Disclaimer: I received entry into the K9s United for K9s 9K to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro, and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
The K9s 9K marked my first race in a loooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg time. No, I don't feel like I'm really exaggerating that. It's been and up and down year and in all of that, running unfortunately took a back seat. It did feel good to lace up and get out there for this race this weekend.
Race Morning
Race morning meant packet pick up for me. While a local Florida race for me (I like saying "local" and "Florida" together) it was however a bit of a drive, so I didn't really want to drive all the way up Friday after work just to get my bib. Thankfully they offered up race morning pickup, pretty standard for a smaller race. It was super easy. Parking wasn't too bad when I arrived at the park and they were using one of the ticket buildings for pickup that made it smooth. It included a race t-shirt, a drawstring bag, and a couple other small things from the vendors / sponsors. I was in and out in 5 minutes and back to my car to get my bib on my kilt. Then it was a simple walk down a hill to the start / finish area by a pavilion. There were plenty of police cars, as this was benefiting K9 units, a police helicopter, and several pop up tents with tables.
The Race
The race itself was pretty nice. The race had a 5K and 9K, both starting together. It was an out and back course, shared, so once most of the way back, the 9K group had to go out and back again. It made for a fairly easy run. All flat paths around the park. The start was a little clunky. With both races starting up together, on a not too wide path, with walkers for the fun run and runners alike, it clumped, a lot. But it worked out pretty quickly.
The water stops actually worked out pretty well. There were 3 stops but they were place strategically. Stop #1 was where the 9K runners turned around for a 2nd lap, so you saw them three times. Stop #2 was in the middle, so you passed them three times as well. Stop #3 was at the far end turn around, so you saw them twice. All in all, that made for plenty of available water.
The weather was overcast, which kept it from getting too warm. All in all, it was a good day and a good run. Despite not running much, I did better then I expected.
My official time was 1:19:33, giving me a 14:13 pace.
Post Race
I returned to the finish just as the awards were starting. I crosse the line, received my medal and a bottle of water. I didn't see any post race food around, but with the crowd for the awards, it may have been there, may not. I check the board for my official time, which was cool because they had a screen constantly running over the results.
Final Thoughts
All in all, this was a fun little race. Easy, flat course, plenty of water, and an alright view.
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