Race Review--IOA 5k

It's that time again. Kristi's race review. I know, I know. You've all been in suspense waiting anxiously for my next review. Okay, maybe not. Humor me. 'k thanks.

The IOA 5k is put on by the Insurance Office of America (I think? I'm really just too lazy to go Google it, so we'll go with Insurance Office of America). Anyhow, it's a corporate 5k meaning that you have to sign up as a team from your company. Disney has always had quite a few people participate, but it's typically a bunch of teams from a variety of departments. This year, however, Disney paid for entry fees so we could have one giant team. There were over 1600 runners representing Disney at the IOA 5k.

The course itself was pretty good. It was flat and fast. However, the organization of the race was not so fun. Unlike most races in Central Florida, there were no time chips, therefore, no official timing. That also meant that the clock time is your time, and for me, the clock time was 55 seconds slower than my real time (translation for you non-runners: it took me 55 seconds to cross the start line b/c there were so many people). It was incredibly crowded (which is typical of most road races), but there wasn't any pace seperation/identification at the start, so there were ultra slow walkers at the front and faster runners in the back (yes, this is a HUGE pet peeve of mine...if you're gonna walk or if you're slow--GET TO THE BACK...ai yi yi).

The weather conditions were not so ideal. Lately in Central Florida the weather has been pretty mild, but tonight it was pretty warm. At least it was just a 5k and not a longer race.

After the race, Disney gave all of it's runners a free meal and it was good, so I can't complain! There was also free beer available, but for some reason, beer just doesn't seem all that appealing after I've finished running. I'll take a bottle of water, thanks.

So there you have it. I'm glad I didn't pay for the race, but it was really cool to see a bunch of other Cast Members out there running. I saw a ton of people I knew so it was cool to catch up with them.

Now you can all wait in suspense until my next edition of Race Review. The Minnie Marathon is quickly approaching. And I'm very much looking forward to it...9.3 miles! :)

Happy Running!