Harvest Festival Race recap

Every year my parent's town hosts a Harvest Festival. Its basically two weeks of festivities. The first Saturday is the bike race and the second Saturday is the 5K race.  Although none of us ever participated in the bike race, my family has been running the 5K race for several years now.


I know this may sound silly, but this 5K race was actually my goal race for the year. After coming back from the Disney Marathon this year, I decided to do more local races and concentrate on smaller distances.  Another thing that has made this my goal race is that each year we run it, I'm the only one in my family that never places...womp womp!

Unfortunately my sister wouldn't be in town to run the race this year so it was just me and my dad and my running buddy Jay. Jay and I ran several races together this summer and he has been pulling out PR's like crazy but always just misses placing in his age group. But we both agreed that placing in your age group in your 30's is usually difficult because there is such a large field in that age division.  Those of you in your 30's, would you agree with that?

So anyway, my only goal was to do the best I could and come in under 30 minutes like usual. I had some pretty good training runs in the days before so I felt pretty confident that would happen, but hey, ya never know.

The race started at 9:30 which I think is normally a little too late for a race because it gets so hot but really, this day was a perfect day for running.  As far as local races go, this is probably one of the largest 5ks in the area.

I am familiar with the course because I have been running it consistently for over a month now. The only difference is that I was running on the sidewalks and not the roads.  I thought by running on the roads that I would pick up speed but to tell you the truth, the sidewalks were flatter then the road was. Because we had to run in only one lane, I was running near the edge and the road was banked. I don't think I ever noticed this in previous years because I hadn't run the race course anytime before the race.

Around mile one we turned on to the next road and that road felt better to run on. I was so thankful for the lady running beside me because she was keeping a great pace and it motivated me to keep up. I ran with her and we intermittently chatted for the first two miles.

 I saw my mom, Scott, Baylee, and Belle spectating a little after mile two. At this time a man ran up beside me and was talking to me. The last mile of a race is when you want to push and not when you want to be having a conversation. He said "so, you run like an 8 or 9 minute mile?".  I said I didn't know but just wanted to finish in under 30 minutes.  He said his goal was 29. He told me plenty about himself.  He asked where I was from, and how old I was.  He was friendly enough but I thought he asked a lot of questions.

As I ran around the last corner I knew I was for sure going to make it under 30 minutes but as I came closer to the finish line and could read the clock, I thought I could perhaps PR so I gave it an all out sprint!   There were two timing mats at the finish line and I didn't know which one actually recorded the finish time so I turned my Garmin off right after I stepped on the last mat. I'm glad I actually remembered to turn my watch off right away! That doesn't usually happen during a race.

Speaking of Garmin, I didn't look at my watch the entire time I was running so when I finally looked at my stats I was surprised to see that my first mile was actually ran at an 8:30 pace. That's good for me, I haven't seen an 8 on my watch in a very long time! Oh, and I was actually off a PR by a few seconds, but I didn't care. I was pleased!

So getting back to the race,  As soon as I walked away from the finish line I saw my friend and he was just over the moon because he finally place in his age group! He not only placed, he got first! Woo hoo! I was so happy for him!

Unlike years past, the water and snacks were actually placed right at the finish line. This made it very nice because my mouth was so dry and I desperately needed a water. In previous years the refreshments were in the yard beside the building where we register/pick up bibs which was across the street.

After congratulating my friend, I looked to see if I could see my own time. I couldn't believe it, I had placed too. Looks like I had placed second in my age group! I later saw that my dad had placed third in his. Wow, this was turning out to be a great race day for all of us.  A few minutes later the lady at the results table said she had an updated version of the results. My friend and I both panicked because we thought perhaps our placements had got changed, but ours all remained the same!



