Run to Stock the Closet 10k–Troy-2021

Date/Location:	11/25/21, Auburn, CA
Distances:	10K
Time:	45:47, 7:19 min/mi (Unofficial)
Place:	5th
Teammates:	Teammates- 10K: Dillon Holloway, Jim Kepfer, Robin Soares 5K: Ariel Soares, , Jesse Redding, Micah Redding & MANY OTHER AUBURN FRIENDS

I’m glad to be running with my family at our local downtown Thanksgiving Day 5k/10k.  Robin & I are doing the 10k while Anna & Ariel and other friends do the 5k.  I’m running with Oscar which I haven’t done in a race in quite a while.  He’s going to be crazy excited so I’ve got the bigger leash and collar to keep a hold of him.  He always wants to please but he feels it’s his job to find a way to the front of the pack.  He doesn’t realize that I can’t run as fast as the High Schoolers

I want to see if I can be close to 7:00 pace.  We pray before the race.  The Lord is the reason I’m even able to run. I’ve had a lot of trouble with my right heel but this summer the Lord blessed me with good runs and I’m very thankful for that.

As usually happens here, someone says “Go!” and I’m not ready.  Oscar & I are surrounded by runners, mainly young kids going out way too fast.  Soon we’re going up the steep Cherry Ave, away from the crowd.  Anna is running next to me while the other high schoolers are farther up ahead.  Anna is staying back with me to save her legs for the State Meet in a couple days.  I guess she notices some confusion ahead and tells me they probably don’t know which way to go.  I pick up the pace realizing to get closer to them.  They start to turn left but I yell “straight!” and they’re back on track.  Whew!  I hate to see the winners go off track.

Mile 1. 7:21. Oscar is still overly excited but we’re managing ok.  We’re running with Micah, the little sister of Jesse Redding, one of Anna’s cross-country friends she’s competed against for a number of years.  Anna invited them today and Jesse is up ahead.  We can still see her.  She’s going the right way.

Up the final big hill.  I’m focusing on my form.  My heel has been tender lately but that may also be because of sporadic training.  Micah is falling back a bit.  We encourage her that it’s all downhill soon.

Mile 2. 7:43. The downhill starts!  We cross a couple streets.  Anna is wanting to press the “Walk” buttons to help the lights for Micah behind us a ways.  We get to the big turn at the Court House and by this time can’t see Jesse ahead.  There are arrows from other Auburn races going straight.  I hope she didn’t follow those… she’ll be headed towards Loomis!

Mile 3. 7:06.  We come to the town square.  Anna sprints ahead and finishes.  Thankfully we see Jesse who finished first woman.  I continue on for the next loop.  The highschoolers doing the 10k are so far ahead I can’t see them and no one else is around me.  Oscar is calm.  It’s just us… until we catch up to the 5k walkers.  We have to weave through the crowd but it’s great seeing everyone and wishing them Happy Thanksgiving.

Mile 4. 7:26.  Ok, a little slower than our first time here, but will try to pick it up some.  Foot is warmed up.

Mile 5. 7:09.  That’s a big improvement over the first time up the long hill.  It’s all down hill and I feel good.  Oscar and I are running fast.  I see a high schooler, Dillon Holloway, our friends’ son.  I think I can catch him.  I give a great effort.  Still 50 yds ahead with a slight climb to the finish.

Mile 6. 6:39. Still possible to catch him.  200 yds to go… then Oscar stops to use the bathroom… ok, we lose about 10 secs, but we still finish fast.. behind Dillon.

Thank you Lord for letting us all be able to run and have fun and to be healthy.  It’s a great blessing!

Run to Stock the Closet–Robin -2021

Date/Location:	11/25/21, Auburn, CA
Distances:	5K
Time:	50:56 (Unofficial)
Place:	2nd
Teammates:	Teammates- 10K: Dillon Holloway, Jim Kepfer, Troy Soares 5K: Ariel Soares, , Jesse Redding, Micah Redding & MANY OTHER AUBURN FRIENDS

It’s Thanksgiving morning and it’s time to “race” before turkey dinner! It’s been a long while since my last race back in July! Hard to believe! The local food closet puts on this low key 5K/10K event to get folks to bring donations and canned goods. Many folks bring out there families to walk and some take it seriously too like us. I drop off our cans. Troy, Oscar and I go for a warm-up.

