China Grove Main Street Challenge 5K

Will Run for Pizza and Donuts!

The China Grove 5K is one of my favorite 5K races!

  • It's in my town, just down the street!
  • It has a fun post-race spread of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Pizza Hut pizza and fresh watermelon!
  • The atmosphere is fun and family friendly!
  • It's at 9pm at night which I think is pretty fun!
  • Flat course! This means people come from far and wide to set PRs and it's very competitive!
Photo by Aaron Cress - Facebook The China Grove 5K Main St. Challenge 
This was my first race since my diagnosis of iron deficient anemic which had really affected my running - in fact, that's what prompted me to go to the doctor! My running got so bad that I couldn't even run half a mile at a ten-minute pace! I've now been taking prescription iron supplements for about two and a half months and have seen much improvement, however, I'm still not at my all time fastest, so I was very apprehensive about this race!

Thankfully, my age group is very small so I had a fighting chance. The weather was fantastic - about 70 degrees! I had some freeze dried fruit, an energy drink and endless amounts of anxious adrenaline to fuel my run. I started at the front of the crowd but many people passed me in the beginning as they always do. I particularly had my eye on one girl because I thought she may be in my age group and she looked like a runner! I gave it my all and about halfway through, I was cruising past a lot of people who didn't properly pace themselves (including my competition). I began sprinting when I felt the end was near but that was a little too soon! The cheers of the crowd actually really encouraged me! I couldn't slow down that close to the Finish line! 

I was SO EXCITED for a pace of 7:07 - my fastest by far since my issues with iron. My finish time was 22:05 and I was first in my age group. I love bettering myself and there's just some sort of adrenaline rush I get from running in 5ks and it's something my mom and I enjoy doing together!

Have you ever run a 5K? Would you run for pizza or doughnuts?

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