Pickle Run Race Recap

On November 30th, my boyfriend Ray and I participated in the Pickle Run 5k on Tybee Island.  

This is the story behind it, posted on their Active.com registration page from 2012- "On November 25, 2008, Dylan Robert Hall was born here in Savannah, Georgia. Despite a healthy pregnancy, Dylan suffered meconium aspiration along with 2 other bacterial infections during delivery. The doctors weren't sure he'd survive his first night. On Thanksgiving Day, two days after his birth, Dylan had shown enough improvement so that mom and dad could hold their baby boy for the first time. As the days went on, "Dyl Pickle" proved to be a strong healthy baby that just happened to be born very sick. During the two weeks Dylan spent in the hospital, the Hall family discovered how lucky they were to live in Savannah where the level of care their baby required was just down the street. Many of the families had to drive long distances to visit their children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery. This is where the Ronald McDonald House comes in. Established in 1987, the Savannah Ronald McDonald House has provided a "Home away from home" for more than 5,000 families. The House has 10 bedrooms with private baths, a communal living room and kitchen, dining and laundry areas. Each night volunteers from the community provide a home-cooked meal for the families to share. To celebrate Dylan's 4th birthday, the Huc-a-poos and Hall families invite you to participate in the 4th annual Pickle Run to support our local Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire."

This was a great cause to support.  I was also involved in RMHC a few years ago as part of a bake-off (shameless self-promotion - I took first place in the cake division with Boston cream pie cupcakes).  The one here in Savannah is especially in need right now because it has a mold problem, and they aren't even open right now, so they're desperately trying to re-open.  

According to my Garmin upload, it was 43 degrees and felt 38, but I think it felt much colder.  It was also overcast and very windy.  The first mile or so was on roads starting from Hucapoos, a local restaurant and the main sponsor of the race.  Then we hit the beach, and turned right into the wind!  It was almost bone-chilling cold, as it was humid so the water in the hair was freezing as well.  We tried to stay on the hard-packed part of the beach as much as we could, but it was still difficult.  With around a quarter of a mile left, we got back off the beach, onto gravel, and finished back at the restaurant.  The course ended up measuring 3.18 miles for me, and we finished in 45:27, a 14:18 pace.  I was shooting for under 15 mm due to the beach, so I'm decently satisfied with our time. 

After the race, we had breakfast pizza (Hucapoos is mostly a pizza place) and beer.  Each person also got a raffle ticket with registration, with the option to purchase more at $1 a piece.  They raffled off probably about 20 items from a wine basket, to a Yuengling sign, to paddleboard rentals.  Many many local places get involved in this race and donate, and it was an awesome community to be in.  I definitely want to do this each year they have it.  

I'll let the pictures try to show you how mean the wind was, and how sad the ocean looked.  And yes, that is a 6 pack of PBR in front of us.  But it's ok, we beat them!

What's your favorite local 5k?

Lauren