Before the race starts I get the chance to catch up with some old friends like David and Stephanie Holloway. It’s like a mini reunion. Anna is racing the CA state meet on Saturday but came out to support a friend. She’s going to stick with Troy for the first 5K running a conservative pace. Ariel is pumped up to run hard for the 5K. I hope to average 8 min pace. It’s a test run for the CIM relay I’m doing with Troy in a week.

I realize the race is about to start. Ariel and I barely get our watches ready before they say start! Go!

It’s a grueling start uphill through Downtown Auburn. We turn on Cherry and climb more. Troy and Anna are pulling away. Ariel is also running strong and pulls away from me too. I’m surrounded by kids that look to be 8 to 13 years old. I’m impressed with their effort up this hill!

We are all rewarded with a steep downhill down to Placer High School. I can see Troy and Anna far off in the distance. Ariel is moving farther from me. Jim Kepfer, local running great and Ariel’s XC coach, and his daughter catch up to me and pass. They make it look so easy!

Mile 1 is 7:59. On pace. Glad I had that downhill to get my average down! Back uphill as we come around the front of Placer and run up past the fairgrounds to the Overlook. Troy and Anna are no longer in sight. I see Mr. Kepfer catching up to Ariel. I hope she tries to stay with him!

I’m thankful for the downhill to Railhead park. I get another chance to bring down my average.

Mile 2 is 8:06. Pretty good! I pick it up to try to catch up to Ariel. I try to shout to her to encourage her to go after Mr. Kepfer but I don’t think she can hear me.

I’m feeling good and moving well as I continue to run downhill. I’m running 7:30 pace and catching Ariel. I don’t think I’ll catch her but trying!

Mile 3 is 7:54. Ariel is holding me off! I tell her good job as I pass the start to do another loop. I hear Anna cheering me on.

Uphill again! It’s slower going this time but I fight through the fatigue and remain hopeful I can maintain close to my goal pace. I push the downhill and don’t make up as much time this time.

Mile 4 is 8:22. Ok, not as fast as last time here but keep pressing on. I’m catching up now to some families walking the 5K.

I head up to the Overlook and see lots walking families! I spend the next half mile passing the huge crowds of smiling parents and kids. Fun to see so many out enjoying this beautiful sunny Thanksgiving day!

Mile 5 is 8:22. I’ve got to push this last downhill mile to get my average close to 8 min! I start to see the pace finally dip to under 8:10 pace. Let’s go!

I still have families to pass so I carefully pass on busy Auburn Folsom Road. The pace is dropping!

Mile 6 is 7:44. Down to the finish! I push and finish at 50:56 with a 8:05 min pace average. I’ll take it. Thank you Lord! Thank you for the opportunity to race with my family in our backyard!

Run to Stock the Closet 5K–Ariel-2021

Date/Location:	11/25/21, Auburn, CA
Distances:	5K
Time:	24:48 (Unofficial)
Place:	2nd
Teammates:	Teammates- 10K: Dillon Holloway, Jim Kepfer, Robin Soares 5K: Ariel Soares, , Jesse Redding, Micah Redding & MANY OTHER AUBURN FRIENDS

Ug, I forgot to turn on my Garmin. I quickly turn it on, but I know it will take a while to turn on completely. I usually turn it on 5 to 10 minutes before I run because sometimes it takes forever to load. I'm getting worried now because I don't know if my Garmin will be ready in time. I ask God for Him to turn on my Garmin and line up at the starting line. I glance down at my Garmin, it’s still at one bar(it has to get to five before it’s ready)! I hear “Go!”. Right as “go” is yelled my Garmin vibrates to tell me that it is ready. Thank you, God! I hit the start and run after the people that just started.

I catch up to mom because she said she was going to run 8-minute pace, which is what I wanted to run. I looked at my watch, we were running at an 8:30 pace. I told her I going to run ahead to get my goal pace. I start running ahead as we round a corner. On the other side of the corner, there is a huge hill. Going up it was tough, but at least it’s down the other side. At the top, my Garmin says 8:05 pace. I run down the hill with a lot of speed to make up for the lost time. I pass the entrance to the Placer track. I catch some boys and pass them. I’m running along Placer now. After a little bit, I reach 1 mile. I did it at 7:50 pace. I'm ahead of schedule!

