The rain held off, barely.
Got myself up and ready and biked down to West Potomac Park to check in and get my race shirt and number (555).
The field where the tents were set up was pretty muddy from the rain the previous day and that morning. Folks were jumping around the larger puddles and trying not to step in the smaller ones by accident. Check-in was pretty painless, got my shirt and went back over to the bike to change shoes.
Just before the race started I spotted a friend from the tri club who was running with a friend of hers. Started chatting and just ran along with them for most of the race. They set a good pace (31:50 to finish, just under a 10 minute mile average), and it was fun to run with someone else and talk. I suspect I’d have run faster, but not had quite such a fun time, had I been running alone in the crowd. We did pick up the pace in the last 500 meters or so (the tri club women smoked us there - her friend and I just picked up a little and let her zip on ahead).
Simple course, an out and back. Mayor-elect Fenty was there running as well, and they got him up to say a few good words about the organization sponsoring the event, S.O.M.E. Bonus that the race fee was a donation, so tax deductible.
Post-race I hung out enough to cheer a bit more, and grab some water before changing shoes and heading home. As I pulled up to the building I started to feel the rain coming down again - just made it in time. Was a great start to a nice holiday.
