Lewisburg Lights 5K



On Friday night I ran the Lewisburg Lights 5K. This was a "new to me" race. I hadn't run a night race since Rock n Roll Las Vegas a few years back so I was quite excited.

Since I had already placed in my age group at my last 5K earlier this month, I felt no pressure what so ever to really be speedy. 

My dad is still not running due to his shoulder surgery but he agreed to come to the race with me and hang out. The race started at a nice park in town near lots of restaurants and shopping, so he would have things to do while I ran. 



Packet pick up was at the gazebo in the park. For a local race, there was a very large turn out


I was looking for something bright to wear and was almost going to wear my bright orange tank. I'm glad I decided on the pink one instead because there was a group of girls all wearing orange tanks.
I didn't have anything that glowed so I wore my RunLites gloves!


There were no corrals so we all just stood behind the start line.  I was already standing there for several minutes when a lady I will affectionately call "Amazon Lady"  walked in front of me with her friend and was literally in my space. Did she not see I was standing there? I mean her waist was almost at my eye level. She was practically standing on top of me. If you've ever seen the tv show "The Middle", yea, I felt like Sue Heck, invisible!  I refused to move because I wanted her to realize how close she was. Let's face it, I don't require a lot of space, but this was ridicules.  She never ended up acknowledging me or moving.

Before we started, the announcer told us that the race was chip timed, but awards would be based on gun time, which I though was rather odd. They encouraged those who thought they might win an age group to move to the front. I ended up staying in the back where I was.

They announced the overall winners would earn a gift certificate to a local tavern (where the after party was being held), and I believe age group winners would be given potted Mums. No medals. Well, that certainly didn't entice me...haha

We got these great long sleeved shirts!

The race started at 7pm.   We headed down Market Street which is the main drag with restaurants and shops. Even with the slight incline of the road, I felt like I was doing well. I later saw that my pace was in the 8's. Not bad.   As we turned down a residential street it got bottle necked and I ended up getting behind one of the girls in the orange tank tops that was running with her group.  She was running but it was almost like she was doing a shuffle and I felt like if I stayed behind her, I was going to either trip or run into her. I had a hard time getting around her but finally I did.

We only ran down Market street once and then the rest of the course was around the college campus and in front of the cemetery. I had previously heard that we ran through the cemetery (and all the hills) so I was relieved when we only ran in front of it and not through it. When we finished that lap, we did it one more time. I didn't realize we would be running two laps of  (almost) the same course

After the first mile I slowed down and it felt as if everyone was passing me. How did these people have so much energy???



This was a Very Fast race ( meaning that the runners were all really fast). Even though I felt slow, turns out that I only finished one second slower than my last 5K where I placed.  I looked at the official race results the next morning and I saw that even a 28 minute finish was a 25th place in my age group. This really proves that races are all relative to who shows up that day ( or night).   In all, I'm no worse for wear and glad that I ran it.

My dad and I decided not to go to the after party because the Tavern is not that big and there were SO many runners going. I gave my beverage ticket to another runner and then my dad and I sat on the curb and cheered for the rest of the runner.  There was this one girl that was coming in  towards the finish and as she turned the corner, she started walking towards the curb. We hollered for her to keep running to the finish line but she said "It's embarrassing"!  What???  She did not want to cross the finish line because the clock was already at 37 (or 38) minutes.  I was about to get up and tell her I would run in with her but before I did, she got back on the course and finished the race! -M

Have you ever heard of a chipped timed race using the gun time for awards?
Have you ever encountered a lady like "Amazon Lady" in the corrals?




                                               We are linking up with the gals from TOTR.

26 comments:

  1. I think all the 5ks I've done have used gun times for awards. I'm not sure why they do that but it was probably good that they told you beforehand! I didn't realize that until after the first time I placed in a race. This sounds like a fun race! Congrats!

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    1. I've ran races before that I am assuming were not chip timed because they tore off a piece of our bib and placed it on a board as we crossed the finish line. I would assume that was based on gun time. That is just confusing!

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  2. I've had issues with big people in the corrals like that. It's so unnerving being smashed into someone's backside. I think some runners are just in their own little world.

    Congrats on a great finish time. Sounds like it was crazy crowded!

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    1. Yea, some runners need to practice self awareness when in a crowd like this.

