Another Baltimore Running Festival 5k

I feel like I’ve run at the Baltimore Running Festival a dozen times or so, but I was going back through my posts and photos and it appears that this is just my fifth time.

I say *just* but HECK YEAH for me making myself run at the festival five times!

My first visit to the Baltimore Running Festival was in 2012 when I ran my first 5k after having Jack. I signed up rather impulsively and wasn’t quite sure if I could do it, but I ended up giving myself a pep talk and was pleased to find out my uterus did not fall out during the run (read it here).

Because that’s every new mom’s concern, right?

I’m not sure what I did in 2013 and 2014, because apparently I didn’t do the race those years. I’m honestly not sure why. But having a toddler probably had something to do with it. Perhaps I was napping?

In 2015, my brother, sisters and I ran the Team Relay. I trained for a few months to get my body up to doing the mileage required for the first leg, which was 6 miles. We made capes and the four of us destroyed the race… and I posed with a penguin, as you do (find it here).

I returned to the 5k in 2016 and 2017, but 2017 was extra special because Jack ran his first Kid’s Fun Run (here’s that one, with a cute photo of Jack included).

He loved earning his very own medal, so we were both excited to have him run the fun run again this year.

And… they didn’t have it.

Such a bummer! They moved around the race course and apparently that made the fun run impossible… which sounds kind of hooky. I’m hoping that they will bring it back next year.

I did run the 5k again this year though. This time I went with my brother and his new wife. This is after the race, with our fancy medals:

The highlight of the race for me was when a group of military dudes came upon me, running together and chanting. You know, that military chanting thing they do? I muted my headphones and ran with them for about a quarter mile. It was AWESOME. And exhausting. So after that bit I slowed down a little to finish the race.

And that’s it.  Nothing exciting. No uterus worries. No penguins.

Just another medal to add to my collection. Which works for me.

{I would have enjoyed another penguin though…}