Race Report: Spud Run 10K (April 27, 2024)

Friends, you know I love potatoes, and so it should be no surprise that I took on the Spud Run 10K this past week. Ok. Maybe the 10K was a little bit of a surprise, but there were reasons. Sometimes, you just have to go big. How did it go? Let’s get into it.

Why The 10K?

The Spud Run offers three events: a 5K, a 10K, and a 15K Challenge (runners do the 10K, then go right back out for the 5K). I’ve actually done all three races over the years, but this year, I had to go for the 10K on its own. It had a start time of 7:00AM and I was on call for a huge mulch fundraiser weekend. My plan was to run at 7, and be back in time to not miss much. The timing wasn’t great, but this is what we had to work with.

Race Morning

I wasn’t paying much attention to the rest of the race details, but I planned to pick up my packet early on race morning at the venue. Due to the super early start time and limited parking, I was in my car at 5:15AM. This gave me just enough time to grab a bagel to tide me over until the start. The Main Branch of the Hastings Library is about 30 minutes from my front door, and I arrived just before 6AM, snagging a great parking spot.

I picked up my bib and t-shirt (the Spud Run is fantastic for handing out soft, pretty t-shirts), and then sort of hung out in the dark, waiting for the reason we were all there: the cabbage and potatoes! That’s right: every participant gets a head of cabbage and potatoes, fresh from local farms, L&M Farms and Barnes Farms.

I did notice that there weren’t a lot of people on site, and that made me a little nervous. The Spud Run is never a big run, but I wanted a few more runners around me on the course.

The Start Line

Finally, it was time to line up. Again, I noticed that there were probably 100 or less people around me. I could feel myself getting a little anxious, and just tried to focus on other things. We were just about to start when a woman near me started mentioning the incoming rain.

I’m sorry, why?

Somehow, I had never checked the forecast, other than for the temperature. And at this point, I didn’t have any rain gear (hat or plastic bag for my phone), but there was nothing I could do. On the plus side, I guess I was properly distracted when the race began.

Miles 1-3

The Spud Run 10K course is pretty straightforward. I guess the best way to describe it is a big rectangle, with an attached out and back.

The first three miles cut through farmland on paved roads. It’s very pretty, and the scenes continue to improve as you enter the out and back, a shaded road, under a tree canopy.

Miles 3-6.2

The good news is that the clouds provided some shelter from the sun. The bad news? That rain was moving in. I was doing just fine on my pacing. passing a few water stops (and skipping all of them), and emerged from the tree canopy into a much gloomier morning.

At mile 4.5, the sky started to spit. And by 4.75, it was raining. Ugh. In these last miles, there wasn’t much tree cover at all, and the rain was drenching. It came sideways at one point, and the puddles formed quickly on the road. As a person who hates running in the rain, I was miserable. Somehow, I managed to get my phone in my shorts pocket, super worried that it would get damaged, and kept going, despite it tugging on my shorts and banging on my leg.

My socks got soggy quickly, and there was definitely some sliding in my shoes. For me, discomfort magnifies exponentially in the rain. It’s interesting to note that for about a mile, I was absolutely alone on the course, too. It was weird. I was so happy when I turned the final corner to the finish line. At this point, I was in trouble: the rain was getting in my contacts lenses and they were starting to shift in my eyes! I had to shield my face with my hand as I ran, to keep them in the place.

The Finish Line

I crossed the finish line, took my potato medal, and kept trotting back to the parking lot (about a block away). Fortunately, there were tents up over the snacks and the race computers, so I was able to take cover.

Of course, this wasn’t the finish I hoped for. I was so proud of my time (4th in my AG again!), and I wanted to get some awesome farm photos and say hi to some friends who were running the 5K. No such luck.

I was able to snap a couple of finisher photos, but then the heavens opened again. The poor 5K runners had to stand at that start line in the deluge, and I was pretty glad not to be lining up as part of the 15K challenge.

I grabbed a few snacks, and headed back to my car to wrap up in a towel and get home.

Race Thoughts

I consider myself super lucky to live near the Potato Capital of Florida. It’s also great to be so close to so many cool farms.

The Spud Run 10K is an absolute highlight, and I love that this year, they positioned it on the same weekend as the Cabbage, Potato, & Bacon Festival. Sadly, I did not get to partake in the festivities, but it sure did sound fun.

I love that this race honors local farms and agriculture. The potato and cabbage swag is so fun and unique. Volunteers are always fabulous, and the race amenities are on point. The race can’t help the weather, so even though I hated every second of the rain, it won’t deter me from racing this again in the future. My race strategy was to just keep putting one foot safely in front of the other, and that’s exactly what I did. I’m proud of my finish and am looking forward to my next race!

Would you run for potatoes? Have your contact lenses ever washed out in the rain?

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