Last Saturday, I ran the Cornhusker State Games 5k Road Race. I've run this race since 2012 (last year I ran the 10 mile when State Games of America replaced the state games here). Was very excited about the new course at Holmes Lake in Lincoln, Nebraska. The race course is a fairly easy 5k loop, mostly circling around Holmes Lake (with the exception of a short stretch running south on 70th Street). Humidity really was a challenge for me during this race. There were adequate water stops along the way although I didn't stop for water (was carrying OrangeMud water bottle in Hydraquiver vest). The new course was well marked with arrows and volunteers. The volunteers were helpful and there was a walk going on with the state games in the same location so our paths intersected a little bit. It was a little warm (81 degrees according to Garmin) but very humid and the humidity unfortunately sapped my strength and those of many others. I was also dealing with recovery from a back injury and so it was tough to push the pace very much. After a pretty fast 7:26 first mile, I realized that I was not going to be able to continue that pace due to my injury. So I backed off a little and just tried to enjoy it, have fun, and achieve my only goal of finishing the race. I really wanted to medal in my age group if possible but I realized that my lingering injury would make that very difficult to accomplish. I had medaled in my age group the past 4 years in a row (last year I was the gold medalist in the State Games of America and was silver and bronze medalist for 3 years before that in the State Games in my age group). So despite the fact that it was a rocky road for me, I am happy to have run this race with so many dedicated runners, including a 72 year old man I spoke with after the race. Running is for all ages. I was a little surprised crossing the finish line to see my Garmin said it was only 3.09 miles. But this wasn't a certified 5k length race. Running the tangents produces slight differences like that. So I ran .02 more to make it official. Official time was 25:21, 6th place of 11 in my age group. Slower than I wanted. I noticed the bronze medalist in my age group was someone I ran with on World Running Day in a group run and was happy to see it was someone that I knew. 78th place of 174 runners overall, including many young kids and at least one runner (probably more) over 70. This race was formerly run near Fallbrook neighborhood by the YMCA there but I (and I'm sure others) recommended moving it to Holmes Lake. It's a much better location and having a trail/limestone break from the concrete pavement always helps me as a trail runner: it drops my heart rate and the running just seems easier. Hopefully they will keep the race at this location in the future. It allows families and volunteers more flexibility with parking and easy access to the race course site (just be careful of cars on 70th Street though). Highly recommend this race, it's well-run and one of my favorites that I try to run every year, schedule permitting. Showing you before and after pictures on race day. Even though I didn't receive an age group medal this year, I carry the happy memories of running and finishing this race with some adversity with me.