Whose genius idea was it to combine a 5K and 10K and call it a Double Stack run? Why not call it a straight up 15K, you ask? Well that’s because the runs are separate, as in there is a 15 – 20 minute break or even longer, if you finish quickly after the 5K before the 10K starts. It’s been around for several years now, and it’s one of the fastest runs around due to the flat terrain. You get separate times for the 5K and 10K and then a third time of the average of both runs together in case you were wondering. Yes, there are pancakes at the end of the run graciously offered by none other than IHOP. At the end of the 5K, I was almost tempted to stop after the 5K because those pancakes smelled so ridiculously good and that sweet smell of the maple syrup was taunting me the entire time I waited for the 10K to start. Sooooo cruel! By the time I started the 10K, my muscles had tightened up quite a bit so that was indicative that one had not stretched enough before or after. Yes, entirely my fault. It made the run seem really long though! There was plenty of support along both runs from police officers and volunteers. There were ample water stations, and curious enough, there were alot of people cheering the entire time lining the road. At the end of the run, the announcer cheered as well to push you through the finish line. The pancakes could not come quickly enough! However, I was dying of thirst so I quickly ran to get some chocolate milk to get some protein in addition to my sugar high with the pancakes. You had your choice of one or two sausages and only one pancake. The poor girl in front of me in line wanted two pancakes since she didn’t go for any sausages and she was refused. One pancake per runner. Rules are rules. I almost offered her mine, but I really needed that pancake. I smothered the sucker in white chocolate chips and strawberry syrup and consumed it in under 2 minutes. Yup, I was hungry. Would I do this run again? Perhaps! Let’s just hope that next year I won’t be ill for a month beforehand so I’m not still trying to recover from being sick with whatever«everyone had» while running. I hate being slow on what’s meant to be a fast run. But don’t let that deter you from running this, because there are runners from all skill levels who run for pancakes too!
