Racing Series

Longest Day Road Race 2016

Posted by Wynne Lock on

The Blueshore Financial Longest Day Race has been around for as long as I can remember but I’ve never considered doing it. Why? Maybe because it’s out at UBC and it’s small and I’ve already raced out there (Fall Classic, 2007). But new friends who do it every year rave about the food and prizes and one of them, a fellow new mom, was going to walk the 5K with baby in an Ergo (she thought strollers were not allowed) so I was happy to join them with E in his Ergo. “Someone in the group will win a prize,” she said, and I responded, “Then it will be you and not me!”

Our little group consisted of me, the fellow mom, the new dad and his brother, and one of their long-time friends. The guys were running in the 10K which was two times our 5K loop.

With the 7:00 pm start time, the logistics with E often sleeping around 8:30 were a challenge. He was changed into a sleeper before the race with the idea that he could be lulled to sleep late into our walk and we’d transfer him to the stroller and enjoy the BBQ dinner…

As we queued at the start area with the 10Kers – we all started at the same time this year – we noticed there were at least two strollers and they were doing the 10K. Amazing! However, I’d be chagrined to have to repeat the loop.

At 7:05 pm, we set off and allowed for everyone to pass us. The participants for this race are relatively all serious with a low proportion of walkers for the 5K. I thought there was a family behind us but was surprised to see some yellow bibs (10K) around us – it was going to take them forever to finish! We walked a bit on the main road and then onto campus grounds and I was quickly disoriented not knowing which direction we pointed in even to start. So, it was a nice walk with some different company. We got lapped by the elite runners very shortly into our walk and my companions displayed disappointment that the water stations had miscalculated and ran out of cups.

It felt like we were the last 5Kers to cross the finish line just shy of an hour (gun time) but it turns out we were not the last and we finished within an hour – both of my goals accomplished, haha.

Then we queued with the guys who finished around the same time in a very long line for our BBQ dinner. “No other race has a real meal at the finish line,” B told me. Indeed, the website even touts, “Come for the run – Stay for the party!” Silly me, I envisioned getting a hamburger hot off the grill but had to settle for a recently cooked patty and had to be impressed with the number of volunteers who doled out food which aided with portion control and to keep the line moving. It would have been tactless to take a photo of my plate so this is what was available: burger (fried onion, peppers); hot dog; salad items such as romaine, baby carrots, cucumbers; fruits; chocolate cake a la mode from White Spot; cookies; popsicles; chips; and freshly popped popcorn at Blueshore Financial tent. My friends informed me that we could go back for more and a volunteer did announce just that.

You could load up on a good number of samples and we had all forgotten to bring empty plastic bags to conveniently carry what we picked up while also juggling plates of food. The samples included: a can of Good Drink organic spritzer, a bottle of Muscle Milk, Trace water and a shot, Ecos coconut water in “velvety dark chocolate” (oh my it’s good), a Chocomax bar, and cans of Guayaki Yerba Mate. Not too bad!

While none of us won prizes drawn during the race, I won some pre-drawn prizes including a voucher for a free appetizer at White Spot and BOGO voucher at Kernels (popcorn).

I don’t really see myself doing this race again but it was fun to try it out and join B on her first walking 5K with baby. Already, I can see myself back so E can do the Kid’s Mile (Kid’ sMile?). But not next year. 23 months is too young, right??

On this day..

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