I keep running and try to keep this pace, I can get my fastest 5K and my goal, 24:00. I keep running this place. I turn onto a road and go by my family’s friends house, the Glass’s. Then, I keep running and end up by Overlook Park. I hear some one coming up behind me. I turn to see who it is and I see my old music teacher/crosscountry coach, Mr. Kepfer. We talk a little bit before he runs ahead. I can still see Dad and Anna a little bit in the distance running with Oscar I go around a cornor and run by Railhead. I'm a little tempted to go get a drink of water, but I don't want to lose time. Next to Railhead Park, I run over some train tracks. I know I'm close. My Garmin beeps and vibrates for 2 miles. Yay, I'm almost there! Just one more mile. This mile was 8:00 pace.

I keep running, it's basically downhill from here. I cross a road and then come to an intersection. I see no one turning, so I do a half sprint across the road. It isn’t long before I have to do the same thing. I come to another intersection. This one I have to wait a couple seconds for a car to finish crossing my path then, I rush across. There sure are a lot of intersections on the street. I'm so close. I run faster. I pass the Fairgrounds and keep going up ahead I can see Mr. Kepfer and Anna's friend’s sister. I'm pretty sure she's in the same grade as me. I see that I’m almost to the finish line. I look at my Garmin and it is almost at 3 miles. Oh, no! I remember that it is 3.1. This is bad because I scheduled 8:00 minutes per mile and I totally forgot about the extra point 1. So my goal is to get 24 minutes is out the window, my next goal is to get a better time then my last 5k, 24:42. I start speeding up because the finish line is close and that is the only way to get my new goal. I turn a corner and see a small hill. I know that this is the last hill. Even though it's small it is still a challenge. I speed up it and then speed down the hill. I can see the finish spot. I’m already past 24 minutes. I sprint down the sidewalk. I finish! I look at my Garmin. 24:48, just barely off.

Run to Stock the Closet 5K–Anna-2021

Date/Location:	11/25/21, Auburn, CA
Distances:	5K
Time:	23:00 (Unofficial)
Place:	2nd
Teammates:	Teammates- 10K: Dillon Holloway, Jim Kepfer, Robin Soares 5K: Ariel Soares, , Jesse Redding, Micah Redding & MANY OTHER AUBURN FRIENDS

I show up to the Turkey Trot excited to run. I’m not going to fully be racing it because I have my cross country state meet coming up in 2 days. I see my friend Jessie who I invited to run with me. We hang out and get ready to run. I head over to the start and my dad tells me to stay with him during the run to get a good pace. He is doing the 10k while I’m doing the 5k. Ready, Set, Go!

We take off running up through downtown. I enjoy the sites while making sure the top runners, including my friend, don’t go the wrong way. We hit the first hard hill which makes me work hard. At the top, the top runners start to head the wrong way. Dad and I quickly tell them the right way to go. The signs are a little confusing, but once we run for a while everyone understands them. We run around Placer school heading out to the main road. Jessie's sister is running in front of us. She is doing a great pace and is fun to run with. We start to head over to Overlook and Railhead park. I’m starting to feel a little tired but overall it feels like a good pace. Around Railhead park I see some remote control planes in the air. I enjoy watching them as I run. We get to a down hill leading us towards the railroad tracks. As we cross the railroad tracks I remember last year when I ran with my dad. It used to be really hard but now I can stay up with him. It’s nice to run and talk with him, while racing. We run past 7-11, my cross country coach’s favorite store, and continue towards downtown, the finish line. We start to pick up the pace a little bit as we near the finish line. I’m starting to feel tired, and I hope I don’t feel this in my cross country state race coming up. We get close to the finish and start to go up our last hill. This definitely hurts, but at least it’s the last hill. I remember back to when my dad told Jessie’s sister that the hill by Railhead was the last hill. Hopefully this doesn't hurt her much. I push to the top of the hill and run down to downtown. I push ahead of dad and finish in the square. I never seem to finish in the right spot beacuse it is an unofficial race. My dad continues to run a second lap to do the 10k.

I see that Jessie has finished ahead of me and got 1st place. I also find out I got second place, which is a surprise. Jessie’s sister gets 3rd behind me. After we take a picture Jessie feels like she still has energy left and goes out for another lap for fun. She is very fast. My sister finishes running strong and eventually my dad and mom finish. It was a great Turkey Race and God thankfully kepted my hip and ankle strong.

Praise the Lord for He Is Good, His Love Endures Forever.