Race recap: 8th annual Run to Remember 5K

Time: 23:34  (My 2nd fastest 5K ever! and Fastest 5K in 2012!)
AG 12/261 (4.5%)
Women: 27/ 1271 (2.1%)
Overall: 189/ 2569 (7.3%)

I signed up for this race almost a month ago after hearing the shocking news that my cousin's husband had been shot in the line of duty up in New Hampshire. I thought it would be fitting to "dedicate" this race to Jerry. He is expected to recover fully thank God. A really nice article about him is here.


I went down to the Chicago Police academy/ Station on Thursday to pick up my race goodies. I really liked the shirt design, bib, and bag for this race.


Ive run 5 weeks consistently now and was thinking a 23:30 was in reach for this 5k. I havent been doing much speed work faster than 7:30 pace, until this past week where I was dabbling into some 7 minute mile 800's just to see if my hip would explode. I am still scared that something will trigger the awful hip flexor to breakdown again.


Saturday morning was the race, and I purposely left my house late to get to the start with about 10 minutes to spare. It was a nice 2 mile warmup to get to Soldier field, where I did some strides to get my heart rate up before getting into the start chute. Then the race announced that the start was pushed back 10 minutes! ehh, so I ran over to the portapotty, did some hip exercises, and then did some more strides to keep my heart pumping fast. Soon we were off!


It was a super foggy day in the low 50's, perfect race weather! So I wore my lulu shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt. During the race I actually felt a little warm, but I think I wore an acceptable outfit for the weather. (This is something I struggle with here in Chicago- overdressing for runs.)


My splits for the race were: 7:29, 7:32, 7:33, last .15 @ 6:51 pace. Somehow this short race managed to incorporate all of the "hills" in Chicago! First mile had a downhill, which was quickly made up for with a longer up hill to get up to lakeshore drive. Then another nice hill past the Shedd Aquarium after the Solidarity Drive tunnel- near the finish in front of Soldier Field on the path. My goal was to run around 7:30 a mile which I accomplished. I took advantage of the small downhills, and pushed up the hills.


This was part of the final up hill towards the finish. The photos were of all the Chicago Police officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty.

I feel like I ran a smart race, and really feel like I could have run a little faster. But, considering all that has happened with this injury, and my solid month of training,  I am very happy with how everything turned out. Im confident that breaking my PR of 22:18 will come soon enough.


I would recommend this race because it was well organized (considering the size 2500+ participants), the course was nice and a little challenging, and the cause is a good one- to raise money for the families of the fallen CPD officers. The post race area had loads of amenities such as muscle milk, water, Gatorade and other vendors handing out frisbees and other things. There was also a post race party at a local restaurant which I didn't attend.


I'm on cloud 9 after this race and am super excited to see where this year takes me!  I am so ecstatic to be running injury free, I'm a happy runner!

- xaar