Local 5K Race Report: Kids Beating Cancer 5K 2016

This race was held to support a great cause and took place right here in my hometown of DeBary. Kids Beating Cancer supports kids fighting cancer and other diseases. The race was held in conjunction with the grand opening of a new local medical center. There was also a health fair and I was impressed with the number of tents and vendors at the event.

Training & Goals
This was my return to racing after my first half marathon two weeks prior. I took it easy getting back, with just three training runs of 3, 3, and 5 miles between April 17 and April 30. This was an untimed fun run so I had no particular goal except to finish and get in a good training run.

Race Day: April 30, 2016
It was a short drive to the event, which had a late start time of 9AM. It was sunny and 73° when we got underway. Since the race was untimed, the info below comes from my Garmin.

Mile 1: 9:29
I went out pretty fast (for me) but due to the heat I took my regular interval walking breaks every 4.5 minutes.

Mile 2: 9:57
About halfway through the race I really felt the heat and decided since it wasn't timed and there were no awards for the race that I shouldn't push myself too hard. The blazing sun and heat from the late start made this race rather unpleasant overall and had me questioning any future summer races! Luckily the start time for most races is much earlier (and therefore cooler) than 9AM.

Mile 3+: 11:12, 2:01*
I have no idea how many people finished before or after me. Sorry to say I'm not a fan of untimed "fun run" races and will look to avoid them in the future, though I can't regret signing up for a race in my hometown that supports such a great cause.

Cumulative time: 32:40
Race Amenities: Swag included a nice cotton tee & nice goodie bag with lots of goodies. The race was accompanied by an interesting expo.
Cost: $23, including $3 processing fee.

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written May 31, 2016