Gate River Run 2011

For the second year in a row, Anna, Krystial, and I ran the Gate River Run 15K- the national 15K Championship. A 15K is equivalent to 9.3 miles. This race is AWESOME, and it is the highlight of my spring running season. I was a seeded runner this year, but I was not able to start with my group. The traffic was terrible and we barely made it to the starting line at all. I guess that's what happens when the field of 15K runners is almost 17,000 (not counting 5K runners and spectators). Due to the late arrival, I had to start near the back of the pack and I spent the first couple of miles weaving in and out of walkers and slower runners. Even though the start was shaky, I still did pretty well. I didn't even have much trouble with the bridge at mile 9 this year. I'm glad I did the Sidney Lanier run a couple of weekends ago. Next to it, the bridges on the Gate River Run look like kiddy toys. I ended up with a time of 1:28:18. That's more than 3 minutes faster than I finished last year. This time put me in the top third of women in my age division and in the top half of all runners who actually finished the race. I will also qualify to be seeded in the "orange" section next year- which is better than the "black" section that I was seeded in this year. Who knows- maybe next year I'll actually show up in time to take advantage of the seed. Above is a picture of the starting line. Can you see me? I'm the little speck in the back of the photo. Below are pictures of me, Anna, and Krystial after the race. For some reason, we just couldn't all be in the same place at the same time for a group picture this year.