When I registered for this race, I kinda forgot that I'd already signed up for a 5k just last weekend, so yeah... A back-to-back!
I didn't do a Race Report for the other race, but it was the Wounded Warrior Project Carry Forward 5k. Always a good time, easy race because so many people are just walking. Nothing amazing happened. I got an amazing parking space about 1000 feet from the after-party, which was great. The tee shirt is super comfy. Picked up half a dozen bottles of Core water (love those for work because they're sturdy and refillable). Finished 56:38 and got a great medal.
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| Carry Forward 5k Medal |
Anyway, so on to this race, the Endless Summer 5k on St. Augustine Beach. I did it back in 2021, and I said that I wasn't impressed, but that I'd give it another shot, so here we are.
I got there with plenty of time to spare to ensure that I got a parking spot in the lot within the park, and went to the front to get my packet, and that’s when shit
hit the fan. I was told that they didn’t have a shirt in my size – a Women’s XXL,
which I paid extra for. The old blue-haired cat-lady “allowed” me to get a Men’s XXL instead, which
was just so frustrating… Men’s shirts suck because they’re so boxy, which is
why I chose a Women’s shirt, and why I paid EXTRA for a Women’s shirt that
would actually fit my large woman body… At least the reusable tote bag and
sticker were cool.
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| Size 11 Flip-Flop for reference |
As I
walked around and made my way over to the start line, I got a text on my phone;
it was my old boss asking if I was here – he said he thought he saw me! We
texted back and forth a few times before we found each other, gave each other
hugs, and then he went back to his family.
We took off and trudged through the soft sand to the hard-packed water line. I won’t lie, my only goal today is to stay far enough in front of my old boss so that we don’t have to chit-chat for an hour, or do that awkward “walking near each other” dance. So I put some speed in my steps and kept my pace pretty quick (of course, “quick” is relative, lol). Didn’t end up working all that well, because we finished within a minute of each other, and only 10 people between us.
We took off and trudged through the soft sand to the hard-packed water line. I won’t lie, my only goal today is to stay far enough in front of my old boss so that we don’t have to chit-chat for an hour, or do that awkward “walking near each other” dance. So I put some speed in my steps and kept my pace pretty quick (of course, “quick” is relative, lol). Didn’t end up working all that well, because we finished within a minute of each other, and only 10 people between us.
 |
| Finished 59:42 (353 out of 463 Total Runners) |
I got
my medal and photo, then headed back to my car. I hit up one of the beach
showers to wash all the sand and yuck from my legs before I headed out. I
changed my clothes and headed toward downtown to get some fudge, but sadly, my “super-secret
parking lot” directly behind Savannah Sweets has been turned into private
parking! So I drove around for a little bit, looking for parking, but it was
just busy EVERYWHERE, what the hell? Before I knew it almost an hour had gone
by! I gave up on fudge and went over to Schooner’s for lunch, and when I asked
the waitress why it was so busy in town, she told me that today was the first
day of Nights of Lights. Yep, that’ll do it! Everyone was here to see the town lit up in millions of
Christmas lights, no wonder there was nowhere to park! Also explains why I kept
seeing a lot of “Park Here for Shuttle” signs – being a person who goes to
Saint Augustine a lot, I assumed that those were for something specific, and
probably cost $20 to park! Oh well, no fudge for me. Instead I got delicious
fried shrimp. After that, I hopped over to Walmart for some pre-vacation shopping, then made my way home to pick Hubby up from work.
So,
now that I’ve done this race twice, do I think I’ll do it again? Nah, probably
not. The shirts are cute, but this is twice now that they haven’t had a shirt in
my size (ahem… THAT I PAID EXTRA FOR), and it’s just not special enough
to overlook that. Being in Florida, there’s lots of options for on-beach races, if I
want to do one of them instead (and I will… spoiler alert!)
Race
Notes
Location:
Anastasia State Park (Saint Augustine), FL
Host: Don's Friends
Race
Fee: $45.29 (Saved $3 with promo code ACRR)
Extra Fee: $2 (Women's XXL V-Neck Shirt)
Packet
Pickup: Easy to find, didn't have my shirt size
Parking:
Got there early enough to park in large Park parking lot; more parking available along the roads
Support:
One water table (accessible up and back)
After
Party: A few vendor/expo type tables, good snacks (Utz pretzels, Rice Krispie treats, bagels, bananas, water); No music or entertainment afterward
