Race Recap: Homestretch for Heroes 5k

Homestretch for Heroes 5k is an evening event that has been held the last couple of years at the Arlington International Race Course, a well-known horse racing venue. The event donates all of the proceeds to benefit SALUTE, Inc, a local charity that provides financial, physical, and emotional aid to injured military service members, veterans, and their families. It's a unique event that has runners finish on the race track, their live images projected onto the leaderboard.

I've always wanted to sign up for this race but in the past, it never worked out. This year I was able to make it happen! The event was held on August 6 on a warm sunny evening. The race course is about 2 miles from my home and I arrived with plenty of time for packet pickup. Parking was a breeze--the lot is quite large--and I walked into the vestibule to claim my bib and shirt.

I'm a morning runner, so with this race I had the dilemma of how to fuel for an evening race! I decided to go with what has worked for my other 5ks this summer--I mixed a bottle of Tailwind to drink prior to the race. Just because I like to live dangerously, I also added a scoop of NOW Foods BCAA Big 6 powder and D-Ribose powder. I have the watermelon flavor BCAA but it mixed well with the mandarin orange Tailwind. I've never taken the BCAA and Ribose before a race, but I have used it at CrossFit the past couple of weeks without any issue. I know, nothing new on race day, but it's only a 5k, right?

I met up with some of the members from my running club as they gathered near the start line. We took a group photo and headed over to the starting line. It was an informal lineup with runners in the front and walkers in the back. As with all the local races, there were a bunch of kids near the front.

Busse Woods Runners

Some speeches were given and a very moving rendition of the Star Spangled Banner was sung by a 9 year old boy from the northwest side of Chicago. What a voice! Keeping with the horse racing theme, the national anthem was followed by the track bugler, Monica Benson, for the 'call to post'. And we were off!

bugler Monica Benson
photo credit: Larry Martin

The course wound around the very large grounds of the Arlington International Race Course. I've been there for races and my bike rides take me past the barns, so I knew how big it was. The evening was warm--81 degrees--and it was sunny. I was pleased that most of the people around me were running the same pace as I was. It helped me hold back. Mile 1 was mostly run on pavement. 9:01

I started to feel fatigued as we continued to run around the course grounds and the parking lot. I passed a lot of people walking. We rounded a corner and retraced the our route where we started. Unfortunately, I had to walk and catch my breath. That 9 min/mile would only be a dream. Mile 2 9:24

Mile 2 done and I started running again. As we approached the entrance to the track, I again had to stop and walk briefly. Then it was onto the dirt. We hadn't had any rain and the dirt was dry and mostly packed. Mostly. It was like running on sand at the beach. I stopped one more time to catch my breath and then I picked up the pace. I came around the corner and got behind some people walking, 3 across, on the inside of the track. That frustrated me and I said something like 'oh come on', out loud. Another runner said to me, "what did you say?" I did a quick mental reset and reminded myself that this was supposed to be fun. I waved to the other runner and kept going. Mile 3 9:25

Approaching the finish line
photo credit: Larry Martin

When I reached the finish line, I put my hands on my knees briefly to catch my breath. There was a line of runners waiting to get their times recorded. A woman cut in front of me! Seriously? I didn't say anything. Even though I was in the line of finishers, the volunteers recording the times somehow missed me. The good thing about that was when I later looked up my results and saw they weren't there, I was able to send a picture of my Garmin to the RD. They recorded my actual time, which negated the woman cutting in front of me. Ha! Official finish time: 28:45.

There's the line cutter right in front of me...
Phtot credit: Larry Martin

After the finish we were handed a bottle of water and could walk over to a tent where they were handing out popsicles and granola bars. I skipped that stop and headed over to the post-race party area where I could get my free post-race beer. I had the choice of 3 beers: Miller High Life, Miller Lite, or Coors Light. Ugh. I went with the High Life and it actually didn't taste bad at all. There was a band playing. I didn't see anyone I knew, so I walked back to the stands and cooled off while I drank my beer.

Racers were broadcast on the jumbotron

Overall, I really enjoyed this event! While running on a horse track wouldn't be fun if the whole 5k was held on it (can you even imagine?!), running the last 1/3 mile on the track was a novelty and something I have never done before! There were a ton of volunteers directing the runners as well as 2 aid stations with water and gatorade. I was impressed with the number of participants: there were 533 finishers total. My friend Larry was the photographer and he sent me the photos he took. I'm not sure where the photos were posted for the rest of the participants, though.

This race was gun timed and there were no chips on our bibs, which explains why my results didn't show up as they weren't recorded. With so many of us waiting to be recorded, it wasn't a surprise that some of us were missed. Thankfully, the RD was super responsive when I reached out to her. Results were listed only as overall results, which included the 1 mile walkers and the 5k runners. I guess my quibble would be that if you're going to record everyone's time and advertise it as a professionally timed race, then at least break out the walkers from the runners in the results.

I was pleased with my finish time--it was consistent with how I've done in most of my 5ks this summer. Considering that this was a hot race in the evening, I cannot complain about how I did. This was a fun event for a great cause with a unique finish on a horse racing track! Who wouldn't like to do that?

Homestretch for Heroes 5k was run on a horse track! /via @oldrunningmom @salute_inc @arlington_park @NOWFoods #runchat #runner #racerecap

Have you ever run an event on a horse track? How do you feel about running a race without bib chips? Do you want to learn more about SALUTE, Inc? Are you interested in trying that NOW Foods BCAA Big 6 powder or the D-Ribose Powder? Or both? It's all about endurance and recovery. Use the code EMPOWERNOW through 8/31/19 to save $10 off $40. Orders over $50 get free shipping. 

I'm linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics.