Throwback Thursday: Sunrise 5K

Last summer I ran 3 races presented by Outer Banks Runcations. They do races all summer long, some are one time only and some are weekly events. The first one that I did in June was a one-time event: The Sunrise 5K.

It started really really early, and it was pretty chilly and windy. I had only brought shorts and a short sleeved shirt so I was going to have to wear that, but I kept my hoodie on until the last possible second.

Before I get too far into the story, let me make one thing clear. I had stupidly forgotten 2 things: my running shoes and a headband. Luckily (or not) the race was on the beach so I chose to run the race barefoot- that's what most people were doing anyway.

Anyway, I picked up my number and not-so-exiting t-shirt and waited for the race to start (still wearing my hoodie). At the very very last second I took the hoodie off and headed to the starting line.

There was one thing I learned very fast: running on sand is HARD. I thought I would be okay, since Lynchburg is nothing but hills running on flat sand would be easy. Wrong. The dry sand was too loose and I felt like I wasn't making any progress so I followed everyone else to the wet sand by the water. This sand was really hard and almost immediately I knew I was going to be feeling this run the next day.

The race itself was pretty simple. Out 1.6 miles to a turnaround and water station, and then back again. I was fine the first 1.6 miles when the wind was blowing into my face. However, as soon as I turned around, I immediately regretted not having a headband. I have a lot of hair, and my hair doesn't like to stay in place. I eventually even gave up pushing it back, but it was really annoying and really frustrating.

I don't remember my time, but I did enjoy the race. If I ever did it again I would run it in shoes (I've since run one on sand with shoes, and it was much easier). All of Runcation's races are very well organized and run very smoothly.

Oh, and I almost forgot the best part! You get wonderful medals at the end of all their races!