I recently ran the Gainesville Fisher House Veterans Day 5k race. I was pleased to participate in this event that was well-organized and for a good cause.

Martin McCrory's Race Pace Photos took pictures of the event and as always they did an awesome job. I have purchased a number of digital images from him through SmugMug in the past and he has always been responsive and open to feedback. Here is a link to the Race Pace Photos gallery for this event:
http://www.racepacephotos.com/Events/...r-House-5k

The Florida Track Club also has a photo site at SmugMug with pictures of the event:
http://florida-track-club.smugmug.com...r-House-5K

It was a beautiful morning for a race, with blue skies and a huge American flag.


Photo copyright Race Pace Photos

I have a tendency to go out too fast so my race plan focused mainly on keeping the first mile under control. I executed the plan well, hitting my first mile split at 5:55. The second mile was 5:55.55 (all fives!). Even though the first two miles were spot-on, my third mile just didn't come together (third mile split was 6:14).

This is a photo of me approaching the last turn before the finish, probably less than 100 meters to go:


Photo copyright Race Pace Photos

Here I am making the last turn towards the finish line:


Photo copyright Race Pace Photos

My finish time of 18:33 (average 5:59 per mile) was good enough to win my age group. I am currently in marathon training (leading up to my first marathon in December), which isn't always conducive to running a fast 5k. I am looking forward to next calendar year when I can focus on shorter and faster performances, and hopefully hit my goal of running a sub-17 minute 5k.

Official race results here: http://start2finishracemanagement.com/race_results


Photo copyright Race Pace Photos

And finally, here is a picture of the race t-shirt with my award medal, race number, and race shoes (Inov-8 Bare-X 150).