Running Amuck With the Duck

Yesterday morning I decided I had better run in whatever race was still available for April if I really wanted to stick with my goal of running at least one race per month. I had already copped out of the midnight run at UF last Wednesday night, so I was running out of time. But there were a couple of races being held in Gainesville this weekend and I decided on the Saturday event.

I ran the 5K Run Amuck With the Duck race to benefit research into lung cancer. This illness has hit home in my family, as it was a contributing factor in my mother's death in 2002. A lot of emphasis is being (correctly) made on its prevention, as the chief cause of lung cancer is smoking. Stop the smoking and you cut way down on this usually fatal disease's occurrence. Still, the pre-race speaker pointed out that, compared to other cancers, lung cancer research is not very well funded by the federal government. Hopefully, this will change in the future.

The race was held around North Florida Regional Hospital, the neighboring medical offices, and a stretch of an old and isolated semi-country road with old, big houses (along with old people outside walking their old dogs). The terrain was relatively hilly, which to me was a plus as I needed a break from my flat neighborhood running course.

This event was more focused on the cause than the race itself. Most of the participants were walkers and many of them were in teams, much like last October's Heart Walk that Melissa and I participated in. Those of us who were runners had to time ourselves, as only the top three finishers would be timed and receive prizes. But they did provide a funny tee shirt (featuring "Crackers the Duck, MD") and plenty of water, apples, bananas, and other treats. Since my overriding interest was just to run in my monthly public race and enjoy the experience, the race's few drawbacks meant little to me.

I discovered during the race that the hills were almost enjoyable to run up, since with each climb I passed a few more tiring runners. I pushed myself harder than usual throughout the race and finished with a personal 5K record time of 23:05. I was very satisfied with this event and plan to run in it next year (this was its first year).

Also, since I had decided that I wasn't ready to run in Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon on May 2, running in Gainesville's Run Amuck With the Duck event gave me another chance to run in a race with an especially goofy name!