Tuesday, April 7, 2015

#TeamSparkle Virtual 5K Recap

A few weeks ago I introduced the team and the cause I will be running the SoCal Ragnar Relay Race with and for. In case you didn't read the posts at that time (or click on the links in the first sentence), here's a quick breakdown.

I will be running Ragnar SoCal as a part of a 6 woman team - #TeamSparkle - running it to bring awareness and raise funds to fight the good fight against Rett Syndrome (the organization we are working with is called Girl Power 2 Cure).


Each of the 182 miles will be dedicated to a particular girl battling Rett Syndrome. (Feel free to look through the amazing Facebook album which includes photos of all of the girls and which mile will be dedicated specifically to them.)

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Instead of simply asking for donations (don't worry, I will still do this at the end of the post ;) ), the ladies from Sparkle Athletic came up with another idea on how to raise money for GP2C. A virtual 5K!

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The idea is: you sign up for the 5K, donate $35, are sent a bib and bling, and then spread the word (with all of the proceeds going to GP2C)! Obviously not everyone can run the relay race with us, but to show support, the registered participants are supposed to run/ walk/ roller blade/ cartwheel/ skateboard/ swim/ etc the 3.1 miles during the weekend we are running Ragnar (HOLY CRAP - IT IS THIS WEEKEND!).

There were a few locations across the country that decided to get groups together to do the 5K TOGETHER! Carrie (one of the owners of Sparkle Athletic and fellow #TeamSparkle Ragnar teammate) was actually going to be down in Oceanside for a family vacation so we thought we'd set up an Oceanside option.

My #FlatCarlee. I figured my #RunAllDay shirt from Pavement Runner would be PERFECT seeing as we will literally be running ALL DAY LONG (like close to 30 hours) for our Ragnar race. And OBVIOUSLY I needed some Pro Compression socks, Swhings, a Sparkly Soul headband, my Garmin, a Road ID bracelet and a Sparkle Athletic skirt to complete the outfit!

I created an event on Facebook to publicize the gathering, charted the 5K course, and tried to spread the word (I even blogged about it a little over a month ago if you remember). We met on Saturday at Tyson Street Park (along the Strand because when you are in Oceanside, you've gotta run by the ocean's side, right?!) at 8am.

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Technically only 5 of us showed up, but hey, 5 is better than none, right?! It was me, Ryan (my hubby), Carrie, her sister-in-law, and her SIL's husband. We got our bibs, attached them to our clothes and set out to tackle the 3.1 miles.

The crew!

Forgive the faces... We thought this was just going to be a "bib & skirt" shot

We ended up breaking off into smaller groups - Carrie and I together, her sister-in-law and her hubby together, and then Ryan bringing up the back of the pack. It was a beautiful morning, amazing weather, and not too much of the crazy Spring Break crowds at this point (they must have all still been sleeping).

Carrie and I tied for first (averaging around 7:43/ minute miles), her SIL and her hubby tied for third (averaging around 8:48/ minute miles) and Ryan placed 5th overall (he wasn't wearing a watch, but would assume he was probably closer to 10:00/ minute miles). I gave Ryan a big hug after and told him I was so proud, since he had never placed 5th overall (and 2nd male finisher) - but he laughed and said he had never finished dead last before this race either ;) #Perspective

This 5K was only 7 seconds slower than the Carlsbad 5000 I had run the week before,
but due to the temperatures it felt SO MUCH easier! #WeatherSnob 

While waiting for Ryan to finish we grabbed a quick shot of us four

Source: PRO Compression's Instagram Feed

Finishing next to the Pacific Ocean is hard to beat, but knowing that you were out there running and raising money (and awareness) for Rett Syndrome TOPS IT ALL!


The medals hadn't arrived in time for our meet-up (they were actually delivered to Orange, CA yesterday and hopefully are in the mail to the 800 registered participants TODAY!), but you better believe that when I get it, it will hang on my wall with pride!

And obviously I couldn't post this without linking to the fundraising page. If this cause has YOUR name on it, please consider donating today!



Have you ever participated in a virtual race before? 

1 comment:

SD Mom said...

How fun! Sorry I missed it. It was a crazy day but I don't have my bib yet...