McHenry Human Race 5k

This was the 1st time this race was held. There was no chip timing and the course was just a lame out-and-back in a corporate park. Not to mention the weather. But we had a lot of fun anyway.



This photo illustrates the poor weather conditions and unimpressive start/finish area.

This was Matt's very first 5k and I signed up for the race to keep him company for his first race.



Pre-race jitters?

About a mile into the race I think Matt was regretting running with me, because I was talking almost constantly. We ran at a nice pace, I was just trying to stay even with Matt and not push the pace.



Our splits:

1-8:18
2-8:06
3-8:19
.1~0:48

I forgot to stop my watch at the finish, but the big clock said 25:35, our actual time was more like 25:31 because we didn't cross the start line until a few seconds after the start gun.





The 2 photos above show that Matt ran this 5k at the perfect pace. If you don't feel sick at the end of a 5k it means you didn't run fast enough. He did a great job and I'm sure he'll only get faster and faster.


Once Matt's HR fell below humming bird level, he started feeling better.

Garmin Data

Overall this was a fun race and I hope I made Matt's run a little more entertaining. As a general rule I do not run races that are not chip timed, so I will probably not run this one again next year.

I love to be able to bring new people into the world of running races. It is nice when people start to buy into a healthier lifestyle and start to see the fun and benefits of running.

Bunny Dash 5k

This is the 3rd year my dad and I have run this race. It is always a good time. They have an Easter egg hunt for the kids and even a petting zoo.


pops pre-race

I had low expectations for this race since my training has been sparse for the last 3 months. Between Calculus, Biology, work and family I am lucky to run 3 times a week.

I had planned to run 8 minute miles for the race, just to take it easy. That did not work out, I ended up running the first mile in 7:15. I was surprised how good I felt. Maybe I had not lost as much fitness as I thought.


Last year it was raining and there were about 400 runners, today it was sunny and cool and about 500 runners.

For the 2nd mile I ran 7:03 and felt pretty good.


My dad finishing up his run. He ended up with about 30:30. Good for 6th in his age group.

My 3rd mile was 7:23, I was no longer feeling strong at this point. I ran hard to the finish and ended up with a time of 22:36. This is only 1:30 slower than my best time which is pretty darn good considering my lack of training.

Splits and map

Now the real fun starts-petting zoo, Easter egg hunt and Easter bunny picture.





Opening up all the eggs

After getting the kids as much candy as their baskets would hold I checked the results. Much to my surprise I came in 2nd in my age group. This was a total shock to me since normally a race of this size (800) has many people running sub 20:00. So we stuck around so I could get my medal. The medal this year is much nicer than the one from last year.

Hopefully next year I can be in better shape for this one, but if not, that's ok too. It will still be fun.