Potatoes & Parkrunners - Spud Run 5k Race Report 2025

Clockwise from me: Ava, Kristen, Luis, Samuel, Cliff, Jon, Dustin, Troy

I've never been a trendsetter before, but you guys! I spread enough awareness of this run amongst my parkrun people that there were a bunch of us there! Whenever a group of us at parkrun are standing around, it never fails that we talk running and races! Last year, two people heard me talking about Spud Run and they ran it (I didn't know this at the time). A few weeks ago, I saw one of the guys wearing the 2024 shirt, and we started chatting about it, and he told me that he never would have known about it if not for me. As we were talking, another person asked about it, so I told them about it, and they told me the following week that they signed up to do it in April. Word got around and by race day, I think we were up to almost 10 people! Luis, Cliff, John, and Samuel all did the 15k challenge, where they ran the 10k first then the 5k. The rest of us just did the 5k. 

I got there pretty early and got a good parking spot really close to the starting area. The library was closed off this year, so packet pickup was outside. I got my bib and shirt, and I was a little frosty... They didn't have any 2X shirts - why offer them if you aren't going to order them?! The XL fit, but is definitely tighter than I'd like, so for now, it's been relegated to a "hang around the house" shirt. I picked up my bag of potatoes and brought everything back to the car. I walked toward the finish line to cheer on any 10k parkrun finishers, but I could see Clifford's Big Red Truck and he was already done, so I made my way over there instead. We BS'd for a while then I went looking for others. I found Luis, who said that he finished the 10k in about 40 minutes! After that I found Kristen & Troy, the rest of our parkrun people, did the group shot (above) then lined up for the 5k. 

I tried, y'all... I was looking forward to getting some running in, but my IT Band was not happy, so by Mile 1, I went back to straight walking. Kristen & Troy caught up with me and we walked together for about a mile, then took off on their own intervals (they finished maybe two minutes before me). 

I actually beat my 2024 time, coming in at 56:32, wow! 278th out of 317 total finishers, I was the 160th female (out of 190) and the last finisher in my age group.  

Yes, that medal is shaped like a potato!

Finish Line Video

Afterward, we all picked up our potatoes (I got a second bag, in lieu of cabbage) and went our separate ways for the day. I was kind of bummed, because I'd psyched my introverted self up for a group breakfast or something, but at the same time I was relieved that I didn't have to suffer through a group breakfast or something. 

These potatoes were so freakin' delicious!

I changed clothes and got a soda at the nearby RaceTrac then spent the day shopping around St. Augustine. I was on a mission to find a nice pair of work pants and/or a nice dress that made me feel pretty. I've been feeling down on myself lately, and I wanted to change that. 

First stop was Bealls Florida, which I thought was going to be a Beall's Outlet, but was actually their department store. I've actually never been in a Bealls Department store! Their Plus Size section was a good size, but their dress selection was small. I found a cute A-line dress that fit well, only made me look like a small tent, but none of the patterns were cute on me. I found a few cute shirts, but they didn't fit well (either too big or too tight across the bust). This store is interesting in that it truly is just how they advertise... "The Florida Store." All of the clothing was light, breezy fabrics that would be cool in the Florida sunshine. Lots of pineapples, flamingoes, nautical, or tropical vibes. The only problem is that I'm not much of a Florida fashion kind of gal. So all I ended up with was a blousy blue top and a cool running hat with a hole in it for a ponytail (I've been wanting one of these, and this one was on clearance for about ten bucks!)

Next up, I checked out the Burlington; now, I always have pretty good luck at the Burlington in my town, but boy, oh, boy... this Burlington was nasty. It looked like the store was going out of business, and there was about a month left before it closed its doors for good, and management didn't give a shit if the store looked good anymore. It wasn't going out of business, of course, but it looked that way... The Ladies fitting room was closed and blocked off by two tables full of clearance items and surrounded by carts full of junk. The wired locks that secured the more expensive purses were just dangling from hooks in the purse section. There was random crap on the floor. Racks were picked over and messy and overstuffed so you couldn't move stuff around. After about five minutes of walking around and trying not to flee from the ick of it all, I gave up... I felt like I was in a thrift shop where bad things happen in the back. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE thrift shops! 

Okay, so that was a bust; I regrouped with a corn dog and pretzel from Sonic then headed over to my all-time favorite Dollar Tree and found lots of goodies to bring home! I got some snacks, some root beer, a ready-to-finish vase, and some fake flowers to make a few new arrangements for my office. I bought a bunch of acrylic (okay, plastic) drawer organizers, but now that I'm back home, lord only knows what I'm going to use them for... It seemed like a smart buy at the time, I swear!

Next up, I wandered around Beall's Outlet, since I was still on a mission for pants and dresses, but they had nothing, so I went over to Marshall's. I was ready to give up at this point... These types of stores rarely have anything Plus Size, and if they do, it's of the Clown or Tent variety, so I didn't even look for anything really... I ended up with some undies and a bag of Butter Toffee popcorn. 

At this point, I was super-tired (I've been dealing with some PMS-like symptoms this week), so I decided to call it a day. I picked up some Chick-fil-A nuggets and a drink and made my way home.