Thursday, February 25, 2010

Park Ridge 5K - March 20th

In 2002, I ran my first organized race. It was the Park Ridge 5K. I received a trophy. Since then, I have gone on to run several ½ and full marathons, but there’s still something special about that 5K. (In the interest of full disclosure, the trophy was for 2nd place in my age division and I think there might have only been 3 people in my age division…thankfully I can’t find the results online.)
The 2010 Park Ridge 5K is coming up in a few short weeks on March 20th at 8 a.m. The reason for my email about the race is two-fold:

Would you consider registering for this race and supporting the school that is in Horizon’s backyard? The registration is $20 and includes a t-shirt if you register by this Monday, March 1st. (http://www.racetimingunlimited.com/) After that the cost goes up and you don’t get a shirt. I know that many of you are used to running much longer distances, so why bother with a 5K? Others of you are intimidated by the thought of running a 5K. There is great value to both groups to running this distance. For the long distance runners, it’s a great time to work on speed – think about the burst needed at the end of a marathon. For those new to running, this is a great distance that gives you a very achievable goal and will build your confidence…refer back to my trophy :). (There is also a 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk that is great for kids who aren’t ready for the 5K distance.) But even if you don’t care much about the running part, please consider the following…

Horizons Church will once again be a sponsor of the event. I think this is a great way for the church to reach out to support our local community. We will also be able to promote that there is a group of people at the church who love to run and for those looking for a running group – we’re right in their backyard. Would you consider donating to the church’s sponsorship? If we each donated $25, for example, it would cover a sponsorship that will allow us to have a banner at the start/finish line, a link on the website and materials in the runner’s packet. If you are interested in donating, simply mark the $ amount and “5K” on your check or online gift. Let me know if you have any questions about this part. Also, if you or someone you know would love to run the race but would not be able to afford the registration fee, please let me know.

So, tell your friends, family, co-workers, etc. about this run and come out and join us. It’s a great time of fun, competition, and it’s good for the community. I’m hoping to win another trophy, but chances are I won’t see another one for quite some time. Please contact me should you have any questions.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Run Scheduled - Saturday, February 20th @ 7:30 a.m.

Predicted high for Saturday - 45. Nice. Unfortunately, it won't be quite that warm at 7:30 :)

We'll meet up in the Horizons Church parking lot this Saturday at 7:30 a.m. for a run.  For those who may be new to the group, we generally run about 5 miles - but at least 3. We'll have to be careful on our run as the sidewalks/running paths are still nonexistent, but at least the roads are generally cleared. It may be significantly better by Saturday if we get sun and warm temps before then, but I'm not to confident that we'll see that much melting in the next 2 days.  Email me if you have any questions about the run (karenegyud@gmail.com).

Well done to Dave & Bob in their completion of the Holiday Lake 50K last Saturday in less than ideal conditions!  Here's Bob (in the gray) running through the water - which as I undertand they had to cross twice.

Happy Running & Blessings,
Karen

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Run Postponed Due to Weather Conditions

Normally we would have a run scheduled for this Saturday, but due to the fact that we now live in a winter wonderland, I'm not even going to try...  As it stands, most sidewalks and paths are not cleared of snow and ice and the fine forecasters are predicting another blizzard for Saturday. 

I hope to enjoy a run either way, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Happy Running - wherever it may be :)