Our race to support Oregon children and families began more than 100 years ago and is just as urgent today. From providing a child a safe home, to offering community involvement to an adult with a developmental disability, Kerr provides invaluable support to our neighbors in need.
Kerr is dedicated to helping those among us with nowhere else to turn. Putting a smile on the face of a child, providing refuge to a desperate teenager—these are our everyday finish lines.
For one exceptional morning in April, our race becomes your race. We invite you to join thousands of fellow participants for a life-changing, life-saving event. One day. One cause. One finish line.
And now, the RACE RECAP!
4:50 am - Alarm went off. Hit snooze.
5:00 am - Alarm went off again. Dragged my body out of bed. Ate a breakfast of 1 banana, 2+ Tablespoons of Almond Butter, 1 serving reduced fat Wheat Thins, and a protein shake. Got dressed, put on a little makeup (it calms my nerves, keeps me from looking terribly blotchy in pictures, and fills the 2 hours of time that I have to put in between breakfast and running).
5:50 am - Friends pick me up, and we drive to the race and try to find parking.
6:30 am - In line for the bathrooms. Fortunately, there are TOILETS, not portapotties, and sinks to wash our hands! Then we head into Exhibit Hall A, where people are stretching and congregating. There's a course map in there, and it's a little depressing to look at.
6:43 am - We head to the starting line. The weather is cool, but it's just right for running. There are pacers and I try and get near the 9:00 pacer, since I'm hoping to finish in under 2 hours. I fantasize about passing the pacer and confetti raining down on me when I finish in under 2. My friends line up with their pace groups.
7:00 am - We start exactly on time! (YAY!) I try and keep my eye on the pacer, and tell myself that I can do this, I've run 21 miles, I can do it. I set up my iPod nano's stopwatch feature so I can keep track of my splits.
Mile 1 - 9:20. Water station is too crowded. I know I'll be okay for awhile.
Mile 2 - 8:55. Water station also too crowded. Decide to wait til the next station.
Mile 3- 9:24. I get a little nervous about being able to keep up with the pacer. I can see him, and he's still the same distance in front of me, but still.
Mile 4 - 10:16. Saw that and thought, DANGIT. I get some water and take a Gu Chomp. (Blueberry Pomegranate, in case you were wondering!)
Mile 5 - More water and another Gu Chomp. Didn't see the mile marker?
Mile 6 - More water and another Gu Chomp. Didn't see the mile marker?
Mile 7 - 28:09 for miles 5,6,7 (9:03 pace). I need to use a portapotty, but don't see any!
Mile 8 - 10:13. Some volunteer yells, "Go, neon girl!" I'm decked out in my grey pants with yellow panels, and Brooks Nightlift black and neon yellow jacket and hat, but I think to myself that there are plenty of people wearing neon... and then I look around me and realize there aren't!
Mile 9 - 8:27. I realize I'm about 5 minutes too slow to finish under 2 hours. I decide to stick to a 9ish minute mile pace as close as I can, and finish under 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Mile 10 - 9:24. After pressing "next" a gazillion times, I wonder why I didn't update my music last night.
Mile 11 - 9:52. FINALLY! A portapottie. I debate using it and adding to my time, or waiting til the finish. I decide I'll run faster if my bladder is empty.
Mile 12 - 9:22. Up the bridge. I think I'm going to puke. The hill seems like it'll never end, and I see many runners walking up it. I'm tempted to walk, because it really just makes more sense to walk it, but decide to continue running. I keep telling myself, "You can rest... WHEN YOU'RE DONE!"
Mile 13 - 9:49. The finish line seems far away and I can't see it from the mile marker. I tell myself that all that's left is a half a loop around the track. When I turn the last corner, I can see the finish line so close and sprint in. The official clock says 2:06 but my nano says 2:04:18 (9:33 pace). SWEET. Each finisher is given a bottle of smartwater and a rose, which was very nice. I meet up with one friend, and wait for the other to finish. Inside the convention center, they're taking finisher pictures instead of giving out medals, which is fine by me. There's yogurt, coffee cake, scone bites(?), granola, coffee and hot chocolate. We ate a little while we were waiting in line to take our pictures.
After the race, we went to Ruby Tuesday's. It's kind of a tradition. I had edamame, mushrooms, croutons, broccoli, ranch dressing, and pasta salad from the pasta bar. My friend and I split the avocado quesadillas and the salmon cake sliders. And we ordered cocktails! Seriously, it's socially acceptable to have a strawberry margarita at 10:30 am, if it's after a race.
How do you celebrate after a race?