Event #43 - Army Ten Miler

I can't believe that it has almost been 2 weeks since Dad, Nate and I ran the 29th Army Ten Miler. It was an amazing day and a great race for all of us. This was a special race for Dad as it was the 20th time he has run it. We were so excited to be able to run it with him and the rest of the 35,000 runners.

The Army Ten Miler has always been one of my favorite races for so many reasons. For one, I have always run it with my Dad, which is awesome. Then, you get to run through the streets of DC getting cheered on all along the way by thousands of spectators. And the best part is that everyone running has some connection to the Army, which has held such a special place in my heart. Every single runner is either a soldier, a veteran, a wounded warrior, a family member of a soldier or a supporter of the military. 

Nate & I at the airport in Baltimore. Excited for Race Weekend!

The weekend started with a trip into DC for the race expo to pick up our bib numbers. The expo was busy with runners and we all got our bibs and shirts before checking out some of the booths.

Nate & I at the expo

The Fisher House mascot - Team G Shock LOVES mascots! 

On Sunday, we woke up bright and early to get to the race and parked in what has become our usual spot. There happens to be a fairly large staircase that takes you down towards the Pentagon, which is fine on the way to the race but not the best thing after a 10 mile run. :) 

Downtown DC

Team G Shock's numbers..ready for race day!

We got to the starting area in plenty of time, which was nice even though it was a chilly morning. It was set up differently than the last time we ran the race, with everyone in separate corrals in different areas, but the race was well organized and the start moved along quickly. 

Once we started we all stayed together for the first few miles which was nice, and then Nate and I went out a little bit ahead of Dad. We saw some friends along the course which was fun (they even recognized our Team G Shock shirts!), and the spectators were awesome. There were some really funny signs (my favorites were "worst parade ever" and "you run better than the government") and lots of runners cheering each other on too. A runner even ran by me and asked "so, what race is this?" thanks to our "40 races and counting.." on the back of our new shirts. 

All of the training we did definitely paid off and we all cut some time off of the last time we ran the race 3 years ago. Here are our official results:

18,081st place - Sara Towne - 1:46:24

18,087th place - Nate Towne - 1:46:24

23,813rd place - Joe Ross - 2:07:10

Eaaaaaaarly morning before the race! 

After the race (and the giant staircase!). 

The race capped off a great weekend at home with friends and family, and was another amazing experience for Team G Shock! We're looking forward to more long race experiences, and even some upcoming short ones (more on that, tomorrow!). Keeping checking back for more updates!