Disclaimer:  I won a race entry for the #Run3rd 5k through my Active Advantage membership.  All opinions are my own.

#Run3rd is a twitter movement started by actor Sean Astin and was transformed in to a 5k by Kris and Mindy Prezor.

I had the opportunity to run in the inaugural #Run3rd 5k.  I heard about the race through RunEatTweetAZ, a Phoenix based social media running group.  Active Advantage had a few race entries that they were giving away and I was lucky enough to snag an entry.  The run benefits the Mesa Public Schools after-school run programs, so the race definitely benefits a great cause!

I went to the packet pick up on Friday afternoon at Tribe Multisport in Mesa.  It was great to see the kids excited to be helping out with handing out bibs, T-shirts and selling raffle tickets. Each race entry was given a raffle ticket for donated items for raffle on race day, so I bought a few more raffle tickets to benefit the students.

At packet pick up, there was a poster that we could sign and write out our #Run3rd dedications.  They were selling #Run3rd bracelets and patches.  I started with a dedication to my Kuya Eric.  He’s a colon cancer fighter and he’s prepping for a 5k run in FL next month.  Since I’m not able to run with him, I decided to bring him with me on my run.  Since we wrote out a dedication, they gave us some bracelets.  The kids loved them.

On race morning, I added my Best Running Friend, Elaine and her family to my #Run3rd dedication list.  I made a game time decision about my race outfit and headed out to the race.

There was plenty of parking at Red Mountain High School and short lines for the real restrooms!  I met up with a couple of mamas from the Moms Run This Town:  Phoenix group and also saw some AZTNT friends.

 

We saw that Sean Astin had arrived and there were a few people grabbing pictures with him.  I couldn’t decide if I wanted a picture, but since the hubby’s favorite movie is The Goonies, I decided to ask for a picture.  My friends were able to grab their selfies and by the time it was my turn, I asked if we could have a picture and then he turned to me and said, “We’re runners, let’s run!”  And he took off.  I managed to snap this picture while running and he immediately laughed and stopped to take a picture.  I need to work on containing my excitement for these selfies! 🙂

 

Before long, it was time to start the race. As we stood near the start line, I felt the excitement of the crowd and another #Run3rd dedication popped into my head (my friend Carol’s daughter Grace).

Next thing I knew, we were off!  The course started on the track and wound it’s way around the high school, so there were a few switch backs.  Around the first mile, I ran into my Instagram Friend, Sarah (@runlikethewinded), actually she ran up to me.  I was excited to finally meet her in real life!  We started chatting and ended up running the rest of the race together.  It was so much fun.  We were cheered for all the other runners on the switchbacks and spouted off Goonies quotes as we approached mile 3.  It was tough to keep the pace, but I kept my #Run3rd dedications in my mind and pushed through to run a sub 30 5k!  Sarah and I crossed the finish line with our arms in the air and the biggest smiles!  I’m so glad that Bert Jones Photography caught us smiling.

 

I stuck around for a little while after the race and met up with the #RunEatTweetAZ group and the big group picture.

 

Remember the raffle tickets they were selling?  Turns out I was a winner — I won an autographed Rudy Movie Prize!  I couldn’t believe it!  🙂

It was an amazing experience to be a part of the inaugural running of the #Run3rd 5k.  I’ll be back again next year!