If you’re a regular reader of this blog, or you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that 5Ks are my running kryptonite. I think they are, hands down, the hardest distance. If you truly push yourself to your limit, nothing hurts more, in my opinion. Not even the marathon. 

At least they’re over quickly? 

And every time I run a 5K, I say to myself – that’s it. I am DONE with this distance. And yet. I keep registering for them, mainly because other people ask me to do them and I have a hard time saying no! 

But this time, I might REALLY be done with 5Ks until 2023, because I just ran three 5Ks in three weeks. Surely, I have met my quota for the year! 

Here’s a look back at my personal 5K series! 

Father’s Day 5K Farm Festival: 23:38 

My friend Josh, who is also a Rip It Events ambassador, told me about this one and encouraged me to sign up. (He actually loves 5Ks and says it’s his favorite distance. Wild!) I agreed to run and true to form, did zero research about the course or anything. So imagine my surprise when the race organizer sent an email to participants the day before and casually mentioned that it would be 99% on grass. The hell? I never ran cross country or anything in high school, and I barely do any trail running (too prone to falling!) This should be interesting! I thought. I already knew I wasn’t in 5K PR shape, but I really had no idea what to expect. My main goal was not to trip and fall, or twist my ankle on the grass. 

The race, held at the Baltimore County Ag Center, actually reminded me of the hellish Red, White and Blue Mountain 5K that Staci and I have run twice together, and she ran for the third time this year. And it was definitely one of the slowest 5Ks I’ve run in recent years. Not only was the course almost all on the grass, but it was HILLY and I went out way, way too fast. Once I finished the first mile, I felt like I was already bonking, and the next two miles were torture. I had to stop and walk a few times, which always sucks in a 5K. At least the weather was good – high 60s at the start (almost unheard of for June in Maryland!), though it was pretty windy. 

Overall, I actually did pretty well. I came in third place female with a 23:38 (7:37 pace) – the second place female passed me just before we hit mile 3 – and won my age group, and I received a $25 gift card that’s good for some Baltimore restaurants. And we got pizza and beer after the race, always a plus! I can’t say I was disappointed in my time since I had no real expectations, and I got to try something new, so that’s a win in my book! 

Dewey Beach Patrol 5K: 20:33

OK, so this 5K I signed up for without any peer pressure, so I have no one to blame but myself. 🙂 When I found out my family vacation to Rehoboth was happening on June 25, I immediately started looking for a local race and found this annual 5K. (Four years ago, I ran the 10K version of the race – the 10K appears to have been discontinued.) When I woke up this morning of the race, I told my husband, “I wish this was a 10 miler!” It’s true! But I got ready and ran into Dewey for the race. It started at the northbeach bar, about two miles from the beach house my family rented, so that was a nice warmup. Dewey and Rehoboth are flat as can be, so I knew it would be a fast course.

And it went well! The course went from northbeach into the residential neighborhoods of Dewey and then back to northbeach. Not a hill to be seen. I focused on pushing hard and trying not to look at my watch too much. I had seen ahead of time that the first place Masters female would win a $25 gift card, so I was hoping I could maybe win that. 

And I did! At the turnaround around mile 1.5, some other runners started calling out to me that I was in second place. (The first place female was a 16-year-old girl who finished in a blistering 18:08. Her 15-year-old brother came in first place male with a 16:40! Fast family!) I felt the way I always do halfway through a 5K – like death. I just kept telling myself it would be over soon. I ended up finishing in 20:33 (6:37 pace) – four seconds off my PR! – and was thrilled with that. 

I won a wine glass that I sadly left at the beach house – it’s OK because I have a bunch of them from previous beach races – and a $25 gift card that was good for several of the bars in Dewey. Of course, I almost missed the awards ceremony altogether because I was drinking a beer at the after party. Typical. 

Race4TheWorld 5K: 17:35

OK, don’t get too excited! I did not run a 17:35 5K. The course was a half mile short!

This race happened on Fourth of July, and Race4TheWorld reached out to me on Instagram to ask me if I would be interested in running it. The race benefitted Luminus, a Howard County-based nonprofit that helps immigrants. Full disclosure, they offered me a free race entry as well as some extra comp codes! The race took place at Merriweather Post Pavilion and at the start of the race, the company that was handling the timing said they had had to unexpectedly shorten the course. No idea why. I wasn’t too bummed about it, though. I’d just run a really strong 5K a week before, and I wasn’t going for a PR. Also, as I just said, I always feel like death when I’m halfway through a 5K. Cut the race a little short? No problem! 

The race was in and around Merriweather, and it was quite hilly, as all races in Columbia are. We started right there in front of the concert stage, and immediately went up a short but steep hill, then circled the area and ran on the tree-lined paths around the venue. I was behind one other woman for about the first half mile, then was able to pass her and held onto the first place spot (among females) until the end. My average pace was 6:48, and I think I could have held onto that had it been a true 5K. I still felt completely gassed at the end. I won a $25 gift certificate to The Common Kitchen, a food emporium in Clarksville, so I am looking forward to checking that out. 

Thanks again to Race4TheWorld for inviting me to run the race! You can learn more about all the great work Luminis does here. 

What’s Next? 

I actually don’t have any more races planned until Aug. 28, when I run the Annapolis Ten Mile Run – my very favorite race! It was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, and I am so happy it’s back! That kicks off a BUSY few months of racing. I think I am racing something like every weekend in September. 

And then I run the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9 and the Philly Marathon on Nov. 20! I start training in earnest on July 18, but I’ve been running upwards of 40 miles a week the last few weeks so I’m already kind of in training mode. The plan I am about to start following is intense and I want to make sure I have a good base in place before I really start hammering it hard. 

I can’t wait!