Running Recap 2015!

Photo by Zipper City Blog

Most all runners love to look back at the end of each year to reflect on their accomplishments and milestones. While I only ran in 10 races this year (as compared to 14 in 2015 and 20 in 2013), many of them were significant in my career: I ran in one of my fastest 5Ks ever (Warren Fit 5K in 23:02) and I ran in my 3rd ever half marathon (the Pro Football Hall Of Fame Half Marathon in Canton). In addition, I did some runs that had a fun element or theme added in unlike any I have done before (such as carrying a pumpkin the entire way in the Great Pumpkin Run and stopping to chug beers in the Ultimate Beer Run).

Included on the list is one run that was not done in Ohio (the Across The Bay 10K). I do feel a bit like a cheater for putting that race on this site. But, it was a very significant race for me in 2015! Either way, I am happy to have successfully completed over 47 competitive miles in one year!

Below, you can find links to all 10 of these events from 2015 in chronological order! Hopefully these can give your ideas for races you can run in the New Year!

1. Pro Football Hall of Fame (Half) Marathon (April 2015 – 13.1 miles in 2:08:00 - Canton)
2. AkRun & Crawl (May 2015 – 3.1 miles in 24:45 – Merriman Valley)
3. Ultimate Beer Run (May 2015 – 2 miles, in about 1 hour, with beer stops - Columbus)
4. Thirsty Dog 8K (June 2015 – 4.97 miles in 42:37 - Akron)
5. Warrior Dash Ohio II (August 2015 – 3.1 miles, untimed – North Lawrence)
6. Warren Fit 5K (August 2015 – 3.1 miles in 23:02 - Warren)
7. Wellness Walk & Run (September 2015 – 3.1 miles, untimed - Stow)
8. Akron Marathon Relay Team (September 2015 – 5.8 miles in approx. 48:00 - Akron)
9. Great Pumpkin Run Cincinnati (October 2015 – 3.1 miles in approx. 31:00 - Clarksville)
10. Across The Bay 10K (November 2015 – 6.2 miles in 58:21 – Chesapeake Bay, MD)

Warren Fit 5K Recap

Photos by OHventures

On August 29, 2015, dozens of runners gathered in Trumbull County for the Warren Fit 5K, the follow-up and re-named event to last year's World Fit 5K. The race was hosted by the North-Mar Church in Warren and was a benefit for the Bella Women's Center. 

As is the trend of  many of my recent runs over the years (Foxburg Nature Festival 5K, Boardman Memorial Mile, and various Turkey Trots to name a few), this has become a family affair. My mom, dad, aunt, and nieces all walked and ran in the event, with my nephew being pushed in a stroller. My brother and his wife not only ran the event but were also the organizers of the entire race. To top it off, my grandma and grandpa were volunteers at the water stop. Many of us placed in our age groups as well (I was 3rd in the 30-39 year males with a time of 23:02)! 

I am a firm believer that a family that runs together, stays together. 

It has brought me and my brother closer together, giving us a hobby that we share in common. It is ensuring that our family will remain healthy and active, so we can have many years together. And, it reinforces philanthropy and charity. I highly recommend that every family gets active and starts participating in 5Ks! It's one of the best decisions we have ever made together!

World Fit 5K Recap

Photos by OHventures

This is the church, this is the steeple, I ran a 5K with all of these people.

Every now and then, people ask me why on earth I would ever pay to go running. Sure, it's an activity that can be done for virtually no cost at all just by stepping out your front door. And while you do get a snazzy t-shirt at most any race you sign up for, that's not the reason I do it. The reason I pay hard-earned money to run is, among other things, to help support a cause or charity that the registration fee will benefit (this is true for most races you've read about), and this time, it was no different.

This past Memorial Day weekend (on May 25, 2014), my brother and his wife were part of the committee for a 5K in which their church (North-Mar Church in Warren, Trumbull County) was hosting. The event was called the World Fit 5K and it was a benefit for World Associates, a community development and poverty alleviation non-governmental organization (NGO) providing women in the Middle East with empowerment through fitness, eduction, and nutritional counseling.

