Fired Up for a Cure 10K Race Report

Last weekend I ran the Fired Up for a Cure 10K which was so much more than just a race.  They had many booths set up and wonderful events for kids like face painting and jump houses.  All to raise money to find a cure for breast cancer.  What a great cause!

And they had firetrucks!  The race was put on by the fire department, so there were firetrucks everywhere - even a pink one!

If your portajohn is pink, does it lower the gross factor?

The race did start about 15 minutes late.  It was their first year, so sometimes these things happen.  But I do like it when races start on time.  The start and finish were at the Roanoke Civic Center.  

During the first part of the race, there was a lot of support along the course.  But the back half didn't have quite as much - there was one turn that was unmarked and unmanned, and had I not seen the runner in front of me take the turn, I wouldn't have known where to go.  One water table was also unmanned and the cups were still in wrappers with no water.  Needless to say, no one was stopping at that water stop.  I never stop to drink water in races under 10 miles (unless it's super hot) so this didn't bother me.  

There were a few hills along the course, but nothing too rough. 

I got a side stitch the second half of the race.  I haven't had such a bad side stitch during a race since 2003.  It threw me off my game a little, but at least I didn't have to stop and walk.  There was one hill around the halfway mark (there were no mile markers, so I can't give you exact location) where you crested to see a stunning view of downtown Roanoke and the surrounding mountains.  That was probably my favorite part of the race.  

While I was running, the boys were playing in bouncy houses and climbing on firetrucks:

The finish of the race was along the outskirts of the Civic Center, and then you had to bound up a small flight of stairs to cross the finish line.

I finished in 53:25, and would have liked a faster time.  I have since heard that according to several other runners' Garmins, the course was significantly long.  My friend Steve plugged in the actual race distance with my time, and said I would've run a 52:01 if it had been an actual 10K.  I can have some happiness over this time, as it would be a decent improvement over my 10K time in August, and would show that all the hard work at the track is starting to pay off.  So let's hope Steve is right on that!

I found the boys happy as could be.  Pierce was sporting a pink fireman hat.

And the twins were enjoying apples.

We walked over to where the awards ceremony was to be held, and found they were having a Zumba class.  If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I avoid dancing situations.  But we had fun watching, and the twins really liked the music and ran in circles to it.

I placed 3rd in my age group.  They had very nice medals!

We finished the morning with climbing on the helicopter.  How cool is that?!

It was a really fun event.  I would definitely run this race again - I hope they hold it next year. 

On a side note, I was sending warm thoughts during this race to Leontien, who is in her second fight against breast cancer.  She is a wonderful writer and blogger who shares stories about farm life and crazy Americans.  She could use positive thoughts and support right now.  If you haven't been to her blog before, won't you go by and share some warm fuzzies?  You can find her at Four Leaf Clover Tales