Notes on Nuts 5K

A teammate running the LA Marathon, Jerry, posted a time a shade over 5 hours. Jerry said he'd probably have finished in the 4-hour range but for three bathroom breaks. The 5K port-o-potty lines were long. The marathon facilities must have been epic. (And ghastly, as only a marathon port-o-potty can be.)

A few teammates hung around to cheer Jerry and TNT marathoner Phil. They waited at the 20 mile mark. Seeing a marathoner at 20 miles is like seeing your parents naked — not pretty. You can run the last mile and look cool for the finish line camera. But at mile 20, the bloom is definitely off the rose. Runners struggling, walking, pulling themselves along on injured legs. Someone remarked that only finishing makes all the pain worthwhile. Having hobbled the last seven miles in Huntington Beach, I agree.

2776 runners finished the Emerald Nuts 5K. Coach Kate ran second in her age division (18-24) running the 3.1 miles in 21 minutes. That's a pace of 6 minutes and 46 seconds per mile. I can't think that fast.

Teammate Gionne snapped a few photos. From right to left, Jay, Ernesto, Melinda, myself and Chad perfect our "hanging-out-aimlessly-before-the-race" look.