Stating the obvious here but, man, has it been a long time since we have been able to participate in in-person races!

The pandemic has certainly wreaked havoc on the world and the running community has been impacted with live, in-person races being cancelled and postponed until virus cases decreased and vaccination rates increased. Slowly but surely races are starting to make a comeback and this weekend I was beyond thrilled to tackle my first post-pandemic in-person 5K. Virtual runs were fun and certainly will be more important on a go-forward basis but there is something about in-person races that makes them special and as the cliche goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

We arrived in Plymouth on Saturday at the Sun’s out Run Out 5K sponsored by Mayflower Brewing Company and the vibe walking from the car immediately felt amazing! The DJ was playing tunes before the race started, familiar faces were seen, fist bumps were a plenty and walking up to the registration table was something simple but so appreciated to be doing once again.

This 5K course tackles a rather challenging route through mostly and industrial/office park section of Plymouth and features a climb that is usually not found on a 5K course. It’s a good course to push yourself and challenge the legs some and knowing it was the first live-race in a while I wanted to run strong but knew it would be a little different. It felt amazing to be out there with fellow runners, felt good to say “thanks” to the police officer directing traffic, felt good to take a cup of water from a smiling volunteer and felt amazing to cross the finish line of my first in-person race since the pandemic hit. Plus, the post-race beer from Mayflower Brewing Company tasted extra special after this race! (If you haven’t had their beer before or visited their brewery, do so immediately. Good crafted stuff including some killer IPAs, sours and a porter that is better than most)

I finished the Sun’s Out Run Out with a time of 24:58, good for 8:02/miles which I am more than happy with taking into account the challenging course and first race back vibe. Can’t wait to be back out there more and more and hope to see you at a starting line soon enough!