2010 New Balance Girls on the Run (Dane County) 5K Race Report

Remember when I ran the Madison Marathon (May 2010) as a Sole Mate for the Girls on the Run Organization?! It was a great experience and I was able to raise over $600 for the local chapter. Today was the Dane County (Wisconsin) chapter's Second Annual New Balance Girls on the Run 5K (HERE). I ran the race last year with my teenage sister and had a blast. Today, I would be running the race solo.


I would also be sporting my spiffy GOTR Sole Mate techinical tee. I also seem to wear this running shorts to most of my races. Maybe it's because they are just so cool?! Or, maybe it is because they are so colorful that they go with EVERYTHING in my running wardrobe?! I also wore my fun, pink CEP compression socks (Don't forget to enter my giveaway -- check out the sidebar!!)

Little Diva was my little pre-race photographer this morning and suggested that the bling RUN letters in our home gym matched my race outfit. She is so much like me, it's crazy!


Last year I ran a 24:46 during the innaugural race and set my existing PR. After my PRs in longer distances lately, I was hoping that I would set a new personal record today. I wasn't sure if the rainy, cool weather would be in my favor or not this year.

Little Diva had basketball practice this morning and hubby was sitting outside in the rain at the Wisconsin Badgers football game. So, my parents and my sister came over to help out. Dad took care of the kids so that mom could come along to spectate. It was such a nice surprise!!!! I was not going to be going alone after all.

Speaking of the rain .... it was cold, a slight breeze and drizzling all morning. By the time we showed up at packet pick-up, it was starting to come down harder. Grrr...

Packet pick up was easy. I got my bib (the race is not chip-timed) and my blue long-sleeve GOTR tee shirt and some other goodies. Mom and I stood around a bit and watched people coming in. There were sooooo many women and young girls, mothers and fathers along to cheer on their little girls who had been training for this event. I heard that there were over 300 little girls that trained for this 5K!!! They were all wearing bib #1! It was awesome seeing all of their team signs from the surrounding cities and elementary schools. They had a booth again, where the girls could pick out various fleece fabrics and someone would sew together a fun hat for them. There were also GOTR tatoos everywhere and a Goody Hair booth outside where the girls could get all sorts of fun colors sprayed into their hair. What a fun event for these fabulous young ladies!

There are tons of restrooms and very short lines every single time. I went a few times before the race. Once I was waiting for my mom inside and someone in line asked me if I blogged. She said that she recognized me from Running Diva Mom. I am always surprised when I hear this (not sure why?!). She said that she doesn't blog, but reads mine because I'm local and enjoys it. That really warmed my heart. Thank you!

The race started at 10 am and we finally headed outside to the start line ten minutes before. It was awesome seeing so many little girls toeing the start line. There were also a lot of jogging strollers towards the back. The girls sang their GOTR chant and they hummed and sang along to the National Anthem. It brought tears to my eyes.

The fire engine alarmed .... and we were off.

With so many little girls at the start line (towards the front), it was kind of hard to start moving ... I mean, I didn't want to run a little girl over! It opened up right away. About 1/4 mile in, I saw my mom with my camera, under her umbrella.

I knew that this course was hilly. Wasn't sure how the rain was going work with the hills. We headed towards the top of the first one and I could see Chelsea from Early Runner (HERE) towards the top of the hill. She wasn't too far ahead of me. Her purple shirt was turning the corner. I picked up the pace a little. At mile one is was at about 8:10 and wasn't sure if I was going to PR. I was feeling good though. I picked it up again and then there was the other big hill. I pushed my way through it and saw Chelsea turn the next corner. I was on a down hill and picked it up again. There was mile two and the only water station. I wasn't going to grab anything (didn't need it), but saw the adorable little gal holding out her hand ... so I grabbed a cup, sipped it and tossed it. I saw a little girl in pigtails stop to walk. A man (who may have been her "running buddy" was encouraging her and trying to sidetrack her by telling her that in trail running, he splashes around in muddy puddles like this. She only had one mile to go. It warmed my heart again. Somone commented on how they liked my pink compression socks (I heard this about ten times today!!). I sweet chick passed me on the right and said that she really liked the nice saying on the back of my Sole Mate shirt (except today it was rain, not sweat). We chuckled. I saw Chelsea turn the next corner to the left up ahead and never saw her again. I am rarely towards the front of the race like this. I knew that the course would be winding around to the right very soon ... but there was no one headed that way just yet. Was I really this far toward the front?! I pushed along and there were some super outgoing volunteers cheering us on. Loved it. Then we were approaching the track/path to the finish line. I saw mile three approaching and knew I wasn't going to PR. I was off by about 20-30 seconds. I saw all of the families, under umbrellas, soaking wet, waiting for their little girls to cross the finish line. There was a chute for timed runners (me) and GOTR participants (to the left). I headed to the right and saw my mom screaming at me. I love hearing her get excited at my races, because I didn't really play sports growing up. It just makes me happy. I mustered a smile.

I approached the finish line ... soggy and wet. It probably wasn't the best idea to wear my new running shoes today!

I didn't stop my watch on time, but finished in 25 minutes and some change (25:35). No PR today. But, that's okay. (Edited to note: I did find out through the official race results that I finished 3rd in my age group and 31/375 overall. LOTS of little girls running today!!)

I loved the pink and green GOTR arch.

GIRLS ON THE RUN DANE COUNTY -- THEIR VISION:

To help girls and women in Dane County feel good about themselves and their roles in society, we will provide access to a GOTR program to every 3rd through 5th grade girl in her community by 2020.

There were some great goodies at the refreshment area. Everyone received these adorable hot pink GOTR water bottles. They also had bananas, tons of different flavors of bagels and several different kinds of Clif Kids gummies and bars, as well as Dole dried fruit packets and hot chocolate. It was a fantastic, kid-friendly atmosphere. I really wanted to stick around and cheering on the little ladies cross the finish line and find Chelsea. But, I was no longer heated up from my run and was shivering pretty bad (so was mom!). So, we headed back to the marathon mommy mini van to warm up. I can't wait to do this one again next year and will hope for better weather for the young ladies.

Interested in having your daughter

participate in Girls on the Run

or participating as a Sole Mate?

Visit GOTR (HERE)

for more information.

YOU WON'T REGRET IT!