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  3. I dont get people that have no awareness of people around them.
    That is so weird about the chips but going by gun time? How does that make any sense. I guess they didnt want to deal with figuring it all out - just wanted the visual of first person, second person. etc... boo.
    I've done 1 late race & it scared me - so much of it wasn't lit up & I was terrified of tripping

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    1. There was not a timing mat at the start/finish line so I just assumed those white panels above were tracking the time. However, it should have tracked both the start and finish time so i have NO IDEA why they went by gun time and not chip time. I didn't really care though as I knew I wasn't going to try to place, and to be honest with such a large crowd in my age group I wouldn't have placed even if I wanted to try...haha

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  4. Ugh, I hate it when people just stand in your space like you're invisible! That's one of my pet peeves. The shirt looks great, this sounds like it was a fun race :)

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    1. Yea, people need to be more aware when they are in a crowd. The shirt is great! I might consider running this race again!

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  5. As short as I am, I often am blocked by people who don't seem to see me - a total Sue Heck moment, for sure! My first EVER 5K was a nighttime race and I didn't know any better...but those are not my favorite to run (I'm afraid of tripping) and I've only done one since.

    Glad you encouraged that woman to keep running - it's sad to see someone get discouraged like that.

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    1. I'm glad you got the Sue Heck reference..haha
      It was still pretty light for the first lap and only got dark during the second lap but when it did, it GOT DARK.

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  6. I really hate people invading my personal space. :( And 2 laps for a 5k? Not fun! Sounds like you did great, and yes, it's all about who shows up. Although I usually don't even check my place. :)

    I never, ever consider not finishing a race -- unless something hurts. Even if I'm really slow and walking . . . like this weekend. But heck, there were runners who finished 2 hours after me!

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  7. And oh yeah, as Mr. Judy said this weekend, he's always playing "Where's Waldo (or Judy)" as he tries to take photos of me at the start. He completely failed at that this weekend, as I was totally hidden, although he did get some photos later in the race. Let's just say any smile was fake. :)

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    1. Haha, my dad said he was trying to get pictures of me too! Thankfully he got a great one at the finish line.

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  8. Congrats on your race! I did a small race in NJ a couple of years ago and it was full of very speedy runners. It was my first race after an injury so my expectations were low, thank goodness! The night races look fun, but I'd be annoyed by the disorganized crowd and trying to pass people.

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    1. The race for the most part was pretty organized. No complaints here. Just some people need to be more "aware"!

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  9. This sounds like a really fun race! and is that a longsleeve shirt? I love nigh glow races that give out black shirts!

    I strongly dislike two lap type races, they are emotionally draining!

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    1. Yes! It is a long sleeve shirt and it is really soft. One I will definitely be wearing this winter. I agree on the double lap races but this actually wasn't so bad because the last lap wasn't exactly double as we didn't run down Market street for a second time. By passing Market street made the last lap go by quicker.

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  10. I love the lights in your first pic.
    Did you enjoy Vegas RnR? Contemplating that one for 2020

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  11. Actually, I have heard of awards based on gun time more often than chip times...I think it encourages the "faster" runners to seed themselves towards the front and the "less serious" ones to just line up wherever (because they'll still have their chip time without the hassle of a crowded start). My theory ;-)

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  12. I so feel you on the space thing. I'm 5'2" and must be pretty invisible to lots of people. It's actually pretty standard to base awards on gun time. Good to know that going in. Congrats!

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  13. This looks like such a fun race. I've only done a few evening races. I'm NOT an evening runner anymore. I used to be, but mom life changed that one. Ha!

    There's a local holiday race around here that awards based on gun not chip. It actually caused me to be bumped out of the age group awards once. My chip time was 30 seconds faster, but my gun time was 1 second slower. UGH. But yeah, not unheard of. If I'm out to get an award, I line up toward the front.

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  14. I hate when people don't respect personal space in the corrals. I'm short so I feel your pain on that!

    Congrats on a good race!

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  15. Great job!! I have heard of races doing that before with awards-- sounds like a very fast field though.
    I really enjoy staying after racing and cheering too- so much fun.
    AND I hope you Dad's shoulder heals soon.

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  16. Sounds like a fun race! I think I've done 2 night races. Not a fan but a least it is something different.

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  17. The chip time/gun time thing is very interesting...never heard of that one! And wow, that woman! Craziness!! Glad you still had fun, though! You're right about the race, it all depends on who comes out and shows up! Great job!!

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  18. Awww good for you for getting the runner to finish! Yeah I don't know why they would do gun time and not chip time. This is how I know I'm old: I would LOVE a potted mum for an AG award lolllllll!

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