RC Cola and Moonpie 10-Mile Run 2011

I thought about signing up for this race last year.  I went on active.com to register and while reading the information for the race came to the warning that said something to the effect that this race is hilly and will be hot and if you are not in shape for it you should not sign up for it.  Well, that was enough to scare the crap out of me, so I skipped it!   I did, however, make the drive to Bell Buckle for the RC Cola and Moonpie Festival so that I could partake in one of my favorite things; the deep fried moonpie.  I went with my friend Julia and arrived just as the last runners were coming towards the finish line.  It must have been close to 100 degrees at that time and I was so glad that I had come to my senses and not signed up to run it.

Julia cooling off from the 100 degree weather!

Julia eating her first deep fried moonpie.  I thought

 she had enjoyed it but I found out this year

that she didn't like it after all!

Well, fast forward a year and I decided I wanted to brave the heat and the hilly 10 miles!  I knew my friend, Inez, would be running it, although she almost didn't because of her heel.  I begged and begged my friend Kay to run it and she finally agreed!  And it took right up until the day before the run to finally convince Letitia to do it, but she signed up as well!  Inez's daughter, Elizabeth, was able to run it too and her son, J.B. went with them and rode his bike.

Here, I'd like to say that I can't blame Kay for not wanting to do the run.  She was moving to Mississippi and had to get packed, moved, move her sister, etc.  But, I finally convinced her this would be a good farewell run for us and luckily everything worked out and she was able to do it.  When I finally registered I was disappointed that the warning was no longer there!  Maybe they had an "in" with Mother Nature and knew the weather would be good.

So, on a not so hot day in June, we all converged on the small town of Bell Buckle, Tennessee, ready to tackle the 10-mile run.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't cool and it was definitely humid, but it wasn't as hot as it has been in past years.  Check in was quick and easy leaving plenty of time to prepare for the run and take a few pre-race pictures.

This is Kay, ready to rock n' roll!



Wow!  That is a lot of pink!!!!!

 So, I mentioned earlier that this would be my last run with Kay. Well technically that isn't true because we will be running our first full marathon together in October, but with her moving to Mississippi it is definitely our last opportunity to run together for a long time!  I've gotten used to our weekly runs after work, and have mentioned that her patience running with me was instrumental during my heart rate training!  I'm going to miss that so this seemed like a good way to end that era!

I really liked the route, and I didn't think the hills were too bad.  Add 10-15 degrees though and it might have been a different story.  I love running on country roads, which was one of the best things about Ragnar Tennessee last year, so this was a really nice route for that!




Inez just ahead of us in her patriotic red, white and blue!

I was actually taking a picture of the cattle crossing sign;

Inez just happened to be near it!



These cows were running with us at first but by the time

I got my camera out they were taking a run break!

I also assume they are the ones using the cattle crossing!



I guess the cows belonged here at

Happy Valley Livestock, Inc.


And the people of Bell Buckle are great!  At the top of the hill at mile 4 1/2 the family who lives out there was outside with ice water and a hose to cool us off!  They weren't an official water stop, they were just out there helping us out!!!! 

Just before the hill at mile 4 1/2. 

I don't think the picture does the hill justice.  Let's just say there
were a lot of people walking up it!

There was also a nice man out with his hose around mile 7!  It wasn't as hot as it has been in past years (from what I've heard) and the hose felt good so I can only imagine how great it must feel on those hot days! 

I was having a lot of fun with this run, as you can tell by the pictures.  It's not often that I stop on a run to do that.  I think Kay's expression says it all right here...

She kind of looks like she's saying "Enough with the pictures!", doesn't it?

But that didn't stop me.  I took a few more...

Letitia's Happy 40th birthday sign that we posted
just after the turn onto Liberty Pike!

And I even had her run ahead of me to get these shots of me running!  LOL

Crossing the finish line at the 2 hour mark. 
(Thanks Julia for the picture!)

It was a very fun run and I am looking forward to tackling it again next year!

Inez, Kay and Letitia enjoying the great spread the Moonpie Festival provided!





And I finally got my deep fried moonpie!  Yummy!!!!