Maplewood NJ 5K Race –
This Sunday I decided to venture out with Rich for his latest New Jersey 5K race. It was the 13th annual “Maplewood in Motion” 5K Race, with proceeds going to benefit the Maplewood Lions Club charities and Rent Party – an organization dedicated to fighting hunger in Maplewood and South Orange. It’s an event that I’ve run a few times over the years. My first time was in 2003 — when I first decided to get on a post-babies fitness kick. Back then I ran it in New Balance sneakers, this time in my barefoot running sandals.
On race day it’s a good idea to get up as early as possible so that you have time to get some nutrition in your system, but stop hydrating well before the race starts (See Rich’s take on that here, in his blog post – GladSoles CEO Comes Within…). I got up at 6am, ate, cleaned the kitchen, folded laundry, watched some tv, and took my time to get ready.
Conditions were perfect: sunny, but breezy with a little fall chill in the air. Rich and I “represented” with our GladSoles on our feet, and our logo on our shirts. I’m a much slower runner than Rich, so this was an opportunity for people much further back in the pack to see our running sandals in action. At the start of the race a little girl who was running in sneakers and a pretty dress asked if I was really going to run in my sandals. At the end of the race a fellow competitor asked me about the slogan (“Make Your Feet Happy”) he’d been reading on my back during the race.
Rich posted another excellent time of 19:59, coming in sixth place overall. With my slow pace of 10:56 minutes a mile I finished the race in 34:05, which goes to show that you can enjoy minimal running at any pace:)
–Jennie
Maplewood 5K Race in Minimal Sandals
