Gilbert Marathon 10k 2014

I’m excited that I was able to run in the inaugural year of the Gilbert Marathon. This year, the 10k and Half Marathon distances were raced. If there is enough support from the community (cross our fingers), the Town of Gilbert will approve the marathon distance for next year’s race. The races coincide with the Gilbert Days Parade and Festival, so it’s a big celebration for the whole town.

I decided to run the 10k distance as soon as the race was announced in the Spring. I love that there’s a new race in town and I’m even happier to support the smaller races in the neighborhood. When the Women’s Half Marathon was cancelled, I thought I about moving up to the half distance, but decided against that idea.

AZTNT 10k group photo by Erika

I met up with some of the Arizona Track n Trail runners before the race. The 10k start was delayed to accommodate the faster half marathon runners. The weather was chillier that morning, but it warmed up nicely as we started to run. I wore my sleeves and gloves while we waited at the start and I managed to peel off my layers before the first mile.

My “A” goal was to finish the 10k under an hour. My “B” goal was to have a good run. I decided race morning that I was going to just enjoy the run and not push the pace unless I felt the need. I ran with E for the entire race and we had a great time chatting! The course was hillier that I thought it would be, I didn’t really study the race course! We started off going down hill and then up hill for the steepest part of the race. The rest wasn’t so bad. E and I has a pretty steady pace for most of the race and I felt good going into the finish. We broke it up into miles and 5k segments so it went by really quickly! There were a few of AZTNT peeps that we saw along the course that cheered us on and took pictures. I also saw my Sunday running buddies cheering for us along the course.

We also ran the second part of the Half Marathon course, so we were able to cheer on all the Half Marathoners that were passing us. They were doing awesome (much faster pace than I was going), so I had much respect for them. It was great to see the runners go by and get pepped up by our cheering.

TNT cheer! Photo by Julianne

Finish Line Photo by Aimee/Tomio

Apparently when I’m running and there’s a camera, my arms are up so the photographer will shoot! My hands are in the air like I just don’t care.

I stayed to cheer for the gals running the half marathon. Although, I missed some of the MRTT mamas.

Race Buddies photo by Erika

Sunday Cadence gals by Cristina

The finish line festival was a good size and they had a bunch of bounce houses for the kiddos. I was bummed that I had to sneak away to go to Anakin’s soccer party.