My Take on Papa John's 10miler

Three months into the new year and I ran my first road race for the year- Papa John's 10miler. I ran this race once before - 5 years ago and when I only had 1 kid, so I was excited to run it again.  Bonus - I was running with a friend who I have been training with and it was her longest race and run to date. Runner's World has named this race as one of the top 5 in the nation of 10milers to run and to finish on the 50yard line at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium makes this a pretty fun run despite running the hills of Iroquois Park!

I picked up my packet with 3 kids at Papa John's Stadium the day before the race. There were lots of people since we went during lunch, but there was hardly any lines getting the bib numbers and our shirts. I did not stick around to look at all the vendors since I had 3 kids and we had just been to the zoo, so they were ready to be done walking.

On race day, I met my friend downtown to carpool to Churchill Downs for free parking. It was an easy drive, not much traffic taking the side streets through downtown. We got there a little after 7am for the 8am race start. The race started at 3rd and Harlan and was a short walk from the parking lot. Parking at Papa John's Stadium was another option, but you would have to wait until after the race to leave.

Race day temperature was in the 40s and cloudy. We got warmed up and scooted in somewhere midpack of the crowd of 6000+ people. The race started and only took us about 2 minutes to cross the start line. Our first mile pace was just under 10 minutes which was faster than I thought it might be with all the people in the race. We signed up for the race as a practice run for the Derby half-marathon. It was a good way to practice some hydration and nutrition in a race if you have never done that before.

Iroquois Park was challenging, but I enjoy the hills in longer runs since it uses different muscles - ultimately making you a stronger runner. It is all about your mindset on hills. Some people love, others not so much.

 "If you never attempt the ascent, you'll never know the thrill 

of swooshing down the other side."
-Author unknown 

 At mile 6, we were almost out of the park, over halfway through. We had stopped at the first couple of waterstops and had our snack at about mile 4. Now, we were ready to finish steady and strong.  We entered the stadium and enjoyed the crowds cheering for everyone and even had our own personal cheering section of my friend's family and some friends.  

Overall, this was a great race. We achieved our goals to finish and run our goal pace. It was great having spectators along the way cheering and encouraging everyone on the course. We even saw some Athletes in Tandem which was cool to see. 

And one last thing, my friend has earned herself a nickname - Quinoa - on this run. If there was a record for saying this word the most in 90minutes, I think she has it! 

Fitness is all about finding something that you enjoy. If you enjoy it, you will want to do it as often as you can. Hopefully you are realizing all the opportunities and variety that Louisville area has to offer. And if you can bring friends or make friends along the way - the journey will be that much better!

"If you want to run fast, go alone.

 If you want to run far, go together" 

- African Proverb