Outrun38 5K

Today I ran the first (hopefully annual!) Outrun38 5K. What is Outrun38? Glad you asked! Outrun38 was started by a woman named Nicole who's best friend Liz is battling Cystic Fibrosis. Nicole wanted to do something inspiring for Liz while she was in the hospital from complications of the disease. So she started a Facebook page where runners can log their miles in support of Liz. It started small and grew quickly. There are now over 5,000 runners, walkers, swimmers, and bikers logging their miles for Liz. Thirty-eight is the average life expectancy for people with CF, hence the title, Outrun38. In just over 100 days since the page was started, enough miles have been logged to go around the world 3 times! That's crazy! So Nicole and Liz knew they could do more to raise money for CF research and the 5K was put together. That was fast right?! And I'm here to tell you, despite the short time frame, this event was amazing. Let me tell you all about my experience! (I wish I had more photos, but it was raining so I didn't have my phone out during the run itself. You can see more pics on the FB page linked above.)

The race was scheduled to start at 9:15, but I arrived a little early to get a decent parking spot. I was surprised (pleasantly!) by what I saw walking over from my car:

Look at all the tents! One for registered runners, one for day of registrants, one for the DJ (yes, a DJ!), and VENDORS! I love shopping (duh) and did not expect to see them there at a smaller race. Did I say smaller? Well Liz and Nicole expected maybe a 100 runners or so, but over 400 came out to run! They ran out of bibs! Amazing. But I digress...
So it was rainy and maybe not the nicest of days for a run. But we were all there, so might as well run that thing right?! Well run it we did, and everyone ran happy! The course was a mostly flat out and back. I was amazed to see that just after the 1 mile marker was an organized crowd of spectators. Not only that, they were boisterous, CHEERING spectators! Amazing. Of course it helped that I was running just ahead of Liz as we went by, so maybe they weren't that loud the whole time... But whatever, I enjoyed it! (Yes, by the way, Liz who has CF is a RUNNER, and she ran the whole 5K today. That my friends, is incredible.) At the turnaround point was the only water station, which may be my only complaint about the event. It was very humid, and I think many would benefit from an additional water stop. Or maybe one that we could access both on the way out and on the way back since we traveled the same course both ways. But seriously, my only constructive criticism. The course was perfect with a few baby hills but mostly a flat route. The scenery was lovely, and the volunteers were amazing. They were cheering for everyone along the entire course. Even the policemen were offering words of encouragement. On the way back to the finish, the cheering squad at the 1st mile marker was still there, and they were still clapping and yelling for everybody. Incredible.
According the clock at the finish, by some miracle I finished around 29 minutes and 30 seconds. (My watch says a bit longer but I hit some wrong buttons when attempting unsuccessfully to stop it...) I was shocked and amazed after crossing the finish when I saw all the food for the runners! (Yep, FREE FOOD!) No, not just fruit and water. SANDWICHES! Seriously, look:

I didn't eat a sandwich, I'm not one to eat real food right after running, but I did enjoy a banana and took a bagel for the drive home. Love the options though, and most people were enjoying the sandwiches! I unfortunately triple scheduled my day and couldn't hang around for the awards and closing remarks. I really wanted to though!
Runners are almost always a friendly bunch, but this race was different somehow. It was like everyone was already friends. Everyone rooting for each other and genuinely all happy to be a part of something so inspiring. A HUGE thank you to everyone that worked so hard to put this together so quickly and so perfectly!

Anyone from anywhere can be an Outrunner too! Just head over to the Outrun38 Facebook page. You'll see a link for submitting your miles. You have to enter them there for them to be counted, but it's also inspiring for everyone if you post them to the wall as well. Run happy my friends, and help find a cure for CF!