Race for Roofs

Saturday was the 5 mile Race for Roofs, held by Englewood Community Development Corp.  This is just a small neighborhood race, but it is still one of my favorite events for several reasons:

1. Proceeds go to provide rental assistance to neighborhood residents.  Since I work in affordable housing, this is one of my passions.  Everyone deserves a safe affordable place to live.
2. I know several people there, and hearing people cheering my name as I approach the finish line really gives me an extra boost.
3. Homemade cookies in the swag bag!

I did this race last year, when I'd only been running for a few weeks.  I ran about 1.5 miles and walked the rest. My goal for this year was to run it all with an average pace of 13 min./mile, finishing in 65 minutes or less.

Englewood changed the course of the race this year.  I like the new course, and it was very well marked with cones, volunteers at every turn, and sheriff's deputies at major intersections, so it was super easy to follow. One request I might make for next year is for some sprinklers along the course, to help us stay cool.  

It's always hard for me at the beginning of a race to resist trying to keep up with the runners who take off much faster than I usually run.  I had to keep looking at my pace on my watch and reminding myself to slow down, so I'd be able to finish.  

The other issue I had surprised me - my legs started feeling really tight about mile 4. Not quite cramping but tight and uncomfortable. Since I usually run later in the day, maybe I'm normally more warmed up/stretched out just from the day's activity.  I haven't had any issues like this running 5Ks early in the morning, but perhaps I need to pay better attention to stretching out for longer races.

So how'd I do? Official times aren't posted yet, but according to my watch I finished in 1:01:18! Shattered my goal by almost 4 minutes!  I'm extremely pleased with those results.

This race is kind of two events. It is a race that anyone can enter and run or walk, with prizes for the 1st finisher in each age group, as well as overall. It is also part of the NESCO Olympics: a week-long series of games and competitions between the neighborhoods on the near east side.  There are gold, silver, and bronze medals for the top men, women and youth participating in the Olympics for their neighborhood. 

Since I work on the near east side, I was also running in the Olympics, and I got the women's bronze! I don't actually know how many women in the race were also participating in the Olympics. For all I know, I came in 3rd of 3. But because I ran so well and finished even faster than I had hoped, I am thrilled with the medal too.