Lyons River Run

I have successfully planted the running bug in my husband, and I only hope I can do the same with our daughter. Our love of running has led me to search for stroller friendly races, since many are not. Our first adventure was the Lyons River Run, a 5k, early last Saturday morning. This has nothing to do with the race, but let me tell you how the morning started. I got up, ate my breakfast, and woke my husband up. This leads to our one year old waking up. I thought this was great, I'll give her some yogurt and we'll be out the door by 6:30 so we can make it to Lyons by 7:30 to park, check in, and get ready for the 8:00 start. I got myself and my daughter ready and out the door by 6:40, not bad! Then there's my husband . . . he searched until 7:00 for his sunglasses which he had already packed away in the car. I suppose I do these things occasionally too, but I'm fairly certain he loses his sunglasses every day.

Anyway, after debating on whether to even drive to Lyons, we decided to go. We arrived approximately three minutes to start and could not park anywhere near the start. We parked right off the highway conveniently adjacent to a port-a-potty. Our plan was to divide and conquer; I was going to run to the tent and grab our numbers while my husband readied our daughter. This may seem unimportant, but I assure you it is not, I had to wait because he had to say goodbye to his morning coffee in the port-a-potty. Once I saw my husband emerging, I ran to the tent where this sweet lady had packed everything up. Almost in tears, I asked what to do and she said the timing crew had the bibs. I had to run back to the start line and grab our bibs. My husband and I arrived at the same time. The starter said "30 seconds." We pinned our numbers on and got in the back of the crowd as the front runners were taking off. Despite my extra half mile, I was happy to start the race.

We are not accustomed to running at the back because we're just too competitive. We were jogging with another stroller when my husband commented that the strollers were neck and neck. The other mom said we could go ahead and I said, "Yeah." We took off running hard. About a mile in I saw a lone port-a-potty and knew I had to go or I would not be able to finish the race dry. I told my husband I would catch up. When I came out, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the course was not on concrete anymore! We ran around a field of grass and then on a hill with natural grasses. Unfortunately for you, I was not pushing the stroller so I am not sure how it did through all the grass, small ditches, and bumps. I caught my husband by the end of the field and did push the stroller on more pavement. We ended up finishing strong as a family!

Overall, I think the race was very well done. Previous race courses have utilized only sidewalk and street whereas this course added a natural, grassy element, which was a welcome change! The course was relatively flat with a few minor inclines. The stroller handled nicely, even on the uneven terrain. Our fellow runners and spectators were very friendly and loved seeing a baby in a stroller. I would definitely recommend taking your stroller to the Lyons River Run, especially because it will be the least expensive race you will probably ever run!

#family #fun #run #5k