This evening Barry and I headed up to Blacksburg to run the Downtown Sundown 5K. This race is part of the Summer Solstice Fest in Blacksburg. I have run this race one other time, back in 2009, and had a lot of fun. The race starts at 8:30 PM and runners run with glow sticks. It’s fun to mix it up and run a race at night.

We got up to Blacksburg around 7 PM to pick up our packets. We grabbed our packets and then had about an hour to kill before the start, so we walked around the festival for a little bit and looked at all of the booths. There were food vendors, craft vendors, a stage with a live band, and a kid’s carnival area with some games and rides.

Once we were done walking around we headed back to the car to drop off our race packets, pin on our bibs, and get ready to race! I don’t know why I did the two thumbs up? I do have my pink/purple glow stick on my right wrist, though!

As it got closer to 8:30 we meandered over to the start area and lined up. With the command of “Ready, Go!” we were off. Mile 1 was mostly uphill and I tried to just run a steady pace. This whole race was run on roads and a trail that I know like the back of my hand. Although I didn’t have the race course memorized, I knew exactly what to expect each time we made a turn.

Elevation Profile provided by the race organizers

Mile 2 was downhill and flat, and I tried to pick it up even more. As I passed the mile 2 marker I started to feel that bad “I’m going to be sick” feeling in my stomach from running hard. But my legs still had more left, so I pushed on through mile 3. There were a few more hills in mile 3, but then it was a net downhill to the finish.

I crossed the line in 26:49, a new 5K PR and an overall average pace of 8:37/mile. I guess those speedwork sessions have been paying off.

My splits were: 8:46, 8:34, 9:28 (which is 8:36 pace for the last 1.1). I am very happy with my time and feel like I ran a good race. Running in the evening was fun and I definitely feel like I run better! Barry ran a great race, too, finishing in 21:24 and third place in his age group.

The above picture is him with his age group award medal. I am a terrible photographer in the daylight so I pretty much have no hope in the dark. That picture was also taken with my phone, since my camera battery died.

We hung out for a bit and took some shadow people pictures before heading home.

Overall a solid race for both of us. I looked up my time from 2009 and I ran 31:21, so a definite improvement. I guess a few consistent years of running will do that for you.