Honestly, folks, I don't even remember why I signed up for this one. I think it was because I needed a December race to round out my year, and it had a medal... It wasn't a bad run, and I'd do it again, but, well... it was boring.
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| Pigtails in low humidity are much cuter than in high humidity! |
This race was at
St. John's Golf & Country Club, near St. Augustine. This place was gorgeous. Golf course (obviously), tennis courts, beautiful clubhouse, pretty retention ponds with fountains, gorgeous pool... And it's ONLY $3,279 a year for a family to enjoy all of this luxury!
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| This place is GORGEOUS! Photo stolen from their Facebook page |
I was just here to run. I don't think costumes were encouraged, but I decided on a little Christmas flair anyway. I put some jingle bells on my shoes - and then pretty much immediately took them off, because they were way too jingly.
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| Yeah... I don't need to hear bells to remind me how slow I am |
It was a very small race, with only 80 or so runners. Because of heavy rains the night before, a portion of the course (that ran through a field... wha?) were cut, so this race wasn't actually 3.1 miles (Garmin read about 2.7).
I'm sorry for all of the race shots being blue... not sure what was up with that! It
was a pretty dreary day, though. Overcast and cold, I had to wear a quarter-zip over my top.
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| Certainly can't tell by this photo, but Christmas was 2 weeks away |
The course was pretty basic, going up a neighborhood street, where random neighbors were out walking their dogs while I'm huffing and puffing behind them.
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| Don't mind me, Susan... I'm just in a race |
In a neighborhood as... well, rich... as this, I was hoping for more holiday displays. But I guess <in your best snooty voice> St. John's Golf & Country Club doesn't particularly condone Christmas decorations. Some houses were tastefully dressed up, though, with wreaths. As I walked past, I wondered how many would be lit if I came by at night. Or was that too tacky for a neighborhood such at this?
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| I guess quiet and tasteful is better than nothing... |
Halfway through the course, we turned onto a quieter street, with a nice wide sidewalk.
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| This might have been the Mile 1 sign |
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| See that car up there? There's some runners next to it... that's how far behind I am |
I'm pretty lonely back here, folks. There was a family in front of me, but they were pulling ahead within a mile or so.
Returning back to the entrance of the Club was a beautiful sight. You could see a water tower or something, and a pretty bridge crossing this wide water area.
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| Hard to see, but there's a water tower and a bridge over the water |
The finish line (which, of course, was also the start line) was in the parking lot.
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| Ooooh, finish line parking lot! |
And, it happened again...
I was last.
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| Woo hoo! I'm LAST! |
My
official time was 47:33, but remember, I only actually did 2.7 miles. (I used RunGuides
pace calculator to estimate that it would actually have taken me 54:45 to finish 3.1 miles).
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| This is fucking hilarious, and I have to bookmark this site for future use |
I came in 83rd out of 83 total runners. I was 17th in my age group (F4049) and my RunGuides pace would have been around 14:37.
I got a few cute finish line shots and picked up my medal before it was time for awards.
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| I'm cold, but not cold enough to wear pants |
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| Eh, it's cute for what it is |
They did awards, then a raffle (which is why I'm stalking so weirdly in everyone's photos... I'm behind the two boys in this photo, by the tree). Instead of regular prizes, they gave away weird shit, like mac & cheese or Goldfish!
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| This race is brought to you by Pepperidge Farm Goldfish! |
Afterwards, I grabbed my change of clothes and utilized the changing rooms near the pool, and wow, even their bathrooms were fancy!
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| Fancy! |
I picked up a drink and headed towards old St. Augustine to pick up some fudge. As I walked by one of the shops on St. George Street, I saw this sign telling people to stop giving money to the vagrants and panhandlers. KUDOS to you, St. Augustine! If you make an environment inhospitable to grifters, they will move on. These signs definitely worked - I saw a drastic change as I walked to Savannah Sweets.
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| Please DO NOT Feed the Wildlife |
After fudge, I picked up some lunch, did a little last-minute Christmas shopping and headed home.
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| MURICA! |
