Getting a high-five from my son Colby during the race!
On Saturday, May 2, I ran the Eugene Marathon 5K. I use the word "run"
extremely lightly because serious runners, like my friends Mark and Chris, would more likely term it "jogging" if they saw me at it. I ran the Eugene Marathon 5K race in 2008 and had such a fun time - it was my first 5K run ever - so of course I had to compete again this year.
Prior to the start of Saturday's race, I drove the race route since it was a new one this year. As I drove it, I thought to myself...no problem! The route even seemed relatively short. Awesome! Well, it turns out...it was...short, that is! I'd turned left at one juncture where I should have turned right. So as I am running, I get to the juncture and wonder why everyone is going to the right? Huh? What the heck? I decide, "oh well, I will go with them" and kept running. I think there was nearly a whole mile that I hadn't accounted for on my drive-by. No wonder it seemed so short.
Moving on! Krusteaz is one of the title sponsors of the Eugene Marathon. One of my favorite moments of the race was when the Krusteaz pancake showed up just before race time - being chased by a "fork." The gimmick was that if you could out-run the pancake you'd get 40 pounds - a year's supply - of Krusteaz pancake mix. Well, I am not a big fan of pancakes, but sure, I'll chase a giant pancake and try! It turns out I didn't out run it, but I did beat my previous time by over three minutes! Isn't that worth free pancake mix? FREE anything?