Firecracker 5000

Remind me to never, ever, again eat a huge salad right before running.

I often run at night, but have never before raced at night.

I am a seasoned race veteran, but the starting time (11:55pm) threw me off my game, and my plan for this race was all wrong. Thankfully, the Firecracker 5000 turned out to be a helluva lot of fun anyway.

I spent race day hiking in Olympic National Park (rest before a race? what rest?), and rushed home for a quick dinner, shower, and change of clothes. (Yes. I shower before races. No need to impose my sweat on others before the race.)

Eating salad was a bad idea, as my stomach did flip-flops through most of the 3.1 miles. But my standard pre-race oatmeal and cup of coffee seemed wrong at 8pm. (Note to self: Next time, eat the oats.)

Fortunately the enthusiasm of the running crowd was amazing and made stomach trauma a minor nuisance rather than a major catastrophe. My one regret is, had I run this race before and realized that everyone (and I mean everyone) was in patriotic costume, I would have done more than just wear red, white, and blue.

The creative, risque, and downright hilarious outfits were a huge part of the fun of this run. The finish line donuts from Top Pot were a sweet touch, too.

I took my donut to go, caught the bus home, grabbed a last-call beer at a pub across the street, and considered it a race well run.

July 4th Scripps Ranch 10k (hosted by "The Old Pros")

The annual July 4th Scripps Ranch 10k in San Diego is (no exaggeration) my favorite race of all time. The organizers get everything right, and I mean everything.

• Plenty of port-a-pottys, so the lines are never long.
  
• A net downhill course, so you feel like you're flying (and your times show that you, indeed, did fly).
  
• Neighbors shuttling runners from the parking area to the starting line in their cars, just because they're friendly, and that's how this group rolls.
  
• Cold towels handed to runners at the finish line.
  
• A shady beer garden to recover in after the race.
  
• A field of runners (about 1,500-1,700) that is small enough to feel like a hometown race, but big enough to bring out some good competition.

This is the perfect race to get the Fourth of July festivities off on the right foot.

Results can be found here.