Fayette Charity 10K – Fayetteville, Georgia

What would have been the local 4th annual March For Meals 5K/1 Mile Run Walk was this year transformed into the Fayette Charity Classic. The scope was broadened to include other charities in Fayette County in an effort ‘to raise awareness and money for non-profits countywide.’

It was possible to register and pay online for this event. For me that was a good thing because my schedule has been hectic since the release of Blood and Magnolias. It was also possible to assign a portion of your registration to the charity of your choice. I liked that idea and my contribution went to Promise House an organization focused on providing assistance to victims of domestic abuse and their children. Promise House ‘serves over 3,000 victims each year’ and ‘reaches over 3,000 students through their Teen Dating Violence classes.’

On to the race… The run offered a 2K, a 5K, and a 10K. Since I am still recovering from my MCL injury, I opted for the 5K and ‘X’ taped my knee just to be safe. Registration on March 17 began before the sun was up and many were decked out in green, boldly declaring they were Irish or motivated by the Holiday, not sure just which. Some of their outfits were worthy of a picture, but I didn’t have any place to carry my camera. Drat! Others were experiencing goose bumps as the predawn air was a bit cool. However, the weather was conducive to exercise. In my estimation, perfect running weather and the pollen was not yet oppressive.

After a brief warm up, with music, the racers were staged for the race to begin. I have to admit that I now know how a race horse must feel in the post position getting ready for the gate to drop. Already antsy because I was about an hour behind the time for my usual daily dose of sidewalk fusion, I couldn’t keep still. I was chomping at the bit. The first starting pistol crack sent the 10K racers off and after a brief delay the 5Kers followed. The course was dry and relatively free of obstacles. People stood on the sidewalks and in their doorways along the route either to show support or be amused by the people parade. We were quite a diverse group and likely very entertaining.

I should have expected some sort of mishap when we passed the first checkpoint and the volunteer at that station was busy in conversation, oblivious to the runners and walkers. The groups spread out with some people intent on making the best time, others just there for the experience and to show their support, with most just doing their own thing. I sprinted, walked, sprinted, walked, sprinted, walked, and conversed as I walked or ran past people. I was practicing my ‘talking to people I don’t know’ mantra for the week. Most people were friendly and focused on doing their part to raise money for charity.

As with big group events, the ones behind the frontrunners just followed the people in front of them. This would have been fine, if as we made the first circle, the attendant at the transition point hadn’t been reading a book and let the runners just go their own way. When we dropped down the hill and it looked like we were in the home stretch, we were promptly informed that we were going the wrong way and needed to go back the way we came. At that same juncture, there was some fracas underway regarding the 10K runners being on 85. It was a bit like the lost leading the blind for a few minutes, until we reached that transition point again. Now there was someone there telling us which way to go, not the guy with the book–a very frustrated woman, who was obviously being overwhelmed by misguidance and misunderstandings.

Okay, so we are back on track. But, now we encounter people in the neighborhood who appear to be oblivious to the fact that the road is closed to traffic for the race. They are not happy and some of the transition point volunteers are unsure of how to handle these angry people who want to go down the road. Cars were turning around in the middle of the road or being held at bay by volunteers-the drivers believed the volunteers had no authority to tell them what to do. Tense and sticky for them. As the transition point volunteers were busy battling motorists, not everyone was being directed properly and, again, the course was unclear to some.

Despite the frustration and misdirection, most people stayed pleasant and cheerful, after all, this was a charity event-though motivation was getting harder to generate when people started feeling they were walking farther than they had intended.

I hit the finish line at number 95. Not bad for an old lady. How does that measure? No idea. Not sure what I ran, but I know it was more than a 5K. I heard people saying it was more like a 7K. Whatever it was, I enjoyed myself despite any hiccups. I met some people, found some potential volunteer opportunities, and became aware of things going on in the community.

I heard a few people grumbling and mumbling. I would like to remind these people that bringing an event like this together is a huge undertaking and sometimes details slip through the cracks or instructions are misinterpreted. Life happens despite our best efforts to plan its direction. We can be sure that the next one will be different-everything changes.

I’m not sure the event had a specific monetary goal, but it did raise some money and did offer the opportunity for people to be introduced to charities that are operating in the Fayetteville area.

If you didn’t participate this year, start prepping for next year and I’ll be watching for you!