Race Report: Kids Against Hunger 10k

Lake Calhoun

Pre-race fuel, 6:30a.

Chris: So, why did we sign up to run a 10k again?
Ashley: I'm not sure.

I guess there's a lot of things in life that seem like a great idea at the time but then later, like the moon meandering in front of the sun during a solar eclipse, have a way of losing that original greatness that once seemed to shine so bright. So it has been, off and on, in the lead-up to today's Kids Against Hunger 10k for Ashley and me. The "moon" of our "running eclipse" has likely been a combination of inconsistent training due to injury and some fatigue from the end of school semesters. (Ashley just finished up yesterday. I'll officially finish up next Friday.) But, for whatever the reason, we've found ourselves having several two sentence conversations like the one above in recent days.

So, why did we sign up (back in April) to run a 10k again?

(1) It saves money to register early.
(2) Commitment is, generally speaking, a solid virtue to cultivate.
(3) It's fun to go (/try to go) fast. One running goal I've had this year is to test myself at different distances. I tend to gravitate towards 5k's and 50k's. The 10k distance is a good next step.
(4) Relieving some suffering also seems like a good reason (part of an email from the RD last night):

I’m happy to report we have raised over $40,000 in total sponsorship and donation funds! At .23/meal, that is nearly 175,000 meals!! With the additional donations and efficiencies of combining shipments, we are looking to pack and ship even more meals to Haiti and Honduras! We know some of you are still actively raising funds – keep up the work as we will keep the fundraising sites open for 1 month following this event. Thank you all - you are truly making an impact!!

The theme for this year’s Run/Walk is, “Orange to Black”. In countries like Haiti and Honduras, you can tell a child is malnourished by the color of their hair. When it is orange, the body is so starved of nutrition that it can’t produce enough melanin to keep their hair black. Our desire is to ship highly nutritious Kids Against Hunger Meals to this children, giving them the nutrition they need, and turning their hair from Orange to Black.

Thankfully, when the alarm went off this morning excitement was running through the air! Ashley and I both had a great race experience . . .

On the objective side, we both met and exceeded our time goals!

• Ashley: 
• Goal: sub-56:00 (9:00/mi pace)
• Result: 55:40 (8:58/mi pace) -- PR!
• Chris:
• Goal: sub-40:00 (6:26/mi pace)
• Result: 39:45 (6:23/mi pace) -- a new PR! Though, I can't even remember the last time I raced a 10k or my time then...
• Splits:
• 1 - 6:02
• 2 - 6:18
• 3 - 6:26
• 4 - 6:39
• 5 - 6:36
• 6 - 6:24 (6.2 - 1:17)

Course Profile:

On the more subjective side . . .

It's go time. . . (course was 2 counter-clockwise loops around the lake)

We enjoyed some sunshine before the rain came. . .

Said enjoyment, in action!

Lots of post-race goodies! (= the real reason we run road races)

I stopped counting how many of these I ate, so good. Can you believe they left them unguarded?!

After our race, there was also a 5k event. I didn't realize how curious and fun it is to encourage finishers, good stuff!

Even though we were soaked and exhausted afterwards, being soaked and exhausted is more fun than you would think (as long as temps are above freezing)! We will definitely keep an eye out for this one again next year...