Today we're celebrating Pioneer Day in Utah. And today I'm fortunate enough to not have to be at work at the hospital. This morning we choose to participate in the annual Temple to Temple 5K Run/Walk her in Provo.
I have to say, this year's event is definitely bigger than last year, although over half of the nearly 8,000 participants didn't register (for FREE) until the week of the event. In any case, there was a lot of excitement at the run this year and there were so many people just excited to be here.
So, with so many people running our little family decided to cheer on the first wave of runners and we waited about 2 minutes so that the first few thousand runners to sprint down the road and we could have some breathing/running room. We were excited to be joined by Grandma Petersen and 3 of the Boel kids (Devin, Haley and Vivian). Aleky decided this morning that he wanted to run to so we brought him along and they let him register at the last minute. Grandpa Petersen was very kind and dropped us off close to the starting line and then met us at the finish line with Quinten and Gidean.
The race starts on the North side of the Provo Temple, at the top of the hill. Even with all of the foot traffic I still ran faster than a 6 minute mile (12+ mph, a personal best). Since I had my own personal timer on my phone I had to start it at the Starting Line so the rest of the family got a head start. That means I passed them all as I flew down the hill. However, before I reached the stadium I pulled a muscle in my hip and that made the remaining 2 miles a bit painful. In spite of the injury I was still able to finish the 5K in 22:04!
Devin and David ran together and finished in just under 25 minutes.
Donovan and Michael finished their run in about 26:30. Donovan has already crossed the finish line and Michael is about 3 seconds behind him!
Aleky sprinted away from Michelle and Grandma. However, Norman Thurston (a long-time neighbor) caught up to him on the final sprint to make sure Aleky didn't get lost in the crowd. Thank you Brother Thurston.
The ladies all finished around 35 minutes. In the picture we see Haley (who finished first), Vivan (right on her heels), Michelle (waving to the crowd), with Grandma on her heels (behind another runner).
While Grandma Petersen had sworn of running any more 5K's after the Barrus Memorial 5K on July 4th, she still came down with the Boels to run and have fun! We have the best family EVER! We wanted to pose in front of the unfinished Provo City Center Temple at the finish line of the race.
After the run we headed over for a pancake breakfast provided by our (Provo Bonneville) Stake. Since the breakfast started at 8:00 we probably missed a huge part of the stake members but we still were able to visit with many of our friend from around the neighborhood. And I have to say, the breakfast lines/serving was amazingly organized and very impressive! Thank you to all of the stake members who help provide this wonderful breakfast.
