DATE: June 07, 2024
DISTANCE: 5K
PLACE: Congressional Cemetery, Washington DC
WEATHER: 83F
OFFICIAL TIME / PACE: 32:14/ 10:22 min/mi
FINISHERS: 1297
SWAG: Tech T, medal, beer, dancing, random nibbles, annoyance ;)
General Overview:
Last friday was my first (and probably last) Pride Run as a resident of the DMV. The race was organized by the DC Front Runners (DCFR), and it took place in a cemetery of all places. According to the DCFR Pride Run website, on the why of having this race in the Congressional Cemetery.
“Beyond the Historic Congressional Cemetery being a beautiful and peaceful place to hold an event, it’s also rich with history. Not only is it the burial site of members of Congress, Civil Rights leaders, Women’s Suffrage leaders, and notable members of the FBI, but the cemetery is also the final resting place of Leonard Matlovich, an American Vietnam War Veteran, recipient of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal, and a gay rights and AIDS activist in the 1970s and 1980s.”
I hate to be one of those folks who always compares one city to another, but I have to say that I think Front Runners NYC (FRNY) does a better Pride Run than DCFR. However, I think DCFR solely organizes its Pride Run, whereas FRNY collaborates with the New York Road Runners (NYRR), which has more resources, to organize its Pride run.
I don't know, but it felt kind of weird running in a cemetery. Actually, I take that back, it felt a little disrespectful to run a race in a cemetery - especially when some folks were using tombstones as spots to place their post-race beers and other post-race crap.
Ok. Yes, I did see that the Congressional Cemetery was the location of the race. BUT, I assumed that the race would be held in a park or the neighborhood NEAR the cemetery, not inside of the cemetery. Well, I can cross running in a cemetery off of my bucket list. Wait! Well, I can put running in a cemetery on my bucket list, then cross it off of the list. ;)
The Course:
Hee Hee. Is it me, or does the course kind of look like a snake?
Overall, I thought the course was a hot a** mess. I'll qualify that statement by saying that I thought the course was a hot mess for the number of folks (~1200 runners). Why? For about 90% of the race, there were limited places to pass, and we were pretty much on top of each other until the last 200 or so meters. The worst part: about 1.75 miles into the race, there was a hairpin turn so what was a one-way "street" became a two-way "street" with even less room to move when the faster runners were returning to the cemetery.
Another thing that made this race a congested mess: The organizers did not have any sort of corralling system, except for the folks that were running at a sub 7-minute/mile pace. Of course, many folks nowadays do not have any self awareness. So, folks lined up near the front of the racing field knowing that they were either very slow runners or were planning to walk. I do not understand why people do this. If you know that you are planning to walk a race, LINE UP IN THE BACK. There was absolutely no reason for folks who lined up near the front to start walking as soon as they crossed the start line. I'm actually surprised that there were not more injuries. During the race, I almost tripped a few times because some folks would just come to an abrupt stop before walking. Also, the fact that most of the course was on cobblestone and uneven paths did not really help matters.
Other than those two (major) issues, I had a bit of a blast. ;) I'll say that it was a different experience running a race at 7 pm . . . Well, the organizers started late, so we didn't begin running until 7:30 pm. Ugh, the humidity in the mid-Atlantic is no joke because it was still humid AF at 7:30 pm. Man, I cannot wait until I lose enough weight so I will not be too self-conscious over running shirtless.
I'm not sure if my finishing time is truly reflective of my effort. On one hand, I probably could have run faster, but I did not want to risk injuring myself or others while running in the congested pack. On the other hand, maybe I ran faster than anticipated because whenever there was some free space or an opportunity to pass a group of walkers or slower runners, I took it.
I'll say something nice: I thought the medal and T-shirt were nice.
Although there was a post-race party, the hubby and I decided to drink our beers and head to the nearest spot to find food. Also, I did not really want to stick around, because I thought it was a bit weird to have a post-race dance party in a cemetery. Fortunately for us, there was a nearby bougie food court that had a nice selection of food options. This worked out well for me because I was hungry AF, but I did not know specifically what I wanted to eat. I pretty much had a modest spread of post-race bites.
Concluding Thoughts:
While I think it is/was great (and important) to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride (especially because I'm in the community), I do not think that I will run this race again. Maybe next year, I'll donate what I would have paid in registration fees to an LGBTQ+ organization. OR, I'll register with the intention of walking the 5K, BUT I will be sure to start at the back of the pack.
Something that I noticed. While living in NYC, I joined FRNY after chatting with some FRNY runners during the post-race party of my first NYC Pride Run, which was held in Central Park, NOT in a cemetery. Upon finishing the DCFR Pride Run, I had no interest in chatting with any of DCFR members (absolutely no shade to DCFR), I simply wanted to finish my beer, change into a dry shirt, get a feeding, and go home. Actually, I thought it was interesting that DCFR did not have a booth or table for attracting potential members. Maybe they had a table or an area, but I did not see it since I left shortly after finishing the race.