Sint Elisabeth's Charity Run

It's that time of the year again...time for the Sint Elisabeth's Charity Run. Actually, this is a rather momentous occasion! It happens to be the 20th Anniversary of the run. After my less than stellar performance last year, I was determined to do better. We were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous Friday morning for the event. Between that and the fact that all proceeds go to help out Sint Elisabeth's Special Needs school, I had all the motivation I needed to get out there and really run. Russ signed up for one of the the longer legs of the race, but I stuck to the 5K. (You can sign up for as long as 25K, but that's a tad extreme for me.) Anyhoo, when Russ and the rest of the overachievers trotted into Peer, I joined in the fun. I was fresh as a daisy, so it was all they could do to keep up with me. (Don't tell anyone, but I had to slow my pace down a tad so that I didn't embarrass them.) I kept up my 9 minute mile for the entire 5K and made such an impressive finish, they not only awarded me a huge trophy, but they also asked me to serve as Master of Ceremony for next years event. OK, maybe it didn't go exactly like that. I did join in with Russ and the gang at the 5K mark. After that, it all gets a little fuzzy. It must have been all that wheezing and panting. I had flash backs to last years event. I did keep up a better pace this year, though. Russ ran at my speed and kept encouraging me, so that helped distract me a lot. The scenery was just as pretty as last year, and the horses and cattle in fields along the road ran in circles and cheered us on. The locals did the same. I finished without embarrassing myself too badly, so I left with a feeling of accomplishment. I didn't have my trusty photographer there this year (she had to go to school), but I did spot a couple of people taking pics along the way. If I can get my hands on one, I'll add it to this post, but only if it's one from the early part of the race. No one wants to see what I looked like by the end. It wasn't pretty.

Sint Elisabeth's Charity Run

After warm and sunny weather all week, Friday morning arrived overcast and chilly. Some people might have chosen to stay inside with a nice cup of coffee and a good book, but not our lovely group of KBers. We were participating in the Sint Elisabeth's Charity Run. Sint Elisabeth's School is a school for kids aged 2 1/5 to 13 years old who have autism, so we were very happy to take part in this event to raise money for the school. Not only that, you get a snazzy neon green race shirt. Woohoo! You could sign up for different distances, and the buses dropped each group off at their specific spot on the race trail. The 20k group started first, and as they wove their way across the countryside, they passed the 15k, 10k, 5k, and 1k groups, who then joined the run in the back of the pack. I chose the 5K, because I'm new to this whole exercise thing, and figured that this was all I could handle for now. Now this is all good and fun, except for one dreaded thing...the slow bus. They want all of the runners to stay together, so if you fall behind, they pick you up in the bus, catch up with the group, and drop you off again. It practically stalks you, but it's a matter of pride. You do NOT want to be picked up by the slow bus. It's the ride of shame. My fellow 5kers and I started on one side of Peer, and jogged through the cobbled stone streets down the center of the town and out the other side. Some people stood by the roadside and cheered us on. Others looked at us like we were more than a little bit crazy. (Apparently no one had told THEM about the run, and they were wondering why strange people were running down the street dressed like neon green highlighters.) Anyhoo, we made it through Peer and then jogged off through the countryside. We traveled by green fields full of sheep and cows. Farmers paused in their work to admire us as we passed by. Horses ran back and forth along the fence line, tossing their heads up and down as if cheering us on. It would have been very enjoyable if it hadn't been for all that wheezing and panting I kept hearing. Oh, wait. That was me. My bad. I did make it, though. The whole way! I'm very proud of myself for completing my first race in Belgium. Yes, I know that I have an incredibly goofy look on my face, but I was so relieved to reach the finish like that I was practically giggling. When I wasn't panting, that is. It got a little crowded at the end, because all of the local school kids joined for the last 1k of the race. Brandon's school brought them over in a bus, so they got to participate as well. A good time was had by all. Here I am with my trusty photographer. Jess had the day off of school, so she hung out at the finish line and took pictures of people as they came by. We all hung out at the end and relaxed for a little bit. There were sandwiches, beer and coffee. It's Belgium, after all. Oh, one more thing. I'd like to apologize to Brandon's bus driver. I really didn't mean to give you that nasty look. I thought you were the slow bus creeping up on me, and I was SOOOO not getting in that thing. Once again, my bad.