Local Race Report: Holiday Stress Buster 5K 2016

This race in pretty and historic Lake Helen was my third of three holiday races for the season. This race was the most enjoyable of the bunch for me, though I now realize that three is too many.

Lake Helen's Holiday Stress Buster raises funds for the city's park and children's playground.

Training & Goals
I was looking at this as another fun run following illness earlier in the month that kept me off running as much as I'd like. Training would start again in the new year -- I was here to have some holiday fun and burn off some feast calories.

Race Day: December 24, 2016
I had picked up my packet the day before so I didn't have to arrive to early for the race. It was 61°F at the start with 100% humidity.

Mile 1: 10:28
The race took us from Blake Park in the middle of Lake Helen around residential and undeveloped parts of the city. Many runners had dressed up in holiday costumes.

Mile 2: 10:29

Mile 3+: 10:15, 1:39*

Chip time: 32:37
Placement details:
14 of 36 in Age Group; 194 of 494 overall
Race Amenities:
Runners received a long sleeve cotton shirt and nice finisher medal
Cost:
$17.40

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

Report written January 9, 2017

Featured photo (c) Almost There Photography; running photo (c) Naymond Fontenot via Facebook

Comments

Be the first to comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published

Race Recap: Lap the Track 5K 2019

The Daytona Beach Half Marathon weekend made some changes for 2019, including adding a Saturday 5K and moving up the Sunday 5K to start shortly after the half marathon. I had planned to run the half marathon for the third year in a row. Read my previous...

Local Race Recap: Bunny Hop 5K 2022

I ran the Second Annual Bunny Hop 5K on multi-use trails here in DeBary Florida on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022. Here's my recap.

Local Race Report: Holiday Stress Buster 5K 2021

This was my fourth time participating in the Lake Helen Stress Buster, always on Christmas Eve. Previous reports: 2016 | 2017 | 2019. With nearly 700 finishers, this was by far the largest Stress Buster I've attended. It was fun to see such a large and...

Race Report: Deltona Honor & Remember 5K 2016

The inaugural Deltona Honor & Remember 5K took place on a very foggy morning at Dewey Boster Park. The race was part of the Live Your Life Well series and meant to honor veterans and first responders, with proceeds benefiting local charities. The run took us...