Bunny Hop 5K

I ran the Bunny Hop 5K Saturday. It was a sunny, but cool morning. This was a brand new race. I heard on Friday that the course was just set about a week prior. That worried me. I really thought the course was just going to loop the property a couple of times.

I ran just a small section of the course before the start of the race. Since I didn't know the course, I didn't want to be so far away from the starting line for the gun went off. I stopped and turned around when the course turned into a section of trees. What was waiting around that curve was one of many hills on the course. I found out as the race went along, there was a mix of grass, dirt, hills and trails.

When the race started, I found myself behind five guys. Around the half mile mark, I was able to catch one of the guys. I was pulling closer to the fourth guy, but I wasn't able to bridge the gap between us. Once passing the second mile mark, he was still a straightaway ahead of me. Even though I could see him while running, I ran the entire race by myself. I was only able to see the leader when they were running the trails through winding sections in the woods. Even though I could see them, I really had no idea how far ahead of me they were.

I crossed the first mile in 8:30 something and the second mile in 18:40 something. I was doing well. What slowed me down were the two big hills over the last mile. The trail going up the hill had sand covering them. Not really good material to run on. But I thought I was getting up the hills pretty well. The second hill was pretty steep. It did take a bit out of me. Once I got up and over the hill, I picked up my pace over the flat parts of the course. I knew that there were no more hills to climb and that I needed to hurry.

I finished the race in 29:18. I was fifth overall and the overall women's winner. I was happy with my effort on the trail course. I wasn't expecting the course to be like this. It was better then what I thought it was going to be. No boring loops around the property. The course was fun and had a mix of good surfaces to run on.

I couldn't stay for the awards because of a prior commitment, so I told the race director I had to go. As we walked to pick up my award, she asked if I liked the course. I said I did. I told her that I hope this race is held again next year. She said it would and to tell all my runner friends. This race was really fun and challenging.