On top of proceeds benefiting World Associates, many of the parishioners (including my brother and his wife) were also taking part in the Run For God program. Run For God is a Bible study that parallels faith and endurance. Its goal is to take those who had never run to their first 5K while teaching them to relate the great sport of running to their walk with Christ. It is an admirable program that I

I ran to support my family, to contribute to a cause, and to Run For God.

My grandparents after walking their first 5K!

In doing so, I participated alongside my entire family (once again), this time with the addition of my 10-year-old niece, my 76-year-old grandma, and my 79-year-old grandpa (who walked instead of running). My great aunt Kay and grear uncle Rich also showed up for the event! It was a hot, sunny day, and I was ill-prepared on sleep since I had attended a wedding in Columbus the night before. Thankfully, however, it took place at 5PM rather than in the morning.

All-star family at it again!

Many of us placed in our age grounps (including me - 2nd in the male 20-29 age group) and to celebrate afterwards, we had a Memorial Day party at my parents' tiki hut. It was a busy and rather exhausting weekend, but it's always nice to go to bed at night knowing that you have helped the world become a better place. 

And that's why I pay to run.

Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot 2013 Recap

Photos by OHventures

Thanksgiving Day for my family means two things: wobble, then gobble. In that order.

More specifcally, our "wobbling" takes place in the form of the Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot, a 2 or 5 mile walk/run that takes part on the campus of Kent State Trumbull Branch. The gobble, of course, is the huge Thanksgiving meal that takes place afterwards at my grandparents' house in Vienna (Ohio, not Austria).

While the gobbling has been going on since long before my birth, the wobbling is a newer addition to our list of family traditions, dating back to 2012! This being just the second year made it truly a "tradition" and we hope to keep it going! Last year, it was my brother, my sister-in-law, myself, my nieces and my nephew in the race. This year, we added my mom, dad, and aunt! Hopefully we can add more family members, and even canine relatives in future years!

Unlike last year, when I wore a t-shirt and light athletic pants to run, this year there was snow all over the ground, and the temperature was therefore quite low! We all wore appropriate attire, but even that doesn't make for the most perfect of conditions. We even joked with my dad that his participation this year would probably result in snow, given that last year was so beautiful. We were right!

I decided to be "that guy" and wear an obnoxious foam turkey hat while I ran, which I got in my swag bag from the Kent State Stark Turkey Trot the previous weekend (it was very coincidental that I ran on 2 Kent State Branch campuses within one week!). But, I was most certainly not the only one with poultry fashions in mind! There were people with elaborate turkey hats, in both their live form and dead form, and even a guy wearing a full-on turkey suit, which must have been pretty warm! I had to get my picture with him, because it was that freaking awesome!

The announcer said that there were a record amount of people who registered for the race, but they clearly did not all show up due to the weather. Last year, there were 2700 runners, which was said to be the largest turnout in Trumbull County race history. The crowd was nearly not as large as last year's! We crowded together and when the clock struck 9:00 AM, our race began!

It was a simple course, and was exactly the same as the year before. We ran up a long road (slightly uphill), around a classroom building, and then back down the road to the finish line. It was difficult to maneuver around all of the young children "running" in the race (a pet peeve of mine), and also difficult to run on the slushy roadway. But, I managed. I was very pleased with my final time of 16:20, given the circumstances. I beat the rest of my family members, but was not near the front of the pack. It was a respectable time for me.

We did not stay around like we did last year. It was so cold that we just got in the car and left, even while people were still finishing! I am telling you, I was not made for winter weather! We all donned our neon orange race shirts over to my grandparents' house for the "gobble" portion of the day and we were sure to take the ever-important family photo in our matching attire.

My niece had us write down things we were thankful for, and then she read them outloud. One of my top things to be thankful for? Turkey trots, of course!

Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot Recap

Photo by OHventures

 

If you feel guilty about hogging down plateful after plateful of atarchy, sugary, carb-heavy food during the holiday season, and particularly on Thanksgiving Day, there is a simple solution that will make you feel exponentially better about your poor diet choices: participating in a Turkey Trot! More and more cities across the state and country are capitalizing on the growing interest people have for an active lifestyle by holding small races on Thanksgiving morning. While Grandma wakes up with the birds to get cracking on turkey dinner, the rest of the family can throw on some tennis shoes and flock to a nearby Turkey Trot!

 

 

These types of races have all sorts of names nowadays: The Flying Feather Four Miler in Dublin, the Smoke The Turkey 5K in Toledo, the Thanksgiving Wattle in Grove City, or simply The Thanksgiving Day Race in Cincinnati. Most, however, go by the moniker of "Turkey Trot." My family and I decided to take part in the 34th Annual Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot in Trumbull County, near my hometown of Hubbard. It was a perfect way for the family to bond, especially given that 2012 had been the year that most of us started to get more active and took up running as a hobby.

 

 

The Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot took place at 9:30 AM on Thanksgiving Day (November 22, 2012) on the campus of the Kent State University Trumbull Branch. There was a total of 2,700 runners in either the 2 Miler or 5 Miler, which the announcer noted made it the largest race ever to take place in Trumbull County history (sounds like a small race, but for Trumbull County, it was obviously a spectacle). We knew it was pretty packed with runners and spectators, as traffic was backed up on the highway for at least two miles leading up to the event!

 

 

My brother Curt, my niece Jaiden (age 9), and myself ran in the 2 Miler, while my sister-in-law Regina and her friend ran in the 5 Miler. My 3 year old niece and 1 year old nephew were there, but just to watch of course! We saw a ton of folks with strollers, and others with dogs on leashes, who were taking part in the 2 Miler, but opting to walk. Since we have many dogs and a few little kids in our family, we decided that next year, some non-runners in the family (such as my mom and my aunt) can also take part in the walk! We also decided that my dad would need to for sure run with us next year, since he has just recently began running (at age 53)! We knew from the moment we arrived that this would be our first of many years as Turkey Trotters, and that we will make it so that everyone in our family will take part to make their Thanksgiving a healthier one!

 

 

The footrace itself was rather hectic and somewhat disorganized, namely because I do not believe they expected so many people. We had chip timers on our shoes, but no race bibs (which to me was disappointing, since I like to keep them as souvenirs). However, even after crossing the "Start" line, thus activating our chips, we were walking or running at a VERY slow pace. Apparently, the slower runners did not get the memo to start near the back of the crowd, but hopefully this will be remedied in following years (perhaps with corrals). This slower start was good, however, for my young niece, who can not run at a really fast pace as it is (not yet at least). After about 3/4 of a mile, I took off ahead of my brother and his daughter so that I could perhaps get a somewhat decent time.

 

 

The course was uphill the first half, and downhill the second, making a small loop around a classroom building and back. The weather was remarkably warm and sunny, so much so that I ran in just a short sleeved t-shirt and track pants. A slight chill was in the air, making me run a little faster just to keep warm! I crossed the finish line with a time of 18:01, which would equal a 9 minute mile. Not half bad, considering the very slow start we had moseying behind an extremely slow moving crowd. I immediately got some water and a banana, and waited for my brother and niece, who crossed around the 22/23 minute mark! Not half bad! I was very impressed and proud of both of them, but especially my niece of course.

 

 

We then took over watching the littlest kids as my sister-in-law and her friend ran the 5 miler. I again was impressed when she came running in with a time of approximately 45 minutes. This was great, given that she had never run a race of that length!

 

 

With euphoria and adrenaline from being so active so early, the four of us threw on our official Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot 5K green long sleeved t-shirts and went to my grandmother's to meet the rest of the family. Everyone was very happy for us and intrigued with our proposal that everyone run or walk next year! My dad definitely wished he had run, if not for anything else to get a t-shirt! It will be a great family tradition to wear our matching shirts as we gobble up the calories we burned while running our Turkey Trot each year on Thanskgiving morning.