Race Against Racism 2011

Time for the 13th annual (and our second annual) Race Against Racism! This year, I ran again with Mark and Ken, and this time Erik walked with the boys in the double stroller. Like last year, it was a beautiful day, and a very crowded downtown Lancaster.



One mistake we made was that when we got started, we didn't run over the metal plate that activated the timing chips on our shoes. Without the chips activated, we only had the time on the clock, not our individual time. The difference is that when the race officially started, we were way in the back, so we were actually standing still -- and then walking slowly for a bit -- while the runners in the front were already going. So the time clock did not accurately reflect our individual times. The problem was that the timing plate was on the center of the road, but it was crowded and we were off to the side, so we didn't know we had to try to move to run over it. Oh well. We all feel like we did better than last year, but we'll never know!

We went into the race with the plan that we should just all run at our own pace, and we would meet up at the finish line. It turns out, though, that we were pretty much together the entire time. Every time I glanced back, the guys were RIGHT behind me. When I saw the finish line, Mark was right next to me, and Ken had fallen back just a little bit. I started picking up the pace, and Mark did, too. When we got really close, I thought to myself, "I'm going to sprint and beat Mark!" But guess what? That was HIS plan, too! And his sprint was faster than mine, I couldn't make my short legs go fast enough. He beat me by 3 seconds! It was SO fun for me at the end, usually at a race I'm by myself and just running -- it was fun to actually feel like I was RACING someone! Ken was only about 24 seconds, I think, behind us.


We then waited for Erik and the boys to finish with the rest of the walkers. The worst part of the day was trying to get out of the parking garage. We sat there for literally an hour! Plus, we were slightly worried we would run out of gas, we had forgotten to get gas on the way in. And Alex ended up having to go to the bathroom, so Erik took him out of the parking lot to a nearby hotel to go to the bathroom while Thomas and I were waiting in line to get out of the garage. It took forever!

It was a fun day, though, and a great race. Erik and I, and the boys, always enjoy having Mark and Ken here to hang out with us.

I now have one month of doing whatever I want, running wise, and then my marathon training plan will begin!

And that's race day from Boomerang Drive!

-- Holly