Fallen In Chocolate 5K

Saturday I ran in a 5K benefit race for this girl. She ran on Jake's UVU track team.  He left at 6 am to go up to the race which was up in Cottonwood Heights.  He and his track team set up the course.  I knew he would be there and the whole team would be running or helping but I was not expecting the emotion I felt when I entered the park where the race was to be held and saw all of them there dressed in their warm ups.  Not only did the track and cross country teams come from UVU but also the golf team, the softball team and the wrestlers. Her dad coaches at Bingham High and there were alot of runners there from that school and 

also Riverton High, all dressed in their school uniforms.    

I read her blog and she is just so cute.  One blog post I remember about her is when she got her port and also had a surgery that left her with a scar on her stomach,she sat at her dining room table and made her  stuffed money a port and an incision.  She loves monkeys and chocolate and so the race was so cutely named after her blog and had a monkey on the shirts and all the traffic cones had the signs on them so we could follow the course.

This is the start area.  I was so nervous.  She came on the microphone and thanked us for coming and was so surprised that so many people turned out.  I was looking for Jake every time I saw UVU people standing directing traffic but I missed him in the crowd. He says he saw me run right by him.

As I was about halfway through, the road I was on was higher and I could see the runners coming in for their finish on a lower road. Kim had told me that the track runners would do it in half my time.  The first one I saw was a boy in  a BYU tank top and right behind him was a UVU runner, then a boy in a blue shirt and then 2 more UVU runners.  I was so proud of Jake's team. 

  There was a steep hill right at the end.  I knew not to stop because I would not get running again and I was glad I did not because as soon as I crested the hill there was the finish line. 

The girl who the race was for loves to run and has run everyday since her treatment started.  She ran this race today in 25 minutes.  She is amazing.  Jake had 2 friends who were coming in at the end and trying to beat each other and elbowing each other and did not realize that they passed her, at her own race....they were sad they did not hold up and let her by.  It's funny how he tells it.

Jake and some of his UVU friends and teammates.  They were amazing today.
 ***** I ran it in 36 minutes and I was 9th out of 20 in my age group*****