Sunday morning, 12 hours after Yeti Set Go! 10k, I made my way up towards the lake and ran a 5k for some pretty adorable pups. I ran this race last year and loved it, but what made it such a great race was that proceeds were going to a local animal shelter, one that I volunteered at throughout high school. Love a Stray is a local non-kill pet shelter that takes in dogs and cats. In high school I adopted my favorite cat Carter from there, who sadly passed away last year. A few years ago I adopted the adorable and mischievous Ralphie, who makes many cameos on my Instagram feed. If you can adopt, do it! All of these animals need loving homes.

The course was a little different this year, starting at the high school instead of The Landings, but it still went through the same wooded park. The weather was chilly and was perfect for another trial of my Flying Pig race day outfit. Yes I did wear the same outfit for two back to back races, not ashamed. It was also sprinkling a little bit, but held off until after the race was over. I was feeling pretty good and my legs weren’t too tight. The starting line was full of 400+ runners, and their dogs, so it was a little crowded, but not too bad. Just as soon as we lined up, we were off.

I wasn’t looking for a time with this race, I just wanted to run and give back to the shelter. I settled into a comfortable pace at about 8:30. We headed into the woods and it was still a bit crowded, but the further we got, the more it thinned out. The path was paved and relatively smooth. I hit my first mile right around the 8:30 mark. I decided to slow down a bit, knowing that I didn’t have it in me to PR. My legs were a little sore, so I just wanted to loosen them up. I fell into the groove and made my way through the course.

The course was pretty much the same the entire way, black top through the woods. There was one water stop in between parks at the corner of a housing development, but I didn’t stop. It was a little boring, but if I was running with a dog it would have been a great course. It was well protected and didn’t interfere with traffic or any neighborhoods. I hit mile 2 at 8:54 and mile 3 at 8:49. I finished at 26:46, no PR but a solid, well paced run just 12 hours after some crazy trail running.

After the results were posted online I felt better about my run. I didn’t place in my age group, but I did well overall. If you’re looking for a race to run with your dog, I definitely recommend this one.

Also, the shirts are designed by local kids, which is great. I pre-registered, but they only had large left. My shirt, along with my Yeti Set Go shirt will both be arriving in the mail in two weeks. I’ll be sure to add those to each recap.

*Updated Picture

Official Results

Time: 26:46

Overall: 125/433

Female: 54/287

Age Group 25-29: 8/39