Park Point 5 Miler Duluth

July 18th all the runners that were registered for the Park Point 5 Miler in Duluth got an email warning of a potential heat advisory for July 20th. They were recommending that you treat the race as a fun run because it was going to be very hot and humid.......

The four of us packed into the car on July 20th and off we went to Duluth. It was warm that day but the clouds had come and gone on our drive down, it had even sprinkled a little along the way.
We got to Duluth around noon and did some shopping and had a bite to eat then headed to Canal Point to pick up our race kits, lets get this show on the road. The sun and the humidity were outrageous, it went against everything I believe in to run in such extreme weather.

We left the hotel dressed and ready to run, you just melted to the sidewalk. When we had picked up our race kits the race officials had made the call to cancel the awards to deter runners from running full out, although they were still going to chip time it. 

Here is the kicker...this is the dash in the car stating the outside temperature...

92 degrees, yikes. We had about an hour to wait for the race to start, they had a kids run and a 2 mile walk first. I was sweating standing still, I tried telling myself it was on the verge of snowing, wasn't helping. 

I bring my camera everywhere so here we are sweating and waiting. 

Alison and I had ran this race last year and I just kept hoping that people would put out their sprinkles out again so we could run through them, and they did. The people that live along this route are awesome, they cheer you on and spray you with water as you go by. 

I had kept my eyes peeled for the gang to come running back towards we as the route was an out and back route and here they are.

Lynda 

Erin 

Alison

When I started out at the start line I had decided to at least go 1 mile and then reassess whether it was worth running in the heat. I reevaluated it and decided to carry on, I didn't feel all that bad, hot yes but not ill. 

Here is me melting on the route.

The last mile of the race I had cut back my running to running in the shade and walking the sun, there was just enough of both to keep me from quitting all together. 

Here we are, all of us made it to the finish line and we are still smiling. It may not have been a personal best but it felt good to have challenged myself to run smart in the heat and able to finish the race without feeling ill at the end.

We headed back to the hotel then out for dinner and well deserved beverages.

 I would recommend this run to anyone and everyone, it is well organized and the community is like no other I have run through, they are what saved me throughout the run, the sprinkles helped allot.