This is an annual Veterans day 5K in Mendon Ponds. However it is on the roads not the trails. I was excited that Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) was able to … MORE
This is an annual Veterans day 5K in Mendon Ponds. However it is on the roads not the trails. I was excited that Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) was able to hold another live event. However when I went to register and check out the details I was initially disappointed they were reverting back to old rolling start of the earlier pandemic days rather than the more exciting small waves of 40 starts they had been doing. However this ended up being very fortunate. On Monday it was announced that Monroe County (where Rochester is) is in the “yellow zone” so gathering sizes are now limited to 25 people. I thought for sure this race was going to be canceled but YJR made it happen! The rolling start was much easier to adjust to “yellow zone” rules than the waves of 40 which would have broken the size gathering limit. I have no idea if YJR was lucky they changed to a rolling start or are that good at organizing races they knew this was coming (I’m thinking a little of both). There were a ton of race updates since Monday which was very appreciated with the uncertainty and a super, super, super detailed covid plan. It was highly recommended to get your packet outside the store the day before which I did. Packet also included a T-shirt. Just a normal navy blue T-shirt with the race name and an American flag. There was a rolling start from 10 to 1pm (initially 10 to noon but extended for more social distancing). For the race only 20 participants were allowed in the start or finish area at the time (so total of 25 with participants + volunteers and RD). The RD was constantly counting the number of people and if there were too many you would be asked to wait. You were instructed to have your headphones and watch all set up as you had to just go as soon as you got your temp taken. There was some music but this was definitely the least exciting start for any pandemic race I did. The race is usually an out and back entirely on the roads of Mendon Pond Park but this year to keep it open to traffic they adjusted the course so it was a loop and to make the distance work there was a little more than half a mile on non-technical trail. The weather was back to being gray and drizzly and was perfect running temp. I felt worse than I thought I would since I was more sore from my marathon than I thought I would be but I was actually able to run okay. While obviously this was an easy race compared to a marathon or one of the dirt trail cheap races I thought it was moderately challenging for a fun, family friendly 5K. The road portions have a lot of inclines and declines but nothing too steep. The trail portion used for this race would normally be easy to run on but there was a light rain so it was a little muddy. The roads of Mendon Park are quite pretty but the trees were definitely past peak foliage and most had no leaves. It was kind of eerie looking with the gloomy weather. There were participants of all abilities and a lot of people dressed in stars and stripes or carrying flags and it seemed like it would normally be a really fun event. At the finish line you got your bag of food and just left. There was no medal this year. Previous years had medals. I’m not sure if it was due to covid and not wanting to spend money when a race might not happen or a permanent thing. I love medals but don’t need them for every cheap 5K I do so this wouldn’t stop me from doing the race again. You then had to just leave other than the RD congratulating me when I walked past her to my car and me thanking her for holding the race there was not a lot of interaction with other people and this felt kind of like a training run but was extremely safe and better than virtual. Definitely not the RD or YJR fault but the fault of rising covid rates. As this race was (appropriately) going backwards in terms of being more socially distant I am concerned the next step is no races so I enjoyed this one as much as I could while still feeling sore from my marathon. I was very impressed with my time given the circumstances and how I was feeling. It was definitely not my fastest 5K and was nowhere near my usual goal of sub-30 but it was also nowhere near my slowest. This was a nice local 5K and good way to support my local race company and local veterans. The only reason I may not do it again is it is normally at 11am on Veterans Day which is not a holiday I normally get off but just happened to be on vacation today but may see if I can squeeze it in during a lunch break. Would recommend it to locals if you have Veterans day off.
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This is an annual Veterans day 5K in Mendon Ponds. However it is on the roads not the trails. I was excited that Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) was able to … MORE
This is an annual Veterans day 5K in Mendon Ponds. However it is on the roads not the trails. I was excited that Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR) was able to hold another live event. However when I went to register and check out the details I was initially disappointed they were reverting back to old rolling start of the earlier pandemic days rather than the more exciting small waves of 40 starts they had been doing. However this ended up being very fortunate. On Monday it was announced that Monroe County (where Rochester is) is in the “yellow zone” so gathering sizes are now limited to 25 people. I thought for sure this race was going to be canceled but YJR made it happen! The rolling start was much easier to adjust to “yellow zone” rules than the waves of 40 which would have broken the size gathering limit. I have no idea if YJR was lucky they changed to a rolling start or are that good at organizing races they knew this was coming (I’m thinking a little of both). There were a ton of race updates since Monday which was very appreciated with the uncertainty and a super, super, super detailed covid plan. It was highly recommended to get your packet outside the store the day before which I did. Packet also included a T-shirt. Just a normal navy blue T-shirt with the race name and an American flag. There was a rolling start from 10 to 1pm (initially 10 to noon but extended for more social distancing). For the race only 20 participants were allowed in the start or finish area at the time (so total of 25 with participants + volunteers and RD). The RD was constantly counting the number of people and if there were too many you would be asked to wait. You were instructed to have your headphones and watch all set up as you had to just go as soon as you got your temp taken. There was some music but this was definitely the least exciting start for any pandemic race I did. The race is usually an out and back entirely on the roads of Mendon Pond Park but this year to keep it open to traffic they adjusted the course so it was a loop and to make the distance work there was a little more than half a mile on non-technical trail. The weather was back to being gray and drizzly and was perfect running temp. I felt worse than I thought I would since I was more sore from my marathon than I thought I would be but I was actually able to run okay. While obviously this was an easy race compared to a marathon or one of the dirt trail cheap races I thought it was moderately challenging for a fun, family friendly 5K. The road portions have a lot of inclines and declines but nothing too steep. The trail portion used for this race would normally be easy to run on but there was a light rain so it was a little muddy. The roads of Mendon Park are quite pretty but the trees were definitely past peak foliage and most had no leaves. It was kind of eerie looking with the gloomy weather. There were participants of all abilities and a lot of people dressed in stars and stripes or carrying flags and it seemed like it would normally be a really fun event. At the finish line you got your bag of food and just left. There was no medal this year. Previous years had medals. I’m not sure if it was due to covid and not wanting to spend money when a race might not happen or a permanent thing. I love medals but don’t need them for every cheap 5K I do so this wouldn’t stop me from doing the race again. You then had to just leave other than the RD congratulating me when I walked past her to my car and me thanking her for holding the race there was not a lot of interaction with other people and this felt kind of like a training run but was extremely safe and better than virtual. Definitely not the RD or YJR fault but the fault of rising covid rates. As this race was (appropriately) going backwards in terms of being more socially distant I am concerned the next step is no races so I enjoyed this one as much as I could while still feeling sore from my marathon. I was very impressed with my time given the circumstances and how I was feeling. It was definitely not my fastest 5K and was nowhere near my usual goal of sub-30 but it was also nowhere near my slowest. This was a nice local 5K and good way to support my local race company and local veterans. The only reason I may not do it again is it is normally at 11am on Veterans Day which is not a holiday I normally get off but just happened to be on vacation today but may see if I can squeeze it in during a lunch break. Would recommend it to locals if you have Veterans day off.