Berry Big Run for the Kids 5K

FTR baby!
and FRE! (first race ever)
The Berry Big Run for the Kids supports the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Ozaukee County which is an independent not-​for-​profit youth mentoring program that pairs up an Ozaukee County child with an adult mentor who takes an active interest in their life in order foster future success
Not counting the Journey to the End of the Night which is more of a giant game of tag across Chicago, I’ve never run in an actual organized footrace, until this past weekend. I ran with my wife, and we’ve been looking for a way to pop our race cherries since we’re informally training for a half marathon in August 2014. My sister actually told me about this because she registered her and her daughter for it. I planned to do day of registration because I was unsure of whether I wanted to commit to it if I wasn’t sure how the weather would hold up. As it turned out, something came up and she was unable to go and was able to transfer her registration to me and my wife. Lucky us!
The race started at 0900 and we got there around 820 to pick up our packets. Parking on the street was pretty plentiful, and we were able to drop our stuff back at the car and get back to the starting line at Cedar Creek Park with time to spare.
The course is a 5K, which is 3.1 miles. It went straight for a mile, a right turn and straight for another mile, and the last mile was right turn, left turn, right turn, left turn. At 1.5 miles they handed out much appreciated water. The course was run on the street and through the beautiful neighborhoods of Cedarburg, under trees and over bridges. The streets were not completely blocked off however, and there were times when there were cars in the incoming lane driving past us.
Seeing the finish lane was the greatest feeling, and did I mention? The weather did hold up. It was cloudy and 76 degrees for the race, and the sun came out afterwards. The finish line was the starting line, so we ended up back at the park for bagels, bananas and water provided by the volunteers. Starbucks and Noodles and Company were also on hand giving away Orange Refreshers and Macaroni and Cheese and Rice Krispies Treats. All racers were also entered into a raffle using their bib numbers and Mel ended up winning a tote bag and reusable Starbucks covered cup.
The race coincides with the Cedarburg Strawberry Festival, which is a nice way to recover with carbs and junk food and to cool down those hard-​working legs. Looking forward to coming back next year!