Yesterday was the Hill Country 15 K and 5KTrail Race at Serenbe. The Hill Country Trail Race is in it's 4th season. Serenbe is located about 32 miles south of Atlanta in Palmetto, GA. I first heard about this beautiful piece of country from my friend Teresa who celebrated her 40th birthday here with her lady friends. Teresa participated in the 5K last year and sent out an invitation on facebook to join her.
I was excited to participate in my second 5K. I was looking forward to the challenge and the experience of running in cooler weather. My first 5K run was in June and the heat and humidity were rather formidable. I had continued to run intermittently since the last race and had enough time to give more focused attention to running.
During those 41 days, I didn't give a more focused attention to running. And in the last two weeks, I might have walked a few times. As they say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. I could always run as much as I could and walk as needed. I was still excited about the race.
Here's my t shirt, race number and timing chip for my shoe.
This is what I actually wore on race day. I came down with something evidenced by a scratchy throat, swollen glands and an achy body. With morning temperatures below freezing and important events in the next two weeks, I was unwilling to do anything that just might send me over the edge.
This didn't prevent me from participating in some way and supporting good 'ole Teresa. I also wanted to visit Serenbe. From all accounts from Teresa and friends, it seemed like my kind of place. We met up at 6:45 am and headed to Serenbe which was about an hour away. The 5K race began at 8:15 am.
We parked in the designated location for runners and walked to the event. It was nice to be out in the open country.
We passed this decorated tree on the way to the course...
Porta pottyies were available. As a new runner, I don't know enough about races and access to bathrooms. I tend to be worried about the bathroom situation at public events. Handwashing stations with soap, water and hand sanitizers were provided.
There was a saxophonist who played the national anthem.
The 5K race started closer to 8:40 a.m., 15 minutes after the 15K.
Go Teresa (#1571)...go!
The last of the runners (top of photo) headed to the trails and the others (foreground) hung out.
I walked around the village and took photos. I met one of the residents who's been living in Serenbe for almost a year. I wondered how in the world she ended up living in Serenbe. She has a horse and wanted to find a place where she and the horse could be closer. She had lived in metro Atlanta for many years.
Before I knew it, Teresa was finished. I couldn't get my camera phone together in time to catch her as she approached but I caught her from behind (tiny speck in the center of the photo).
Teresa finished and improved her time from last year.
We walked around afterwards and took in the sites.
Beer and burritos were provided for all of the participants. We weren't in the mood for either. Instead, we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Blue Eyed Daisy Restaurant in the village.
No comments:
Post a Comment