Bluemont Shamrock 10K Race Recap

This past Saturday I ran the Inaugural Shamrock 10K in Bluemont, VA. The morning also included a 5K and a kids fun run. There were about 220 people who participated in the 5K and 10K combined. It seemed to be pretty well organized for an inaugural event. It was an early 8 am start time. We picked up our packets the morning of the race, but packet pick-up was also offered in the evenings the five days preceding the race. We had received snow the day before that then melted and made the farm the race started at a mud hole. Luckily, the race took place on paved roads.

Prior to this race I had never really raced a 10K before. I ran the Superhero 10K back in 2013 to get a proof of time for my first half marathon and the Enchanted 10K we ran last month was for fun. About a month ago I added once a week speed work into my training to prepare for my big 10K PR attempt. My dream 10K time is under 50 minutes, but I didn't think I quite had that in me for this race. So my realistic goal was under 55 minutes. My finish time ended up being 51:19 which I was ecstatic about! I also placed first in my age group.

I had to rep my green #TeamSparkle skirt :)

The Course and Swag

It was an out and back course that took place in the country. We were surrounded by beautiful farmland and I was loving every minute of it. I like out and back courses because you get to pass other runners which always motivates me. There were quite a few rolling hills throughout the course, but nothing too terrible. The one downfall to this course was that the roads were FILLED with potholes which increased my amount of weaving. The race director did warn you of this in the email sent out the day prior to the race which was nice. They also had orange cones throughout the course with signs that said, "Potholes ahead." There was a water station that we passed twice during the race. Course crowding was clearly not an issue and most of the time I could only see one or two people ahead of me. I was really enjoying running in the middle of nowhere just listening to my music. 

With our registration fee we got a blue short sleeved tech shirt. I got a small which was miniature in length, but it fit everywhere else. Maybe I have a long torso? For the age group prizes we got pint glasses from a local brewery. 

Goofballs

Overall, this was a fun race with a nice course.

That's all for now!