Downhill at Dusk 5k

Black Mountain, North Carolina

	Time/ Pace	Div.	Div. Pl.	Gen. Pl.	Ov. Pl.	Bib #
Michael	18:00 5:48	Male 13-15	1/ 2	3/ 37	4/ 97	2195

Written by Owen:

This is our second annual trip to Ridgecrest Conference Center for this race.  This time the entire family came, as did the Griffith's.  Also new this year was the inaugural 5k race Saturday evening.

First up Saturday morning was the half-marathon. Chris and Marissa were running, along with Jen's cousin Megan. This was Marissa's first half-marathon.

Next up was the 5k that Michael was running. Grandma and Gramps even drove out to watch it, on their way to Florida for their big move.

The picture below sums up this moment so perfectly. Michael had set a goal that was SUPER aggressive. His PR in the 5k was 19:02, but hadn't run one since before cross country when he broke his foot. Since then, he's recovered from his injury and had a very successful track season. This 5k is point to point, and net downhill. Not crazy downhill, and there is a very challenging uphill for the last 0.4 miles. He set his goal at 17:59. We kept saying how awesome it would be to say your PR was 17:59. I didn't say this, but I thought it was impossible.

When I saw him round the corner with approximately 30 seconds to go, and the clock said 17:35, I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES. We cheered like crazy people. He kicked like I've never seen before. He crossed the line at 18:00. The official results list him at 18:00.8! Look at each of our faces in the background. I am so proud of him, this was a very special moment. (Thanks Jen for finding this awesome picture)