Recap: Orchard House 10k

Our starting line!

Two major passions of mine are running (which many of you know about), and nerditude (less explicitly mentioned, but I'm sure detectable!). So when I saw the opportunity to run a race at Orchard House, the storied locale of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women...there was NO way it wasn't happening. Much like with any piece of clothing I try on that fits, I was committed from the moment I realized it worked. 

Check out those starting guns!

This morning, I got to the site early and watched as the race staff set up the course and registration table. As someone who's had the opportunity to be a part of race administration, I have an odd attraction to this part. This group did a great job, and I was so happy to take part in the race because of them and all of their hard work.

There it is...Alcott's Orchard House.

Once the race started, it was the scenery that kept my head in the game as my body fought what I was doing. Between moving and starting a new job, my running routine has been slow in coming together. I felt this 6.2 FAR more than I normally do, and my performance suffered from it at times. What brought me back? The sights and sounds of Concord, MA. In true nerd form, I ran this race to Thomas Newman's score to the 1994 Little Women, starring Winona Ryder and a young (far better) Kirsten Dunst. It was the perfect soundtrack for this run- winding in and out of town squares and past historical sites, it was an amazing way to bring the movie to life. As I passed a pond, I wondered if that was where Amy fell through the ice while skating with Laurie and Jo. Seeing neighboring older houses, I wondered which one belonged to the sometimes illusive Mr. Laurence. And I couldn't help but imagine what the town looks like at Christmastime, as so many scenes in the book described.

My soundtrack for the day (natch)

It was a shock to the system to run so much further than any of my runs in MA to date, but it was a shock in the best possible way. As I rounded the last corner, awesomely enough at Thoreau and Walden Streets, I felt renewed to keep making running a part of my life, and to pick races that are really meaningful to me like this one was. 

And speaking of meaningful, there are a LOT of thank your owed for this race! As many of you know, I've been raising money this summer for Women's Health's Run 10 Feed 10 initiative, and this was the race I selected to run for that. To all who gave money, spread the word, and generally supported those efforts- thank you. To those who endured my endless calls for money but did not give...thank you too, for I got no complaints :) To Allison, who lent me her car for the trip to Concord- THANK YOU! I literally could not have done it without you, and your iced coffee is on its way :)

This race made a difference in a great many ways, and I'm excited to see what comes next as a result of it!

You've made me a very happy girl! :)