MCRRC New Years Day 5k

This is my review of my first race in 2014.   It was the Montgomery County Road Runners' New Years Day 5k.

I hadn't run for 10 days before the race because I was sick with allergies the whole time i was in Atlanta for Christmas. But I was still looking forward to this race to start off the year right. It was at Seneca Creek State Park and I was doing it with 2 friends. We had a great time.  We decided to walk the whole thing for multiple reasons, not the least of which was my lingering allergies.  I didn't want to break into a coughing fit and not be able to finish. 

(Photo from one of the official MCRRC photographers.  I'm on the right in the red jacket.  We had a great time so I don't know why we look so serious.)

The race was organized really well!  We got there and there was a volunteer to direct us to the parking area.  There were volunteers directing the parking.  We then walked (uphill) to get to the building for registration.  There were a lot of people but registering still went pretty quickly.  I was thinking it would only be around 50 people but it was several hundred.  I think an email sent after the race indicated it was over 400 people.  It was cold (mid to upper 30s) but we had layered up pretty well.  The race started just a few minutes late.  We let everyone else go first since we were walking.   I was a little worried that people would look down on us for walking but everyone was really nice, and we got a lot of encouraging comments, though we were literally the last people to finish.  Our pace ended up being around 17 minutes per mile.  

The photo is from MCRRC's website of a night race they did in December at the same location.

The course was hilly but beautiful. The park was lovely and their Christmas lights were still up.  You couldn't see the actual lights since it was daylight but you could see the framework for all the cool light shapes.  There was one water stop at the halfway mark.  There was oranges, bananas, muffins and juice for the runners afterward.  This was a great experience and a wonderful way to start 2014.  I became a member of the club and a lot of their races are free for members so I'm looking forward to more of their races this year.