The week before Cinco de Mayo was a tough week. An amazing woman passed away from cancer--she was a woman who always made an effort to make everyone feel welcome and cared for, a woman with a beautiful smile in spite of everything, a woman who volunteered in her community, a woman who loved doing Zumba. While we weren't especially close, anyone could see that she was an exceptional human being, and the world is not quite as bright without her. And so I wore pink in her honor, and ran for her at the Cinco de Mayo 10k, which coincidentally benefits Breast Friends.
Cinco de Mayo 5k & 10k
Date: Sunday May 2nd, 2015
Events, times, prices:
10k, 8:20am, $64
5k, 9:00am, $54
Kids 1/2mi, 8:00am, $12
Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square; Downtown Portland, OR
Number of runners: ~1000
Beneficiary: Breast Friends
Swag: Tech t-shirt, two Lagunitas beers, food (burrito). Medals were available for purchase for $10.
Course: Flat and fast course through the streets of downtown Portland. Click here for the course map. Since it is in downtown, there were some short delays for traffic but it was very well managed.
Past recaps: 2014
Events, times, prices:
10k, 8:20am, $64
5k, 9:00am, $54
Kids 1/2mi, 8:00am, $12
Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square; Downtown Portland, OR
Number of runners: ~1000
Beneficiary: Breast Friends
Swag: Tech t-shirt, two Lagunitas beers, food (burrito). Medals were available for purchase for $10.
Course: Flat and fast course through the streets of downtown Portland. Click here for the course map. Since it is in downtown, there were some short delays for traffic but it was very well managed.
Past recaps: 2014
It was a beautiful morning for the race but my heart was heavy. I wanted to run that morning and remember Karen. I played "See You Again" a few times during the run. I just tried to process it all. And I'm grateful that I was able to run.
I arrived early so I would have time to find parking and make my way to Pioneer Courthouse Square. Terrapin's races in downtown Portland are frequently very large events, but this year's Cinco de Mayo race was quite a bit smaller. Due to permitting issues, there was not a half marathon distance this year's Cinco de Mayo. This meant that the three distance CdM event with ~1800 people in 2014 became a two distance CdM event with ~1000 people in 2015--quite a difference. However, Terrapin Events still brought the party in full force! Lots of tents and tables, music and vendors. I had my foot taped up with some KT tape, stretched out and bumped into some running friends.
The race started off a little crowded as there weren't corrals, but since it started off going slightly uphill, I didn't mind slowing my pace, and it thinned out soon enough. Since it's a familiar course, I kind of just went on autopilot, following the sea of runners as we zig zagged through the streets. There were many many police officers and transit officers on the course keeping the runners safe (thank you!), and the aid station volunteers were wonderful as well.
After the race, there were samples of Mike's Hard Lemonade, Lagunitas beer, and tasty burritos. People hung out to listen to the mariachi band, and just relax outside. I took some time to stretch out again, and went to get some free swag at the vendor booths.
Cinco de Mayo is great event--Terrapin has done a nice job of working out some of the kinks, and adding fun elements like free beer at packet pickup! While I usually prefer that the registration fee INCLUDE the medal (I prefer medals to tshirts!), the medals were pretty cool and I did shell out $10 to get one. If you haven't run the Cinco de Mayo race at least once, I would definitely encourage you to put this on your race calendar!
I arrived early so I would have time to find parking and make my way to Pioneer Courthouse Square. Terrapin's races in downtown Portland are frequently very large events, but this year's Cinco de Mayo race was quite a bit smaller. Due to permitting issues, there was not a half marathon distance this year's Cinco de Mayo. This meant that the three distance CdM event with ~1800 people in 2014 became a two distance CdM event with ~1000 people in 2015--quite a difference. However, Terrapin Events still brought the party in full force! Lots of tents and tables, music and vendors. I had my foot taped up with some KT tape, stretched out and bumped into some running friends.
The race started off a little crowded as there weren't corrals, but since it started off going slightly uphill, I didn't mind slowing my pace, and it thinned out soon enough. Since it's a familiar course, I kind of just went on autopilot, following the sea of runners as we zig zagged through the streets. There were many many police officers and transit officers on the course keeping the runners safe (thank you!), and the aid station volunteers were wonderful as well.
After the race, there were samples of Mike's Hard Lemonade, Lagunitas beer, and tasty burritos. People hung out to listen to the mariachi band, and just relax outside. I took some time to stretch out again, and went to get some free swag at the vendor booths.
Cinco de Mayo is great event--Terrapin has done a nice job of working out some of the kinks, and adding fun elements like free beer at packet pickup! While I usually prefer that the registration fee INCLUDE the medal (I prefer medals to tshirts!), the medals were pretty cool and I did shell out $10 to get one. If you haven't run the Cinco de Mayo race at least once, I would definitely encourage you to put this on your race calendar!