St. Pat's Dash Race Report

On Sunday Suz and I ran the St. Pat's Dash in Seattle. It was my time running the Dash in years -- not since it was my first ever 5K! - and not since the course moved from the old Viaduct point-to-point.

We were supposed to run it a few years ago -- but it snowed that day, so breakfast at Vera's easily won out.

But this year -- when the race actually fell on St. Patrick's Day -- it was a cold but sunshiny morning in the Emerald City, so a perfect day for a run.

Suz picked me up a little before 7:30... which was lucky, because I set an alarm for 7am on a watch that I had forgotten to "spring forward". Oops. But I had everything laid out, so I was able to get dressed quickly and we were on our way only a few minutes after 7:30.

We drove up to Queen Anne, got street parking a few blocks from the start, and enjoyed sitting in the warm car until a few minutes before the start.

It was funny to join the throng of green-clad runners -- and to recognize no one. We arrived just in time to hear the last lines of "When Irish Eyes Were Smiling" and the start of the first wave. A few minutes later it was our turn, so we took off at a gentle clip down Mercer.

I'm not a fan of the revised course -- basically on to 99 and up to the bridge, then back down. But it was fun to be surrounded by so many happy folks out for a good time. I liked the group running with a giant rainbow -- I really should have gotten a picture of us under it!

We ran some, walked some, and got to the turnaround -- which meant we were now essentially all downhill to the finish. As we rounded the corner I reminded Suz to leave nothing in the tank, which made her laugh and say she didn't have anything left in the tank. :) But she pipped me at the finish by a second and one place to finish in 51:31: still a 14:10 pace, despite the fact that it was her longest run ever! Yay Suz!

After the race we picked up some water, threaded our way through the crowd, and decided to just head back to Ballard. Despite being just after 10am, of course the Old Pequliar was open... and populated by other Dashers. Wil came down and joined us... and then the noise got a little out of hand, so we decamped to Molly's by our house.

Things got a bit fuzzy after that... but songs were sung, we witnessed a successful proposal, and had a great day. Thanks to Suz for being my running buddy for the Dash!