Beat the Blerch

It was awesome. The atmosphere was relaxed but well organized and put together. I decided to drop down to the 10k due to lack of training and they made the switch perfectly painless for me. I am so glad I didn't push it. I had fun, beat the Blerch and ate cake. :) I even set a new PR for a 10k. So much for taking it easy on myself. I can't control my pace on race day.

The only low point was getting home and finding out that a young man collapsed on the course just less than a half mile from finishing his first half marathon. Evan Sebenius was just 28 and had trained for what was to be his first half marathon.  He received prompt medical attention but passed away later at the hospital. As far as I know no cause of death has been released by the family. Fellow runners immediately organized a memorial run to finish the race for him. Run Evan In was launched within 48 hours and was run on November 2nd. I didn't attend in person but ran 5k in his honor that day. A gofundme was set up and almost $37k was raised for his family to complete he started an orchard and vineyard on his parents' property in the town of Carnation where both runs were held. The crops from said orchard are slated to go to the local food bank. The running community is truly amazing!