It seemed like they did the awards ceremony much earlier this year then they had done in the past. I wonder if they wanted to do it right away  while most people were still there and before they started wondering around the festival?  I like that they did the awards right away and I liked that they did them right at the finish line were everyone was already.  However, there were still people running and crossing the finish line as the announcer was giving out awards. I did not like this aspect and thought it was a little disrespectful to the runners who were just coming in. It was almost like telling them that the race was already over by the time they crossed.  Not cool.  But then again, I have never organized a race so I don't know what their time line was like.

Our little group of winners. 

It was nice seeing so many friends and family at the race today.  My Pappy even comes out each year to watch us run which is nice! Wish I would have thought to get a picture with him. I wish Lacey would have been here to run. I know she would have placed in her age group as well. -M

P.S Sorry this recap is longer than I thought it would be. Thank you if you read the whole thing!


We are linking up this race recap with the gals from TOTR.

54 comments:

  1. Congratulations on placing! Looks like it was a good race for everyone you went with! I love local races too so it's not silly this was your goal race!

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    1. Thanks Gretchen! This was one race I knew I wanted to run and knew I wanted a good time for!

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  2. Yay for fun hometown races! I love this. congrats to you and your dad

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  3. How much fun! Local races are the best! I did a bunch of 5Ks one year and worked on getting faster.
    And yes... placing in your 30s is harder! Lots of people! Congrats!!! You should be so proud.

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    1. Thanks Julie. Yes, their are a lot of fast people in their 30's...lol

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  4. YAY!!! So happy you got your AG award - love the victory look on your face with your medal!! What a fun event for everyone in your group!

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  5. So happy you had a great race Meranda. Placing and winning a medal was the icing on the cake! Congrats

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  6. Congratulations!!! So happy and excited for you!

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  7. Congrats on that age group finish! It sounds like you all worked hard for it that day :) I agree that 9:30 seems late for a September race so yay for the weather working out nicely.

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    1. I am so glad the race wasn't on Sunday because it was so hot and humid on Sunday morning. Saturday was just fine!

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  8. Congrats! yes, the 30-range age group is so big, so great job! I never have conversations when I'm running since I'm never good at running and talking. That always leads to a side stitch.

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    1. I wonder how much better I could have done had I not used some of that energy to talk..lol

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  9. Congratulations!! that is so awesome!! Congratulations to all of you!!

    It is not silly at all to have a 5K as a goal race! In fact, I love 5Ks as goal races! I have one in the spring and one in the fall.

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  10. Look at you Speedy McSpeedston!!! That's fantastic.
    What a chatty little fella who befriended you. The people you meet...

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    1. It's funny that I can be so much faster on this exact same route that I trained on for over a month. I do think those other people helped motivate me!

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  11. Congrats on your sub 30 and for placing! You guys all had strong races, that is awesome to have such a positive day. :) My grandma came out to watch me run at our town's 5k. I was really happy she got to do that because she's getting old.

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    1. I was happy to have placed but even if I didn't I was happy with my time anyway. I was even more happy for my friend and dad who also placed!

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  12. That is awesome congrats to you guys on your placements!
    I think most races host them while the race is still going, in fact I think very few would wait until every finisher crosses. It's just for planning purposes, so those who plan on placing will not have to stick around for to long after and the organizers can keep things moving along.
    The 30's are a peak age group! Most your distance races that is who the competition is, so in one way it's a great time in a runners life to know those are going to be their best years to push it, LOL
    Great job though, love all the pictures!

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    1. Yea, I can understand the race being on a time frame but they probably should have moved the awards ceremony away from the finish line. We were right smack in front of it!

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  13. I agree that a lot of people who run locally are very fast runners and it can be pretty tough to place.
    I wore orange cus it's the town's color and it's festive but after I put it own I thought it was kind of too bright like a construction worker shirt..lol. It must have brought me luck though!

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  14. yay! congrats on the age group award!
    i just turned 30 so i guess i will see how the 30-39 age bracket goes!

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  15. Congrats on your sub-30! I hope I can get back to a sub-30 for a 5K sometime next year!

