(Erica and Fuzzy) were trying to think of good adjectives for just how sunny it was:
- rather
- plentifully
- impressively
- emphatically
Luckily, the race we were registered for had already taken care of this issue for us in the title. Whoever named the first annual Super Sunny 5K, coordinated by Garden Center Services and brought to my attention by fellow runner and Garden Center Services employee Annabelle is either extremely lucky or has amazing weather prediction skills, because the race name fit the morning perfectly.
Burbank is about a 40 minute drive from Chicago and the only other time I've been here was for the similarly weather-themed Frosty 5K back in January. And, as it turns out, this race follows the same course, starting and finishing in the parking lot of the ever-popular Henry Lang Recreation Center. Surprising to almost no one, the weather in Burbank is quite a bit better in June than it is in January. Still, there were much fewer runners in the Super Sunny 5K (about 60) than the Frosty 5K (about 500) - Frosty's run nine times though, while this was the first time for Super Sunny.
The race started on time (9am) and the course instructions were extremely specific.
Like, this specific:
"Start at intersection of 81st & Oak Park, 25' 10" south of stop sign at NW corner. 26' N of telephone pole at SW corner."
Yes, that starting line is measured down to the inch. What's most interesting about that is that while this race was timed, it wasn't chip-timed, so all times were rough times anyway. Still, though. Great directions.
And here's all the runners gathered 25 feet 10 inches south of the stop sign getting ready for the race:
The searing cold winds that I remembered from the Frosty 5K were gone, replaced with a quiet little neighborhood with a lot of tress and not too much shade. But the volunteers were friendly and seemed excited to be there, which always makes a big difference.
Plus, I was running with a true gentleman. At the finish line, both Fuzzy and I simply insisted on allowing the other gentleman to finish first. I don't remember who finally accepted... THAT'S HOW GENTLEMANLY I AM. Seriously, though, whoever captured this photo captured the essence of gentleman runnership:
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Please. I insist. |
Afterwards there were several tents set up in the park area behind the recreation center. There was some grilling going on, a very excited DJ and a silent auction. It looked like a pretty sweet little community gathering, but we were ready to get some food right away so we took off. I'd definitely run this one again (and next year I plan not to have an IT band injury while running it).
What a great picture of you and Fuzzy and your hand gestures! Oh man, your ITB is still acting up? Boo! Nice media shirt, I was sporting mine out in CO :)
ReplyDeleteBack to reading about PAAWR! kate
HA!
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun time! It was immensely sunny, for sure.
Thank you for the photo, too! Awwww....