Dawg Dash

Today was the 28th Annual Dawg Dash. Each year it is held by the University of Washington's Alumni Association as a scholarship fundraiser. A few years back I ran the 5k and (despite the rain) it was stunning! You run through what is arguably the most beautiful college campus anywhere. This year was no different. Although I ran the 10k and there wasn't any rain, so a little different, I suppose.

 This was a dog and stroller friendly race which is always an interesting element to toss at runners. For the most part it was not an issue or distraction except for a couple people who brought dogs which were unprepared for the amount of people surrounding them. There were many more in the 5k than there were in the 10k and that was fine by me. I had left my own pups at home since one is too old to run anymore and the other is too small to go more than a block.

The 5k went first at 9am and I, along with other 10kers, watched as thousands of people ran past. Leaving the empty starting corrals for us to fill. I had gotten there so early that it took a while for the corrals to fill up and I was filled with the dread that I might be the slowest person by so much that I would lose sight of the group of runners and never finish the race. The number 3710 on my bib should have been an indicator that others would soon arrive to fill in the emptiness but the pre-race nerves had a bit of a hold at the moment.

A half hour later, we started in the campus' Red Square (where ESPN College Game Day was hosted just last week). The race ran directly off campus and down Greek Row, which we were told would be the highest elevation on the course. But on a course as hilly as this that wasn't much of a consolation.

There were trees lining the course with their leaves turning all sorts of beautiful shades of reds, oranges, and yellows. The ones near Greek Row also happened to have some sort of fruits that were falling with the leaves. After having been trampled by several thousand people it was impossible to tell what they used to be and only hope they didn't stick to your shoes (or turn out to be doggie droppings, instead).

 We went down hill into Ravenna Park where we hit our first and second mile markers. The first bit of mile 2 was down hill before it flattened out but mile 3 compensated by being one mammoth of a hill. So were miles 4 and 5 and most of 6, too. The course was brutal with all the ups and downs. The course went from running in the streets to sidewalks, dirt paths, the Burke-Gilman Trail, and cross-campus pathways. We looped around fountains and past buildings with the type of Gothic architecture that made one think you would expect Harry Potter to walk out of one at any moment. Alas, he never showed and it was just us smelly, panting runners left to our own devices. All across the campus there were signs with fun facts about UW Alumni sticking out of the grass and I enjoyed reading several of them, especially when I had heard of the person the fact was about!

The race ended in the main quad with plenty of booths set up around the adjoining Red Square for participants to peruse. Though, I'll admit, as I crossed the finish line my watch indicated to me that I had just PRed and I had a hard time paying attention to anything else going on.

All in all, it was a beautiful course on a day with the perfect temperatures and I was absolutely thrilled I had dragged myself out of bed to go. This is a race I would recommend to anyone and would happily run many more times given the chance.

That's Red Square and the starting line in the background

Shirt: Avia
Shorts: Lululemon
Shoes: Nike Flex TR
Watch: Garmin
Tape: KT Tape