Hey guys and gals!
Another race recap here! Last weekend I ran the Uptown 5 Mile race in downtown Dallas. Laura was originally going to run the 13.1 Dallas Half Marathon but she’s recovering from an injury and rebuilding her mileage so she offered me her bib for the 5 miler.
The course went through uptown Dallas, along a bit of the Katy Trail, and through downtown Dallas. I couldn’t have asked for a better day for a race. The weather was absolutely perfect. The scenery was amazing along the course and I had an amazing run!
The first 4 miles were pretty easy. I just trotted along and enjoyed the scenery- and saw parts of Dallas that I hadn’t seen before. Once I got to the Katy Trail I almost got run over by a roller blader (do people still roller blade??) who got pissed at me for being in his way. Ummmm… okaaay. I think the hardest part of the race was the last mile, which was completely UPHILL! Gah, I do NOT understand why race planners do this! It was torture! My time ended up being 59: 37 which is pretty darn good for me!
I also learned the significance of wearing proper socks during this race. Look what happened! 
Ouch! I do have proper running socks, but they weren’t clean so I just grabbed the first pair of socks I came across that morning when I was getting ready. Big mistake, definitely learned a lesson!
Stina and Laura’s cousin Jennifer were there running the half marathon. Total badasses! I’m SO proud of those two!!!
That’s one good looking group of ladies!
I do have some complaints about my race though… I have to say the 5 miler was quite obviously not important at all to the race planners. The whole 5 mile race felt like a complete afterthought. There were booths and entertainment set up for the half marathon portion but none of that was going on for the 5 miler. I felt like they made it fairly obvious that the 5 mile race didn’t really matter all that much. And the race was also longer than 5 miles. I stopped my Garmin at 5.2 and I still wasn’t at the finish line. I’d say the course was probably like 5.3-5.4? I had a good run, but I would probably not do this race again. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so insignificant in my life. I definitely don’t like feeling like that, so why should I give them my money in the future for it- know what I mean?
Anyhoo- Just about another month until my half marathon and I am SO freaking excited! I had a glorious 8 mile run yesterday that left me super pumped me up for the race!
Later gators!
I learned the same lesson about running socks about a year ago! I’ve worn dirty running socks before making that mistake again!
Are you talking booths and entertainment along the race course or at the start/ finish? Because, there really wasn’t any entertainment on the course during the half either. I think there was one “band,” and it was a guy and a girl with acoutic guitars that weren’t even loud enough to be heard as you were running past. Oh, and there was one band in that last mile too. The on course entertainment was pretty pathetic though.
My biggest complaint was that many of the streets were not completely closed. Maybe it’s a Chicago thing, when they have street races here the streets are completely shut down. It also seemed like a lot of people who lived on the race course were totally unaware the race was happening. I witnessed one woman who was totally irate that she couldn’t get out of her apartment building parking lot.
I think one thing to keep in mind is that this was the first year for this race. I think there’s always a learning curve the first couple years of a race. Hopefully they’ll improve next year.
awww sucks that they didn’t make you guys feel special! glad you had a good run though!
how did I not know about this race?? Sorry to hear about the horrible finish line. Wish I was there to congratulate you! 5 miles is pretty much a marathon in my world 🙂
When I ran my first 1/2, the last quarter mile or so was uphill…oh, did I curse that hill!! Congrats on your 5 and your glorious 8…good runs are the best!