race report: virtual pug 10k

A couple of months ago, several of my lovely friends and blog readers alerted me to a virtual race that would be taking place. Since my race calendar has been pretty consistently filled, I really hadn’t planned on taking on any virtuals, but…

If the pug calls, I jump to answer.

Shannyn, over at Frugal Beautiful, is a pug lover. And she had this really incredible idea of hosting a virtual 5K/10K/1 Miler race to support Northern Illinois Pug Rescue. The goal was to get 375 (or more) people to register and run, with the money raised going to save 26(.2) pugs. As a thank you for donations, runners would receive a pretty awesome pugicorn medal and Shannyn’s fiance would run the Chicago Marathon wearing a pug singlet.

How could I resist?

I happily registered for the 10K, and then life happened, and I was feeling ennui and discouragement and I just wasn’t able to find the time to get in those 6.2 miles.

And then, one day in mid-October, an envelope showed up at my house, and it was my beautiful, sparkly pugicorn medal, in all its glittery glory. I was so tempted to pop it open and hang it on my medal rack, but I hadn’t earned it. Not yet.

The day after the Evergreen Pumpkin 10 Miler, I had plans to go running with a friend in the next neighborhood. She said she wanted to do six or seven miles, and I figured 5.2 would fit right into that plan. Fortunately, she was agreeable, and I was really excited because I would finally earn my medal!

The night before, I had a really severe allergic reaction at dinner. I’m not sure what happened – we ate at Mellow Mushroom, and I had the drunken fun guys and make-your-own salad, as per usual. Halfway through my meal, my head completely swelled up, and my eyes and throat got all kinds of itchy. It was rather unpleasant, and I didn’t get relief until about 90 minutes later. I had a decent night’s sleep, but when my alarm went off, my eyes were hideously swollen.

I was thisclose to canceling, but I could see and my legs weren’t hurt, so I decided to tough it out.

S and I had a great run, especially considering that I had just knocked out ten miles the day before.

And my eyes slowly returned to normal as we went along, so that was a definite plus.

After a nice shower and a snack, it was time.

This really has to be my favorite medal. I mean, how could it not be?

Most importantly,  Shannyn’s fundraiser was a huge success! This virtual run pulled in over $7,500, and her fiance did wear his pug singlet for the marathon. Yay!

I would love to participate again if the opportunity arose! I love the cause and I love the bling! Thank you, Shannyn, for putting this together and for giving us the chance to help you save a bunch of sweet pugs!

Did you get to participate in the Virtual Pug Run this year?

Do you run virtual races throughout the year?