and a line, figured I'd better join in. Stood in line for a bit, but nothing crazy. Turns out half the port-a-potties were really dirty and the others didn't have any toilet paper - UGH! 
The start was a big mass of confusion. They had the 10k, 5k, runners, and walkers all starting at the exact same time. The entire course was run through a parking lot. You had to follow/stay in the cones that were about as wide as a one way street. Needless to say it was crammed for most of the race. At one point we even had the 10k runners running at us! There was one, and only ONE, water station on the course. It was in the middle of a turn and had access on both sides - by runners staring the 5k, finishing the 5k, and 10ker's circling back around - talk about a mess!! It was full the first time we reached it, but when we circled and started back it was almost empty with hardly any cups (and we were towards the front of the pack - those poor people in the back!) - and if none of this makes sense just imagine being involved in the mess - UGH! There was even a point where runners crossed like an x. It was just awful. The race didn't even start until 9am so it was extremely hot and humid already, and running on the pavement in a parking lot with no trees or shade just made the whole situation worse.
The food at the finish line was: water, green bananas, plums, oranges. That's it, and it was picked over pretty good when we came through. Again, those poor people towards the back.
Good things about the race: the tech shirts were nice and the medals were great. Another bonus: my daughter ran the kids one mile fun run and she LOVED it! There section wasn't too bad - out and back, and I was able to run the whole thing with her. I let her start by herself, then I jumped in and ran it with her.

 At the start. She was about 3 rows back. They were going to let them go one row at a time...

When they let the first group go, Katelynn ran around the two rows in front of her, under the rope, and out onto the course - that's my girl!!! lol

Smiling the whole time!

She ran the entire way! I was so proud of her!! She's never run a mile before, and she did great!!! Friday night we went to the mall and walked around all the shoe stores. She picked a pair of sneakers from Payless. She said those were the most comfortable and prettiest.

Here we are after the turn around. Denver was chasing us on some of the route. Chris would put him down so he could take photos. It was a family event! 

One of the big puddles on the course. Of course she ran right though it! It was all part of the fun (Mommy was not running through it in her new shoes).

Crossing the finish!

The three of us with our medals. They even gave one to Denver even though he didn't run. He loved it too!

 

 Enjoying some water after their run.

 

 A little for the grass...

 and a little for my head...

 I thoroughly enjoyed running with Kelly and Tabitha and then being able to cheer Patti on as she crossed (she is still having shin issues and walked the race). I also loved that my little girl not only wanted to run, but ran the whole thing and enjoyed it!!!
The only minor issue we had was Katelynn disappeared on us for a little while. Thankfully Tabitha found her and the crisis was over. Worst 10 minutes of my life, and she had no idea she was even missing. In fact, she wondered why Mommy was so upset and wouldn't stop hugging and kissing her.

 

So very thankful for wonderful friends and family!!!