When I first moved to Plant City I wasn't sure of places to run nearby. I found a small 5k in the area, so I got quite excited when I realized I was off the day of the race.
I was originally looking for the Strawberry Classic, which takes place in Temple Terrace, but stumbled upon the Strawberry Distance Challenge. I found out this race was taking place only minutes from my house and there was a 5k and 5 mile option. I contemplated which race I wanted to run, but settled on the 5k. I wasn't running much at the time, so the 5k seemed the perfect option. On top of this, Adam had the morning off as well, so the 5k would be a perfect race for us to run together.
We headed over to the race in the morning. The weather was pretty nice and packet pick up was easy. The shirts were super cute too! We headed to the start line and the 5 milers started right before the 5kers. Then the 5k was off.
We ran around the neighborhood in the area and the course was nice. Adam and I ran the race together, and for the first time I was able to keep a steady pace and did not have to stop to walk during a 5k race. Now that may not seem like a huge accomplishment, but I always start out too fast during races and even during a 5k I wind up having to slow down to a walk. I've run 8 miles without stopping to walk, but a 5k? Nope, not before this race. So for me, this race was a big accomplishment.
After the race was over there were strawberries for all of the participants. I'm not a huge fan of strawberries, but I thought this was a fun change from the typical end of race selections.
All of the finishers also got a finishers ribbon and they gave out awards for the top 3 finishers in each age group.
I really enjoyed the race. It was a fun, small race, and the little after party was enjoyable too. I hope to be able to attend again next year!
