Operation Turbo 5k

May 24, 2022 Ashley Barlow Comments 0 Comment

July 17, 2021

I was planning to be back in my hometown of Richmond, VA for my sister’s bridal shower and I just had to sign up for another race! A race in July you ask!? Yes, July is one of the worst times of year to race. It is very hot and humid, but I figured a 5k couldn’t be too bad!?

This race was located in Pratt Park and was an out and back course. The race did not start until 8am and I wished it had started earlier. It was already quite humid and hot that morning. I did not have any expectations or goals for this race, but to just do my best and finish. Especially in this July hot and humid heat.

I had one girl running in front of me during most of the course. I live in Colorado now and almost forgot how it felt to run in the hot humidity. When I was approaching the last stretch of the race, the girl in front of me started to slow down. She definitely started out too fast and was not able to maintain her pace the entire race. She was running out of gas and I could not believe that I was able to pass her. After passing her and getting close to the finish line, I could hear her speeding up behind me. I started to run as fast as I could and she almost collided with me at the finish line. It was a dramatic finish and by far the most intense race finish of my life. I am glad someone was able to get a picture of the finish below.

We were both so dead after finish that we were gasping for air and had to lay down for a bit to recover in the humid heat. After recovering and waiting for the race to finish, they announced the race results. I could not believe that I had placed 1st Overall Female in the Operation Turbo 5k Race!!! I have never placed 1st in a race before and could believe my achievement!

If I lived locally to the area, I would have signed up for these races all the time because they had so many cool trophies for completing X amount of races in the series. I definitely recommend these races!