New Balance 8K Run for Fun

My first outdoor race! The 8K Jinqiao run is the beginning of my love of running with a group of people. The race took place this past Sunday. Djorf and I shared a taxi with our friend Shannon because Jinqiao is out in the "suburbs" of Shanghai. We met Team Taco at Cantina Agave and prepared to race to the finish line.

It all began one fateful evening (the same evening Loki was lost) at Cantina Agave in the French Concession after multiple margaritas and shots of tequila quickly downed to dull the pain and celebrate a post Brazilian wax. Shannon and I signed up for the 8K and I signed up Djorf, unbeknownst to him of course. Shortly thereafter the race was forgotten until the week before the event.

Mustached and ready to run

I had done no training, had not run in months, and needed to get fit fast. Normally I prefer to run indoors on a treadmill, at a specific pace, in a controlled air conditioned climate, a fan blowing on me, and my iPod on to drown out the sounds of other humans in the vicinity. If only Apple made something to eliminate the smell. I have been doing Zumba twice a week for the last few months and I am in relatively good shape even without exercise. So I got to work, and ran for half an hour after my Zumba class on Wednesday, I ran for an hour on Thursday and Friday, took Saturday off and was as ready as I'd ever be for the race on Sunday. (Poor Shannon had completely spaced the race until two days before but she still wanted to go.)

The cost was a killer deal for 300 RMB. It included payment for the race, donation to some charity, a t-shirt with Team Taco on it, and a Mexican food buffet after the race with....more margaritas...but of course!

Shannon and Me

When we arrived at Cantina Agave Sunday morning, and donned our snazzy baby blue t-shirts, fake mustaches, and posed for a few photos, we trotted over to the start line. There were 8,000 people running the race and everyone was jammed together, it was a disaster! I despise being squashed by crowds, but the electrifying excitement of the all the people getting together for fun and a good cause quelled my claustrophobic fears.

The crackle of a firework (surprise surprise, we are in China) started the race. The masses surged forward. No one was running yet, just a jerky jaunt. As we filtered out the bottle-neck and made the first right onto the blocked off road which was our racecourse, the crowd thinned slightly and the race was on!

Senor Djorf

ññAs the runners spread out, I had a better idea of what type of people run these types of races. I was originally under the impression that I might be one of the last to crawl across the finish line but I actually did quite well at 53 minutes. There were people of all sorts, ages, cultures, body types, and athletic abilities. Some people were dressed in costumes, some had dogs, one man carried a child on his shoulders the entire time.

As we rounded another bend, the first water station was in sight. If only I was so lucky. Unfortunately instead of the water I needed desperately, they were handing out bottles of sickeningly sweet and syrupy Vitamin Water. Nasty! To make matters worse, people were taking a few sips and throwing the majority of the liquid and bottle onto the grass by the side of the road. A complete waste and tons of trash. It's probably a good thing there was no water, because after the coffee and two bottles of water I drank before the race, I had to pee like a race horse, LOL.

The kilometers went by quickly and it wasn't long before the end was in sight. Thank goodness for songs like Stronger by Kelly Clarkson, Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO and Someone I Used to Know by Gotye which played over and over again kept me going.

Instead of counting off by kilometers, the signs being held up were counting down in meters, 780, 640, 530, 370, and then the finish line. I picked up my speed and made it just as the numbers on the clock switched from 52:99 to 53:00. Success!

And then, off to margaritas and Mexican Buffet!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Jinqiao, Shanghai