Baltimore Shamrock 5K is my kind of race
There is a lot of love for the Irish in Baltimore, in fact so much so it got me to thinking that with all the ‘Irish’ folk celebrating yesterday, today and officially tomorrow, I think the USA could qualify quite easily qualify for an entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.
I ran the 5k in Charm City for the Shamrock 5K and it was pretty awesome. Cold, but awesome.
There was a sea of green with four leaf clovers and leprechaun hats everywhere. Who knows where the real Irish folk were, but it didn’t really matter, because everyone was there having a good time.
The real racers legged it in front, passing us on their third mile as we undertook the second. The crowd cheered us on, waving their green banners and Irish flags. Oh the love for St Paddy’s Day!
The 5K is my kind of race, because I get bored if it’s any longer. I hooked up with some friends in mile one and we stayed together until I decided to push myself on the third mile and ended up with a time of 26.54. Not bad, I’ll take that thanks very much.
There are all kinds of people running the race – serious ones, kids, people with push chairs, folks in costumes and those who have probably gone from Couch to 5K. Respect to them all. The atmosphere was super fun and everyone was having a great time, especially with a free beer afterwards.
I’m going to do the Electric Run in Baltimore in July and the Ridiculous Objects Race in Washington in June and hope to get in to do the Color Run in Baltimore in September. And then there’s the Zombie Run in October.
Racing for me should be fun, just like this one was. I like Zumbathons and netball matches because they are constantly interesting over the course of three hours – a marathon holds no appeal to me, even with a good playlist! I have a low boredom threshold I think!
It was a great race – good job, Baltimore! Charming, yet again.
Claire Bolden McGill is a British expat who lived in Maryland for three years and moved back to the UK in August 2015. Claire wrote about her life as a British expat on the East Coast and now works in travel and hospitality PR in the UK. She still finds time to blog about her repatriation and the reverse culture shock that ensued – and she still hasn’t finished that novel, but she’s working on it. You can contact Claire via twitter on @clairebmcgill or via her blog From America to England.