Did you know Toledo is Jeep Country?? Jeep is headquartered in Toledo and has a long history of making vehicles here in my hometown. This past weekend was “Jeep Fest” and the inaugural Jeep 4 Miler race downtown. I don’t run many races downtown, so it’s a special occasion when I do! It’s a great change of scenery.
This race is a Run Toledo race, and my fellow Ambassadors were out in full force. In fact, there were at least 3 people that didn’t make this group picture.
My son was my running buddy for this race. Since we just signed up for the race a few days ago, he hadn’t actually been training for it, but given that cross country practice has started, he’s in race shape (in my opinion. haha!). [editors note: YES, he IS getting so tall!!]
There were close to 1,200 people in the 4 mile race, and there was a 1 mile walk too. When the start gun went off, there was smoke (exhaust from tail pipes maybe?) shooting from the top of the race arch! We probably should have started a bit closer to the front because we did a lot of weaving around people, but it’s all good, we weren’t out for any world records for this race.
Miles 1 & 2: 8:58, 8:45 . LOVE this race picture btw!
Around mile 3 I saw a friend who was working security (she’s a cop). We had one of those awkward meetings where I thought we were going in for a sweaty hug, and she high fived me in the head. LOL!!! Oh well, the love was there, I’m sure of that.
After mile 3 we hit a stretch of sunny street. Up until now we had been mostly shaded by the tall city buildings. Zach requested a little bit of a walk break, so we did to catch our breath, and he tied his shoe. Mile 3: 9:30
Back at it, we cruised into the finish area, hands clasped and holding them high! That made me smile because it was his idea to hold hands when we finished. 🙂 Final mile, 9:00 . Finish time 35.59 (for Zach), 36:00 for me (doh, how is that fair!! haha).
In the finish area we were asked to do an interview for BCSN, who is the sports channel for the local cable TV provider. Who, us?? That was super fun! (and PS, I felt so SHORT during that interview. Why is everyone so tall??)
Promenade Park was the location of the race, which has a big screen and was televising the finish line. While we got refreshments, my friends told me they saw us on the jumbotron! Cool!!!
On a side note, enjoying a beer after the race seemed like a good idea… until I remembered it was only 9:30am. True fact, drinking in the morning makes for an unproductive day – by 3:00 pm I had to take a nap that day!! 😉
And then I went out for donuts on our way home from the race. Ooouf.
I then I felt compelled to run 2 more miles when I got home, in the heat, to get my 20 miles for the week. Let’s just say my stomach did not say “thanks” for that idea. Bleh.
Here’s the coolest thing of the race… a Jeep medal with headlights that actually light up!! By far the best medal design that I have.
We’ll put this one on our race calendar again next year!
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Q: What’s your favorite race medal?
Q: Have you ever owned a Jeep?
Q: What is your hometown famous for?
That looks like such a festive finish area! Congrats to you both. Zach definitely has Alan’s gait! I can just tell from pictures! That is a really cool medal for it to light up, I never saw anything like it. I do like how jeeps look but don’t they roll really easy? That makes me nervous!
I don’t think they roll any easier than other SUVs stock, but I could see if you put big tires on it that might be a concern? We are wondering what cool update the medal will get for next year! Maybe some nubby tires that move 🙂
By far, the Jeep 4-Miler is my favorite medal! And the coolest! I just got my dream Jeep a few months ago – best decision ever! I have been wanting one for nearly 20 years…now that my kids are older, we finally bit the bullet and went for it. They love it – although I’m still a little nervous with my adventurous 6-year old with the doors off! And I love that I am driving a Toledo built Jeep! I had to special order it (fun fact, very few dealerships have manual transmissions on the lot) so I got to drive past the plant every day while it was being built!
That is interesting about the manual transmissions! My husband special ordered his truck and we got to hear updates on its progress. Like waiting for a child to be born!! 🙂 I have a friend out of state who just bought a Jeep. He was really jealous when he saw my medal. He might come run it next year!
I love that medal! Congratulations on a great race and so glad you got to share it with family.
We’ve never had a Jeep. I always wanted one but my driver’s ed teacher discouraged it in high school and kept saying they had a high rate of flipping over. Maybe he just didn’t like Jeeps, I dunno.
Charleston is known for she crab soup, shrimp and grits, barbeque, and breweries.
It’s funny because I took a work trip “down South” one time and grits was the regional food we all had to try. You never see that around here! I liked it.
Jeep Fest was a very interesting weekend – so many fans with all sorts of modifications on their vehicles. Clearly your teacher was a hater. LOL!
Drinking a beer at 9:30am? You can never again lecture me on drinking beer! ha