64. See Spot Run, 2011

This was another 5K held in Columbia, this time to benefit the Humane Society. Dogs were welcome since pets were the focus of the event. Although Dublin can’t run 5K yet, we were excited to check it out. After all, Cara is in favor of anything that helps dogs.

About the Course

The race was held in Earlewood Park, right here in Columbia, SC. It’s a nice little bit of green, just past Elmwood Drive. The course led us out of the park, through the neighborhoods and back again. There were more hills than I would have expected in Columbia, which was actually kind of nice.

Unfortunately, last week’s humidity had returned. There’s a bit of a cool window early in the morning, but by 8:30am things are heating up. The moisture doesn’t burn off until later, so the race happens at the point of maximum humidity. It sucks, but the only other option is to start the race at 6am.

The Race itself

We had to switch out our race numbers because Strictly Running registered us as walkers by mistake, but it was solved quickly. We reached the Starting Line with time to spare, and waited to begin. There was no Starting Line mat for the timing chips, and I was planning to start my Garmin when I crossed it. The result? Well, I forgot to start the damned thing again. I went maybe a tenth of a mile before I remembered. So, uh… my Garmin Connect profile only has most of the map.

There were plenty of dogs around, with a couple of water stations and at least one kiddie pool every mile for overheated dogs to cool off in. Not bad at all.

• Brian – Start Time: 26:43
• Cara – Start Time: 30:11

After the race, Cara and I were soaking wet from sweat, and we weren’t drying. We didn’t stick around very long after we were done. This was a nice little race, though. Weather aside, the course was challenging and we had a good time.

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