Inaugural Hokie 5k

So by now I've probably mentioned that my husband and I are recent Maryland transplants.  Before moving here last year, we lived in Blacksburg Virginia for just shy of 7 years and moved there 4 months after the infamous Virginia Tech shootings.  Tech is a big deal in Southwest Virginia, especially Blacksburg.  All the big box stores (think Wal-mart, Target, Best Buy, PetSmart, etc.) sell something with a VT logo on it because it will sell.  Our house had a light switch plate that said "VT turns me on UVA turns me off."  (That was the very first thing to go when we moved in.)  All of that being said, the hokies have transferred over into races.  Last year was the very first hokie 5k and half marathon, and I am proud to say that I was one of the runners of their 5k.  The race managed to fit perfectly into my training schedule for my first half marathon and for when my husband and I were making trips to take care of our house, so I jumped at the chance to run in it.

The 5k was a wonderful race--definitely among some of my favorites, so I'm a little sad I have to miss this year's race.  (Since we sold our home there the trip down is a little more involved and besides--my husband and I have a race here in Maryland that day!)  The course  itself was very easy and a breeze since it started out slightly uphill but the rest of it was mostly downhill.  It started out in the industrial area of Blacksburg near their local airport and went along the edge of the airport and through neighborhoods.  The organizers sent off the half marathoners first, and then the 5k runners. The weather was perfect too since it was clear and chilly to begin with, but by the time I finished the temperature was very comfortable.  

Before the race, I was definitely feeling the pre-race jitters.

The race overall was pretty well organized, although there was one big problem.  Packet pickup was a breeze, and on race day the organizers kept the runners well informed of where we had to go and when.  The swag was really nice--a maroon running shirt with orange print with a huge hokie on it (naturally), an orange drawstring backpack with the race logo on it, and the bibs had everyone's names printed on them.  The name on my bib was a wonderful touch, since volunteers could cheer everyone on by name and to hear a random stranger yell "GO HOLLY!" towards the end felt amazing.

However, there was an issue with finding out official times after the race.  Apparently a woman couldn't run, so she gave her bib to a man.  (In general is a big no-no in racing.  Most organizers have a no-nonsense approach to this, will ban people for illegal bib transfers and have this written into the conditions that you have to sign in order to pay the registration fee.)  What ended up happening was this man was the fastest person in the woman's age group, so technically he won but was disqualified because the bib didn't match the person.  The organizers then had to review the video of everyone finishing to be sure they were who their bib said they were.  (Granted, they couldn't be totally sure but at least they would have a pretty good idea.)  It took them almost two weeks to release the official results all because of one person who did an illegal bib transfer.  I won't begrudge the organizers this, because I had my Garmin on me to give me a pretty good idea of my finishing time.

This race remains my best 5k time at 33:15, and I am still trying to get to a sub-30 5k over a year later.