There’s a lot of history to this 5k…

As you may remember, this race takes place during my annual non-running tennis vacation in Naples, Florida. I play tennis every morning and then spend the afternoon on the beach.  Each evening I go out for drinks, dinner and dessert with my tennis friends. Eight days of pure relaxation and enjoyment… (every May since 2005)

I love it.  It’s usually my only vacation that doesn’t include a race.  You have to admit that racing during a vacation does add an element of stress.

Well, in 2017. we changed our dates and I happened upon a 5k race that took place on the Sunday during our stay. One of my friends offered to get up at the crack of dawn and drop me off and another offered to pick me up.

Despite the loops and warm temps, I had a blast and did fairly well.

I also unexpectedly bumped into a tennis friend, Rebecca, who had moved to Naples.

As a result, I signed up for the same 5k in 2018 and 2019. I won an age group award each time and met up with Rebecca.

Our vacation was cancelled due to COVID in 2020 and the race in 2021 did not occur during our time in Naples.

So I was pretty excited to run this race again in 2022. The downside was that Rebecca died suddenly in 2021 and I knew that the race would remind me of her sadly.

I decided to run the race anyway and each year, if I was able, in Rebecca’s honor.

However since I was still recovering from a broken foot, I decided to skip the race in 2023 but in 2024, I put it back on my racing schedule.

Last year, after I signed up for this race, I got an email saying that they had to change the course location.  I could have gotten a refund.  But what the hell. A new race!

This year, I knew in advance that AGAIN, they changed the course. And I still signed up. Vacation and a Race…

It was going to be held at Sugden Park. After some Googling, I discovered that in the fall, there was a 5k that was held in this park …

Race Description:

The 5K run will take place on the pathways of Sugden Regional Park. Athletes will have views of Lake Avalon throughout the course while winding through shaded wooded areas. The finish will be along the handset pavers between the cheering fans and the beach front by the lake.

Pre-Race Activities and Preparations:

The night before the race, we went out to an awesome seafood dinner. No pizza or pasta and I had a glass of wine… Oh well. only a 5k. Carb loading not a must.

Here is the NEW course map:

I hate 2 looped races.  I wasn’t surprised and I just had to suck it up and do it…

Race Day:

Saturday morning, I groggily ate my usual race breakfast at 5:30 am. As in previous years, a friend agreed to drop me off at the race start. The race started at 7:30 am and so we left at 6:30 am. I wasn’t familiar with the race location so I needed to arrive earlier than necessary.

If I had gotten there even earlier I would have seen the full moon:

There was no packet pick up before the race day (as in previous years).  So I got my bib on race day,,,

.The swag was a shirt.

Since I was early, I walked around…. this was a really beautiful park… very conducive to running, walking, biking…

I was a little chilly so I put on my race shirt… Eventually I had to hide it under a tree since I did have a bag or a car.

This was not a big race.  There were about 225 runners – all ages and very friendly.

It was cloudy when I got there. At times, the sun did peak out. It was starting to get warm. I checked the weather app on my phone. Holy humidity!

I wore my usual race attire minus the compression socks:

As I was killing time and enjoying the sunrise views on the lake, I spotted a familiar face…

Yes. Jeannie Rice.  It was my 2nd 5k encounter with her.  I was very excited!! And she is so nice!  She was nursing an injury and was running this 5k to see if she could run a longer race next weekend. (She winters in Naples.)

Soon it was time to head to the start line.

As you can see from the map, the course winds the park and loops back toward the start.

I had no plan for the race – just finish and get back to my friends so we could continue with our plans for the day. (Gone are the days when I finished this race in 27:xx!!)

I also haven’t raced in weather this warm since last August. This made me a little nervous. Can I run well in the heat/humidity? Will I die? LOL

I had no idea what the course looked like until after the race.  Luckily, much of the course was through the park and shady.

Mile 1: 

From the get go, my legs felt like lead but my biggest problem was that I had a hard time breathing and I felt dizzy. Was it the heat?  Most likely it was not being acclimated to the humidity. I couldn’t wait to get to the water stop…

Actually I could not wait to walk…

Mile 2: 

It seemed like forever but I think it was during mile 2.  I stopped for water and walked for a short while.

I continued my running which was painful and seemed to be like a slog…

As I mentioned above, the course ran through the park and it was very pretty. It was a mixture of flat paths and wooden bridges and concrete sidewalks.

There were a few older ladies that I remembered from past years.  One in particular was in front of me.  I tried to keep up with her.

Mile 3 – 3.1: 

The race is kind of a blur.  I think I walked a few more times…

I tried to just get to the finish line without puking.

Wish I looked like this. LOL

Eventually the arch appeared and I gave it my all.

I was shocked when I crossed at 31:xx. I felt so much slower.

I waited for another older runner to finish. She and I had chatted before the race..

Post Race Activities:

I grabbed some water and some refreshments which were cookies, bars, bananas and navel oranges.

I quickly checked the results to see if I won an award. And I did!!

My friend was not coming to pick me up until after her tennis lesson so I had time to stay for the awards ceremony.

Additional Race Reflections:

Definitely a tough one and again one of my slower 5ks but hey, I did it.

And I will do it again!

Racing for me is always enjoyable (at least afterward.)

Positives:

• flatish course
• well organized
• ample parking
• nice shirt (gender-specific)
• Instant results emailed/texted to runners
• creative age group award (picture frame)
• important charity (scholarships to HS students)
• Nice park
• lake views
• Sunrise
• Meeting Jeannie Rice

Negatives:

• Rebecca was no longer there. 😦
• Warm temps and humidity

Would I recommend this race?

Yes! There was a lot of enthusiasm and runners of all ages.

Final Stats: