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You are here: Home / Uncategorized / race report: gingerbread man dash 5K {12.6.2014}

race report: gingerbread man dash 5K {12.6.2014}

December 18, 2014      18 Comments

Little man has been asking and asking and asking to run a 5K. I wasn’t opposed to the idea of it (he’s six and active with all the energy and stubbornness that goes along with the age), as long as the weather was reasonable and he was sure about it. When Mr PugRunner mentioned that he wanted to run the Gingerbread Man Dash 5K, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity. It was a small, extremely close and family (and pet) friendly run. I had friends who would be running for PRs and who would be walking with their kids. It would be a good environment for a first 5K, and I was excited when little man gave me two thumbs up and told me he would be on board.

Since I was signing up for the fun of it, I thought it would be neat to have costumes. I get a little silly that way. I planned to dress as a snowman, because I had a white Sparkle Athletic skirt sitting in my running drawer, and I really wanted to make little man a gingerbread man shirt. For some reason, finding a plain brown youth t-shirt proved to be an impossible task, so we decided he would be an elf instead.

Some felt and stabbed fingers later, with the addition of some festive hats and socks, we had our outfits!

Little man was so excited (he actually loves the shirt and wants to wear it and the socks as part of his regular wardrobe).

My parents met us on race morning – they were excited to see little man run his first 5K, and I think he was excited for the encouragement. The weather was ok – humid, but overcast and relatively cool. We wandered around the staging area. The one mile fun run and 10K race were scheduled to start before the 5K so we had time to meet up with some of our friends and visit some of the vendors and sponsors.

And pose for pictures 🙂

After a quick run to the portapotty, we lined up for the start of our race. Little man was incredibly excited – he wanted to wear my new Garmin, so I set up intervals of 1:00/1:00, thinking that would work perfectly for him. He is a big fan of sprinting and then walking – rudimentary intervals, if you will. When we lined up at the start, I reminded him that he could run a little ahead but that I needed him to stay in my eyesight – it was crowded and the course was open to cars on one side.

He did great for the first mile. In his excitement, he probably did go out a bit too fast, but he seemed to really like being around the people and I know for a fact that he loved seeing all the dogs on the course (I did, too). He loved the idea of the water stop, and we took a little break while he got a drink. We also had a handheld for him, just in case he needed something extra. Which he did.

Miles two and three were tough. He was a trooper though, and we were able to keep him going to the turnaround of the out and back course. After that, we worked on making it fun. The Garmin was annoying him so we turned it off, and I tried the idea of “let’s run for five light posts and then walk for five.” That kept his mind on counting and hitting a visual goal rather than on the run itself. He told me he didn’t like 5Ks and the he didn’t want to do another one until he is an adult. I told him that was fine, but that he was doing great and he was going to be so happy and proud when he crossed the finish line.

As we got closer to the end, we saw a few runners who had completed the race walking back with their medals. Several of them called out encouragement to him and told him that his medal was waiting for him in just a little while. That perked him up and he rallied like a champ.

Nothing beats a strong finish.

Well, maybe a themed medal and a gingerbread cookie.

We couldn’t have been more proud of this little elf. He pushed, even when he wanted to quit, and now has his very first 5K under his belt. Even though he said he didn’t love it, l have a feeling he is going to want another go at it. And we will be right there with him if he does.

Afterwards, we hopped in line for some of the post-race refreshments from Tropical Smoothie, Edible Arrangements and a few other local places, but we were pretty hungry and decided to just go get a full breakfast at the restaurant in the adjacent hotel.

It was a fabulous morning. The race was the perfect size and well organized, with lots of pre- and post- festivities. The volunteers were friendly and sweet, and of course, made the race complete. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the open-to-traffic course, but there really wasn’t a way around it, so we just made the best of it.

The medals were adorable and the distribution of the gingerbread cookie to finishers was a tasty touch.

I think this face says it all!

 

Did you run a holiday themed race this winter?

Do you ever race as a family?

 

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Comments

  1. Tina@GottaRunNow says

    December 18, 2014 at 2:04 pm

    Congrats to each of you for finishing the 5K, but especially to your son for pushing through to the finish line of his first 5K! You have some great photos to remember the day!
    Tina@GottaRunNow recently posted…Between My 50K and My MarathonMy Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 1:36 am

      I do think that last one with his arms in the air is going to be a framer! Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Stacie Seidman says

    December 18, 2014 at 4:21 pm

    Way to go little man! Such an accomplishment for a little guy! Hey, I didn’t run my first 5K until I was 29!
    This looks like a great local race! I love that there were medals and COOKIES! And your costumes were fantastic. I love dressing up for runs. I figure if I’m gonna be slow, I should at least be festive.
    Stacie Seidman recently posted…Thursday’s ThreadsMy Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 1:36 am

      LOL! I didn’t run my first 5K til I was 36! He is way ahead of the game here.

      It really was. This particular race management group does a really nice jobs. Their races are typically smaller and not as popular, but their theming is always great and the community participation is usually top-notch. It’s a different experience, but great for families and kids. Just right for a first attempt.

      And I agree – dressing up is a blast. We certainly weren’t the only ones in costume, but I think we looked pretty cute and jolly 🙂

      Reply
  3. Rachel @ Undercover Diva: A Sitcom says

    December 18, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    Woo hoo! So proud of him! Congratulations! 😀
    Rachel @ Undercover Diva: A Sitcom recently posted…Turtle Tuesday #9My Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 1:34 am

      Thanks, girl! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Betsy says

    December 18, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    Awww that is awesome! Congrats to him and I love the costumes!
    Betsy recently posted…RunDisney Star Wars Half Marathon CostumeMy Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 1:34 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Darlene says

    December 18, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    Sounds like so fun fun. We had a race through the lights in the park but it rained!!
    Darlene recently posted…I ‘Mustache’ You Some QuestionsMy Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 1:31 am

      Oh, no! That’s no fun! 🙁

      Reply
  6. Anne says

    December 18, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    Ahhhhhhhh yeyyyyy!!!!!

    Congratsto the little man!!!!
    That is one of my biggest dream is to have my kids want to run a race with me, and I don’t even have kidS haha! Running with my mom and my brother is one of my favorite things on the planet. He may not want to run another 5K anytime soon, but I bet the bug has been planted for life 🙂
    Anne recently posted…Do You Believe in Magic? The Wizarding World of Harry PotterMy Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 1:34 am

      I love that we have something we can all do together. Even if he only wants to run the mile long fun runs for a while (which he still wants to do), that’s fine by us. It’s still physical activity and competition and a great way to spend a weekend or holiday morning, in my opinion. And, he’s a medal junkie like his mother. So I know he will be back 🙂

      Reply
  7. Abby @ BackAtSquareZero says

    December 19, 2014 at 12:36 am

    I love your costumes and think it is so awesome that he was able to run an entire 5K as young as he is, give him a high 5 from me!
    Abby @ BackAtSquareZero recently posted…Weight Watchers – Week 21 of MeetingsMy Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 1:32 am

      He did so great and we are so proud! I will absolutely give him that high 5!

      Reply
  8. Kristen says

    December 19, 2014 at 2:26 am

    This is the cutest thing ever!!!! Congrats to your son! As I was reading it I was thinking about running the 5k with my husband last weekend and how similar it was to you running with your son 🙂 So much encouragement, running/walking to certain light posts, and him telling me he’d never do it again. Great job on getting him to the finish – he looks so proud!
    Kristen recently posted…Would You Rather: Holiday Edition!My Profile

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 19, 2014 at 2:39 pm

      Thank you! What a sweet story about your hubby! Congratulations to him! Let me know if he changes his mind and goes back for more 🙂

      Reply
  9. Angie says

    December 20, 2014 at 4:50 pm

    That is awesome that he ran the race! Congratulations to him for his first 5K!

    Reply
    • runswithpugs says

      December 22, 2014 at 2:51 pm

      He did great!

      Reply

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Welcome to Runs With Pugs. My name is Jenn and this is the story of my love affair with running and finding myself through fitness. From C25K to marathon, from triathlon to SUP, from broken leg to the recovery journey... I'm sharing it all. I'm a wife and mother of one, living in NE Florida, in love with travel, adventure, and food. Oh. We have pugs and a hedgehog, too. Thank you for joining us! We're glad to have you along for the ride!
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