My hubby Bill and I traveled to Downingtown, PA last evening to participate in the Trail Blazer Run five-mile trail race.

After picking up our goody bags and T-shirts, we looked around the pavilion and grounds where registration was held. The place was hopping! There was a cover band playing some fine tunes, corn hole games set up to play, and the Vicory Brewing beer-mobile was getting set up for the post-race festivities.

At exactly 6:30 p.m. we lined up at the starting line and were off.

The race began on the grass, but we quickly transitioned to a paved park road. We were on the park road for only a quarter mile, all of it downhill, before we turned onto a dirt path through the nearby woods.

The trail, which had a few rocks and a few more roots, climbed up, up, up the hillside and Bill and I began taking walk breaks to catch our breath. Eventually, we reached the top, where it leveled off, followed by a very nice, gradual descent.

To read my full race report, please go here: https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/trail-blazer-run-race-report/

My hubby and I traveled three miles to our small local airport last Saturday to run the Wheels and Wings 5K road race. The morning was cool for late June and I donned a long-sleeved T-shirt over my race gear before visiting the registration table.

As we picked up our bibs I heard someone calling my name. I turned to see the president of our running club standing beside the registration table. He told me he was the race director and gave me this sweet Lancaster Road Running Club stretchy bracelet.

It pays to know people.

The race director counted down from three and we were off. My race plan was to maintain the comfortably hard pace I have been using for my spring races.

We ran out the drive connecting the terminal with Airport Road and turned left on Airport Road, where a volunteer stopped traffic to allow racers to cross.

Roads were open to traffic in this race, which I typically do not like, but it was not too much of an issue on these lightly traveled roads. We ran up a slight incline as we continued on Airport Road, but overall, the race course was fairly flat.

To read the rest of the race report, please go here:

https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/07/07/wheels-and-wings-5k-race-report/

My hubby Bill and I traveled to Harrisburg, PA on Saturday morning to run the Central PA 10K. The one-mile fun run associated with the 10K race was named “The MIlkshake Mile” because all participants in both races received a world-famous (OK, maybe just state-wide famous) Farm Show milkshake after the race.

At 9:00, the horn blew and we were off. The race started on the campus of a community college, so the beginning of the race course wound through a parking lot, then out onto a paved bike path which is part of the Capital Area Greenbelt.

The bike path was completely flat and the racers soon thinned out, so running was easy at this point. I had a race plan of running “comfortably hard“, and I was cruising for the first mile and a half.

Then we got to Wildwood Park and the hills. The hills were not killers, but they were pretty steep rollers. It seemed to me like everything in the park was either up or down, no level ground to be found. I started walking up some of the uphills. The woman we moved in front of at the starting line because we didn’t want to be stuck behind a slowpoke passed me.

To read the full race report, please go here:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/06/23/central-pa-10k-race-report/

On Saturday my hubby Bill and I traveled to New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania where the very pretty Little Buffalo State Park is located to run the second annual Joggin 4 the Noggin 5K. It was our third race in three weekends, and my favorite of the three.

I selected this race for two reasons: it supported a great cause, brain tumor research, and it is run on a variety of surfaces – dirt, grass, stone, and pavement, which I enjoy.

The race director and several children counted down from five and we were off. The course began by crossing the parking lot, traveling up a small gravel road that circled a swimming pool, then onto a dirt trail which ran parallel to the lake, the centerpiece of the state park.

The dirt trail through the woods next to the lake was my favorite part of the race. It lasted for about 3/4 of a mile, was slightly downhill, and was totally shaded. It was also wet in some places.

To read the full race report, please go here: https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/05/19/joggin-4-the-noggin-race-report/

Saturday morning dawned breezy and cool, perfect racing weather. The race was the Friendship Community 5K, a small race held in conjunction with a festival, complete with children’s rides, face painting, a pancake breakfast, auction, plant sale, art sale, and even a magician blowing balloon animals and doing magic tricks.

The race began on grass. I was slightly nervous about running on grass, due to the uneven footing, but my worry was unnecessary; running on this short, well-groomed grass was fine, and lasted for less than half a mile.

After the grass portion of the race, we ran on a gravel path that led to the parking lot of a nearby dairy. I was feeling good, enjoying the variety of surfaces, and running according to my pre-race plan, which was to run at a comfortably hard pace.

To read the entire race report, please go here https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/05/12/friendship-and-a-5k-race-report/