Race Report: Kiss Me, I’m Irish Run

Generally, when we run races, we don’t end up doing the same ones year after year.  Some of the running events in the area are too good to do just once, so we’ve repeated the PF Chang’s series of events, the Tucson half and full marathons, and several others, but for the most part, we don’t necessarily set out to complete the same race on an annual basis.  Since this part of the state of Arizona is pretty much off limits for running for six to eight months of the year, the months of October-April end up being packed with tons of events, and it seems like a shame to race the same ones over and over, ignoring all of the other options out there.

With all of this said, last weekend was the 6^th annual running of the Kiss Me, I’m Irish series of races, and as is my yearly custom, I participated. 

We randomly ran across the very first Irish run six years ago and signed up for it on a whim, thinking, oh that sounds like fun.  The run starts and stops each year at the Westgate entertainment area in Glendale, home to the sporting facilities for the Arizona Cardinals and the Coyotes, our respective NFL and NHL franchises.  There are also a ton of restaurants and shops, and it’s a fun place to eat/drink/celebrate for an evening. 

Since the first race was six years ago, that means we started running it the final year we lived in our Casa Grande house.  Now that we’re actually living on the west side of town, it’s only 15-20 minutes or so to the stadium/arena, and we’ve made this run a yearly tradition.  The organizers offer a series of races, a 17K (10.6 miles), an 8K (5 miles), a 4K (2.5 miles), and a kids/noncompetitive 1K, which they refer to as the “Irish K,” just for fun.  I’ve done both the 8K and 17K distances in past years, and since my run at the Phoenix Marathon a few weeks ago went well through the half marathon point, I figured the 17K should be a good test as to whether I could replicate that result.

Chris was also signed up for the race, but since he’d only recently recovered from a nasty cold (fever, night sweats, sore throat, wracking cough – all the good stuff), he chose to pass on the run itself, instead driving me around and spectating, taking naps in the car as needed (very important).  We headed to the area early on a Saturday morning, stopping by Starbucks en route, as the event is pretty large and the lines for the bathrooms can get crazy.  I did a quick warm up and eventually, we headed to the start line.

Ready to go!

Modeling me lucky socks!

Because the event is really family friendly, you see tons of kiddos in strollers, babies dressed as leprechauns, and dogs wearing shirts and other items.  Behold:

Looking good, buddy!

The 8K went off first with the 17K starting about 10 minutes later.  Most folks are in the 8K race, so it can be somewhat off-putting to have to dodge through the slower 8Kers if you get to them before they hit their turnoff, but I suppose the opposite would be true if the 17K started first, only on a larger scale.  Either way, the race normally handles this flow pretty well, all things considered.  This particular year’s event was a little more confusing than normal in this regard, mainly because the announcer for the event and all of his equipment ended up with a flat tire on the way to the venue; no announcer made for some quiet starts to the races, and I hope no one ended up missing their run.

After the 8K field cleared out the chute, I hopped into place and Chris headed to the other side of the starting arch to take some pics:

Hi, honey!

Check me out to the left of the guy in orange.

While I initially lined up on the right side of the starting arch, a few moments before the gun went off (the imaginary gun, as mentioned above), I had to move to the left.  See, a group participating while pushing someone in a running wheelchair moved through the throng of racers and lined up right at the start line, thinking that they would be set off early to celebrate their cause, which is pretty normal for these types of events.  However, the lack of the announcer and associated system didn’t make this possible, so if I stayed on the right, I knew I would immediately be stuck behind a large group of folks who were rather slow, despite being extremely well-intentioned and generous.  Since Chris was still on the right side of the arch and couldn’t see this whole event unfolding, that led to this picture once the metaphorical gun went off:

Honey!  Yoo hoo!  Over here!

The run itself went well; the course has been pretty much the same since the event started, and it’s a nice tour through the more agricultural side of Glendale near the stadium and arena.  Since the race has been around for a few years now, traffic is generally pretty considerate, and the volunteers and police officers manage the flow of things well.  Aid stations are logically spaced and well stocked, even though they use plastic cups instead of paper ones (it’s way easier to pinch the sides of a waxed paper cup – think Dixie cups like the ones that everyone had next to their bathroom sinks in the early ‘90s – so you can make a fluid spout while you’re running than trying to do the same with a plastic cup), and the volunteers were supportive.  About halfway through, the course ends up on a paved running/biking path, and it’s lovely and peaceful as it winds through neighborhoods and back toward Westgate.  Once you hit the last mile or two, all of the courses intersect with one another, so you sometimes risk getting behind slower walkers from the other distances.  The race, however, has recognized this, and signs are generally posted, asking slower folks to keep right.  You run up a small hill and turn right after the stadium, and the finish line is in sight!  Chris normally stations himself near this area, so he can get some good finishing shots:

Turning the final corner,

trying in vain to catch this blonde girl.

Grinning at the paparazzi.

Overall, my time for 10.6 miles was 1:27 and change, which means I was at around an 8:17 minute per mile pace average.  My goal for this race was to stay between 8:15 and 8:20, so I hit that, plus I ended up taking 2^nd place in my age group!  I was really excited; after the issues with the Phoenix Marathon, I was happy to have such a good run on a lovely day at such a fun event.

Posing with the leprechaun at the awards ceremony.

Later!

Amy