Pony Express 5K with 6 Year Old Race Recap

Last Sunday, me and 6 year old ran the Pony Express 5K in Sacramento. 6 year old was really excited to run another 5K. He told me his goal was to get around the same time as his last race (Stride for Pride Aggie 5K). He was en route to doing so, but it being an Inaugural race, there were some problems that I will explain about later. However, overall another great race by my lil guy.

PACKET PICKUP: The race expo was located at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento and it was on the smaller side of expos. Not bad for a small town race. We were pretty much in and out of there. Bib and shirt pick up was a breeze.

RACE DAY: We left the house around 6:30am so we would have time to find parking. It wasn't too bad as we found a spot not too far from the start and got to the the start line around 7am when the full and half marathon was just about to head out. The 5K start time was 7:30 so we had some time before our race. I did not have to use a porta potty but there were plenty and pretty much no lines for the 5K.

Got a selfie with 6 year old at the start line.

After the national anthem was sung, we were on our way. Like the last race, 6 year old started off strong.

There weren't as many runners doing the 5K. I think the full and half marathon was more popular. No problem with crowding and weaving at the start because there was lots of room and even more room as the race went on.

It was pretty neat that horses led the way at the beginning of the race. They stopped at this part, so of course I had to take a pic of them. :)

Before we got to the I street bridge there was a section where we crossed where the freeway exited and there was no police person directing traffic. It did not seem safe, we were lucky when we crossed with the light green for us and the steady runners in front. I couldn't believe we crossed there without an actual blockade. Anyway something to think about for the organizers for next year. Luckily that was the only section. There were some slight inclines heading up to the bridge, so that was something different for 6 year old. He wasn't quite used to the change in elevation but did well.

It was neat running on the I Street bridge. I always enjoy running across bridges.

 I love how 6 year old is smiling here. Tells me he is having fun. :)

I let him set the pace the whole race. His first mile came in at 9:55.2 (according to my Garmin). After the bridge, it took us down through some commercial areas and through some neighborhoods. 

However, before we knew it, we were already heading towards the Tower Bridge and I knew that when we crossed that, it was almost the finish line. Something wasn't right. When I looked at my Garmin it was about 2.1 before we crossed the bridge. 6 year old's 2 mile time was 9:01.0, so 6 year old was cruising. He was doing awesome once again. 

 Running on the Tower Bridge was pretty neat.

 6 year old running and doing so well.

Hubby got this shot of us as we headed towards the finish line.

We crossed the finish according to my Garmin at 24:49, but the course was only 2.65 miles which makes the course about .45 mile short. They did apologize on their Facebook page about the course being short, so that was nice that they did that.

But still not a good thing because it makes our times seem faster than they really are for a 5K. However on a postive note, we both placed in our age groups. 6 year old got first and I got second in my age group. :) I thought it was pretty cool that my lil one's time got me second place in my AG. It makes me so proud. 

Pic of us with our finisher's medal. Another snafu about the race, was when we saw the results and knew that we placed, when we asked about where to get the AG awards, or when the ceremony was, no one seemed to know when or where it was (we asked multiple people). I even checked their website on my phone and it was not mentioned there. We did not want to wait around, especially if it was going to be after the full and half marathons before they gave them out, so we left.

However, the medal was pretty cool. I really liked how they gave medals out for the 5K. 6 year old was so excited to get one. They did hand out chocolate milk, bottled water, and fruit for the 5K finishers too which was nice.

Overall, the race was ok. I knew that with it being an Inaugural race, there would be some problems, but I did not expect the course to be .45 short. That is a lot off a race. Also there was the section by the freeway that could have been dangerous, and it would have been nice to know where/when to get age group awards. Other than those things, the race was great. I loved how the 5K took you over two bridges and the medal was nice. The shirt we got was also nice, it's the shirt 6 year old is wearing. I also hear that we get free pictures ( I didn't want to wait for them to post my recap, so I may update if there are any good pics).

I did pick up our age group awards on Wednesday. They are really cool horseshoes!

Hopefully next year's race will be a bit more organized. I may consider doing the half because I heard that race was a lot more organized than the 5K. 

Have a great weekend all!