2017 Trooper Iwaniec Memorial Race Report

This year was the eighth year for the TakeOff 5k/10k Trooper Kenton Iwaniec Memorial Race.  This race is to honor Trooper Kenton Iwaniec, who passed away in a car accident when he was hit by a drunk driver.  You can read more at http://www.trooperiwaniec.org.  The race was held at Saint Vincent college, where the Pittsburgh Steelers train.

I went to this race to volunteer with my wife and members of Run Greensburg.  My job volunteering was to direct racers to the proper check in areas.  The registration and packet pick-up were very organized and cleared out a good bit before the start of the race, so I went and signed up for the 10k.  I only had the pair of pants that I wore there, (I didn't plan on running), but hey, why not?

So I rolled them up and walked out to the start line.  Before the start of the 5k and 10k they had the kids 1/2 mile run and a 100 meter dash for kids 6 and under .

My daughter and her best friend ran the 1/2 mile (rather quickly, and they are just 6 and 7)
 Right after the kids ran they sent us on our way.  The 10k and 5k both started at the same time.  The 10k was 2 loops of the 5k course.  The race started off mostly down hill, then on the back side there was several good up hills.  According to my Garmin the elevation gain was around 400 feet.  The course was laid out very nicely and there were plenty of water stations.  After finishing the first lap the 5k racers turned right and crossed the finish and the 10k runners turned left for our second lap.  The second lap was the exact same course.  So back around and then through the finish.

This was my fastest time for a 10k, although it was my first official 10k.  All other times were from training runs or part of a longer run.

After crossing the finish line there was tons of food and drinks for the racers back inside.

For me this was a perfect day for a race, it was pretty cool at the start but it was nice once you got moving.  The course was great and there were a lot of officers running to honor Trooper Iwaniec.  

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2017 Race For Grace Race Report

This year was the 10th annual Race for Grace.  The race was held at Norwin High School in North Huntington, PA.  It is put on by the Reflections of Grace Foundation to raise funds and  awareness of DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.)

We were able to pick up our packets the morning of the race, since we were unable to get it mid-week.  Packet pickup was in the gym and very organized. We quickly had our packets in hand and we picked up our goodie bag too.  There was a group of us doing the race from Fit N Fun Life and Run Greensburg.  The shirts looked amazing this year.

There are 3 options for the race, a 5k run, 5k walk, and a 1 mile kids race.  We ran the 5k run and our daughter ran the 1 mile kids race.  The kids race is 4 laps around the school's track.  It is setup so every 100 meters or so they have fun things for the kids to do, like lunges, hop like a bunny, crab walk, and a few others.  The location to do the exercises were marked by volunteers dressed as super heroes and princesses.  This makes it so much fun for the kids.

The 5k course is fairly challenging, with several hills.  According to my Garmin there is around 315 ft of elevation gain.  There was several water stops along the way, and lots of volunteers to keep you going in the right direction.  After crossing the finish line there were lots of snacks and drinks.  (Smiley Cookies!)

This is a great race to take the family to.  Not only do they have the kids race, but after the race there are tons of activities for the kids.  They open one of the gyms for games, face painting, hair and nails and other activities.  This was all included with the band my daughter received for running the 1 mile kids race.  This event is one we look forward to every year!

See More at: Fit N Fun.Life