I saw a sweepstakes on Facebook from Claim Your
Journey. I thought it was a sweepstakes
to win one of their new new purple and gold Run Louisiana shirts, of which I
wanted. So, I entered. I didn’t have much hope in winning because I
usually don’t win these type things. I
had forgotten about entering. One day I
pulled up Facebook and saw a Claim Your Journey post saying that I was one of
two winners. As I said, I had forgotten
about entering so I had to go to Claim Your Journey’s page to see what I had won.
To my surprise, it was an entry to a Q50
Halloween night trail run. I was so
excited until I looked up Q50 races website and learned that the race was to be
held in Mandeville. I live in Lake Charles. The race was 5 miles. It would take me longer to get there than to
run the race. But, I got to
thinking. I’ve always been known as a “serious”
runner in that I never ran races just for “fun.” (My friend, Ursula, says I don’t know how to
have fun! My other friend, Lisa Smith,
says that I would never travel to run a 5K.)
I decided that I WOULD DO IT!!!
The next obstacle was to convince my husband. I told him I had to do it because I had won
the entry. I tried to find someone to
run with me, but couldn’t find anybody.
People thought I was crazy to go all the way to Mandeville for a 5 mile
night run and then come back. I felt
like it was about time I did something a little on the crazy side. So, around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 27th,
I headed east to Mandeville.
I arrived at Fontainebleau Park. Two wonderful ladies met me. One who is Barbara, an avid Q50 race
volunteer. At first, I felt a little out
of place because I was there alone and didn’t know anyone. But, as runners started arriving, I began to
feel better. Runners tend to be friendly
and I struck up conversations with many people.
Those I talked with were quite surprised that I would come all the way
from Lake Charles
to run that 5 mile race.
It was finally time to start the race. The race director, Cesar Torres, briefed us
on the route and some places to really watch for. We made our way to the starting line. Cesar hailed an American flag and we all sang
the Star Spangled Banner, a very touching moment.
Then, we were off. Now, I had only ran our local trails twice
before this race. That should tell you I’m
not an experienced trail runner. Plus, I
had never run the trails at night. This
was totally getting out of my box.
At mile 2 I literally said “crap, I have 3 more
miles to go!” Can you
believe???!!!! This was going to be a
little ole’ 5 mile race!
The clump of runners finally spanned out. I ran behind these two women who looked as if
they knew which way to go. It’s a good
thing because I didn’t have a clue. I
crossed the finish line at 49:15 which I feel is pretty good based on the fact
I had no clue where I was going! The “medal” was a plant! How unique is that!
I will DEFINITELY do more Q50 races. Cesar Torres is very passionate about these
races and this passion emanates from him.
I would recommend that you check out his website for a listing of
upcoming races,
www.q50races.com.
The clump of runners finally spanned out. I ran behind these two women who looked as if
they knew which way to go. It’s a good
thing because I didn’t have a clue. I
crossed the finish line at 49:15 which I feel is pretty good based on the fact
I had no clue where I was going! The “medal” was a plant! How unique is that!
Way to go!
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