This weekend, I participated in the Fourth(?) Annual Turtle Trot 5k for Re-member, an organization that works with the Oglala Lakota on Pine Ridge Reservation. From their website, they “improve the quality of reservation life through relationships, shared resources and volunteer services.” I’ve been very glad to help them in the past, and it was nice to fundraise for them again.

The race itself started in the Oak Meadows area of Hudson Mills metropark, and the course wound around the perimeter of the main area. The miles were not marked off (that I could see), so that made the race a lot more interesting in terms of my pace. I usually like to see how I’m doing, especially between mile markers one and two. However, I had a general sense of my direction throughout the race, and since it was in one large oval, I knew when I was getting fairly close to my destination. Additionally, since this was a smaller race, I didn’t have anyone to pace with or draft off. That was a sharp contrast to the last 5k I did (the Susan G. Komen), where there were tons of people throughout the entire race. It definitely was a lot more peaceful.

Overall, I’m very glad I was able to help out a great organization like Re-member, and I hope they continue to do the good work they do in the future.