Race Report: Governor's Village 5K (2015)

The 2nd Annual Governor's Village 5K & Fun Run!





For the second year in a row, the awesome Chick-fil-A University Place continues caring for the community around it by partnering with the Governor's Village Schools (Morehead STEM, Nathaniel Alexander Elementary, James Martin Middle, and Vance High School) for the Governor's Village 5K and Fun Run.  Hopefully this is the second year of many, as all money raised will go to college scholarships for students at each of the four Governor's Village schools.

Governor's Village.

Chick-fil-A is extremely active in the community, and in the Charlotte area the Chick-fil-A at University Place is no exception and was the lead sponsor for the run.  Joining the purveyor of tasty sandwiches was TIAA-CREF, which entered into a partnership in support of the four Governor's Village schools back in August 2011.  Two large churches also supported the run: Northside Baptist Church, which also allows the course to loop through its campus; and Elevation Church, which fielded over 100 runners.  The YMCA was there as well, always an amazing partner.

Sponsor board.
#GovVillage5K
Chickin Wins By A Mile.

Packet pickup was in the Chick-fil-A, and was very smooth.  All the employees were sporting the race day t-shirt, and the goodie bags had some good stuff, including a free loaf of bread from Great Harvest Bread Co. of North Charlotte - more on that later. The sponsor board was up and there was a stuffed cow motivating us to run.

I can run faster than this guy.
Doesn't even have his shoes on.

The shirts looked great!  I don't think the pictures below do it justice.  The orange and white looks great against the blue background of this technical tee.

Shirt front.

Shirt back.

The actual run was nice. The weather was a bit humid, and the temperatures were in the mid- to upper 60s for the 8am start.  Coming into the start area, every runner was cheered by a small section of students (volunteers?), letting us know we had plenty of time to get to the start, wishing us well.  Hard not to smile when you have a cheering section!

I arrived a couple of minutes before the start and was pleasantly surprised to find signs for different paces.  The 8-minute mile group seemed right for me, so I tucked into the crowd there.  I wasn't looking to run hard today, but still wanted to have a good run.

Towards the start line.
Hey!  I know that guy!
Up there on the left!
No, not that one.
You have no idea who I'm talking about.

The course was a lollipop:  we ran out of the school parking lot, down a road that led to the Northside campus, around the church campus, and then back up the road to the parking lot again.  Mile markers were provided by Chick-fil-A and TIAA-CREF (which was the title sponsor for the TIAA-CREF 1-Mile Fun Run).  The course wasn't overly hilly, and the gradual declines and inclines were very manageable.

All different levels were out for the run!  There were some speedsters, many middle of the pack folks, a lot of walkers, and I think I saw at least 3-4 people that started the run and then decided that it would be more fun to cheer on the runners instead.  Something for everyone!

I wasn't really keeping up with my pace, but felt like I was running well.  At the very end I ended up running with someone from Elevation Church - did I mention there were a few Elevators out there?  Like a quarter of the field?

Elevation Church.
Over 100 runners.
+ volunteers.
+ cows.

Anyway, I started my final kick and was starting to pass this other runner in an orange Elevation shirt.  Then he picked up the pace to match me.  So, having a little fun, I picked up the pace to match him.  We sped up a little more, then someone as we're coming into the parking lot says "Oh!  We've got a sprint to the finish!"  The other runner seemed pretty serious about coming in ahead of me, so I hung with him for a bit then let him go ahead.  Good finish!

I couldn't stay long afterwards but enjoyed the run.  Even with the 481 5K finishers, all of the fun-runners, the two cows, all of the volunteers and sponsors, it still felt like the race could easily double in size next year without causing any logistical issues.  There was plenty of parking, lots of room behind the start line for more runners, and a wide course with very little congestion after the first few feet of the run.

Afterwards I stopped by Great Harvest Bread Co. for my free loaf of bread. It's right next to Trader Joe's and was an easy pit stop on the way home.  I walked in and had a wonderful surprise: I knew the owner!

Small sign has four sentences:
Be loose and have fun.
Bake phenomenal bread.
Run fast to help customers.
And give generously to others.

She said she loved what she was doing, running the store.  I picked up my free loaf, bought a breakfast sandwich (delicious bacon, egg, and cheese with a garlic herb spread), and also a loaf of Cinnamon Challenge bread.  The Cinnamon Challenge loaf was a huge hit back home (ProTip:  melted butter takes it from awesome to magnificent).

Overall it was a nice run!  The sponsors were great, the course wasn't too hilly, the weather wasn't too wet, and it was all for a good cause.  Another one to consider for next year.



===  RACE DAY  ===
Race:  Governor's Village 5K
Location:  Charlotte, NC
Shoe:  Saucony Guide 7
Date:  4/18/2015
Distance: 5K
Time: 23:50
Pace:  7:41/mile
Overall:  30/481 (6.2%)
Gender:  25/189 (13.2%)
Group: 4/18 (22.2%)

===  LINKS  ===
Website:  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Queen City Timing, Chick-fil-A, Facebook
Registration:  Queen City Timing
Results:  Queen City Timing
Organizer Pics:  Chick-fil-A