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  16. Congratulations on your race!! It must be exciting to win an age award! I don't think I'd be able to have so many conversations during a race, lol! This looks like a really fun event :)

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  17. Congrats to you all on your AG placings and on your sub-30! Finding a balance between chatting but not talking too much during a race is hard! I'm usually chatty... But if the pace is too fast and I talk too much, I just end up with a side-stitch! Great race for you!!!

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  18. Congrats on placing!!!!
    Local races can be the best and in fact I've got 2 local races coming up that are my goal races!
    While it's hard to place in the 30-39AG( or 30-34,35-39) I think the 40-44 AG will be harder- at least in my area. I think it's because that after women are 40, ( or late 30's)their children are old enough to either run the race with them or stay home during races and training runs and such. Could be just a guess but regardless, anytime you place in a race it feels great!!
    Again congrats to you and dad on the race. Congrats on sub 30 too!!!
    You rock!!!

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  19. Congratulations! I agree that placing in 30 year old age group is so hard. Most of the top women in races around here are in that age group. I've had a few AG places this year (a first for me!) and it's always at races where the fast women run a longer distance and I get lucky. I'll take what I can get!! ;) So funny about that guy coming up and chatting during the run. I don't mind some talking, but if I'm gunning for a PR I can barely speak!!

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  20. Well done on your placing! It sounds like a great race. I think having goals for different distances is fantastic. Whatever length your target race is you still have to put in the training.

    One thing about getting older is that you get new age group PBs!

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  21. Yay, congratulations on placing! I had to laugh about the guy chatting during the last mile. A 5K is not a race for casual chit chat, lol!

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  22. Meranda, you are too adorable! I love all of your pictures and that cute orange tank top. Congratulations on placing and on having a performance so close to your PR!!!

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  23. I love running a 5k when I've had the chance to run the course many, many times. It just makes the race so much more automatic. It sounds like you had such an amazing race!! I'm jealous that you had good running weather at 9:30 lol!! Congrats on placing in your AG!!

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  24. CONGRATS!!! How fun that you guys all placed!

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  25. Great job! That is super late for a race start! It would have been literally 100 degrees heat index here by that time!

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  26. Congrats all around! That's awesome!! I love a good 5K!

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  27. Congrats on your AG placement! And no worries about the awards being given out before everyone comes in. That's how it's done most often. The AG winners want to go home....

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  28. Congrats on the AF place! What a nice surprise! I love that your family had a tradition of running this race. I notice a trend with races being more prompt about distributing awards. I have to say it kind of sucks to wait around a long time for them.

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  29. Great job on your age group award. Congrats.

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  30. So awesome!! Congrats on the AG finish! Also to your dad and friend too! :)

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  31. Congrats on an great race! Reading this made me really miss running 5Ks!

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  32. This is amazing! Congratulations! What a great accomplishment and a great day all around. I absolutely agree with you, the 30's age group is incredibly stacked. I mean, I guess it's great that there are so many adults working on being healthy out there, but it does make it difficult to actually place in your age group :)

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  33. This is amazing!Congratulations on placing! Looks like it was a good race for everyone
    I love that your family had a tradition of running this race
    I think having goals for different distances is fantastic. Whatever length your target race is you still have to put in the training.

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  34. Congratulations! You did a great job! I love the hometown races, too. Btw, I'm planning to join in a local race in my village this year. Hope that I could do it well as you.

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  35. Congratulations on placing! you prepaired a lot for that day and did the good job

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  36. Congrats you had the best result! I really love local races. It sounds like time for running, friends and family. Such a memorable moment:)

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  37. Congrats on the group placement. You did a good job. Btw, local race is always great as we expected. Keep going.

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  38. Hello ladies! Congratulations on the placing. I used to do a lot of running myself, but regret not having participated in more races. The couple of times that I *did*, I was in my thirties. And yeah, I agree... placing is difficult in this age group.

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