Biggest Loser RunWalk 5K

I am a HUGE fan of The Biggest Loser. I've seen almost every season, cry during every makeover week and love following past contestants on Instagram and Twitter. So when the show announced their RunWalk Series during the most recent season, I knew I had to participate in one of their races.

As soon as I saw that the race series was coming to Plattsburgh, NY, I immediately registered. Plattsburgh is about an hour from home by ferry, and my family usually makes a trip over there once or twice a year to visit the closest Target and enjoy a day together. So, when Emily and I signed up for this race we decided to make it a two-in-one affair!

I went across the lake the day before the race for the expo because one of my my favorite Biggest Losers ever, Tara Costa, was going to be appearing at the race. I watched her Q&A and then had her sign my bib, pose for a picture and asked her a question about staying motivated in half marathon training. She was so sweet! It was surreal to meet her after watching her go through such a personal experience on TV; I felt like I knew her!

me & Tara!

The next morning, my family and I packed into the car at 6:30 AM and took off. It was an early morning but with the uncertainty of the ferry we wanted to be sure to leave enough time to get to the starting line. We definitely cut it close, pulling into town about 10 minutes before the race was set to start. Emily had to go to the bathroom so we waited in the Porta Potty line until about a minute before we started running - not my ideal, but it's what had to happen.

They started the race in 3 corrals which wasn't explained at all and left us at the very end dodging walkers left and right. We ended up getting a little tangled up as we ran by our parents...thankfully it was with each other and not strangers.

this was the shot that my mom got during the race. oops.

After weaving through the course trying to pass walkers and slower runners I finally found my stride. I felt good, but not great. It was kind of muggy out and the course was pretty boring. Emily and I didn't stay together at all as she was running for time so I just made my way along and tried to enjoy. During the last mile I ran right in front of what I gathered to be a new runner and her coach. The coach was motivating the newbie, so I listened and learned! She said we were keeping a solid 9:40 pace...what?! I had no idea I was running that fast (fast being a relative term there...fast for me). That motivated me to keep it up and push just a little more. I lost the duo when the newbie was moaning about how everything hurt - it reminded me of how far I've come and pushed me to go just a little faster!

The half marathoners started to pass us in the opposite direction around mile 3, so that gave me some distraction for awhile.  I enjoyed seeing that the half marathoners were of all different shapes and sizes and it reminded me of my goal and how I know that I can achieve it.

As I rounded the finish line there were lots of people cheering - I spotted my parents and Emily (who already had her medal, bagel and water...she ended up placing 3rd in her age group!) who cheered and took a photo-

so close!

Exactly as I crossed the finish line the running time read 30:00. I knew that we hadn't crossed the start line until about 1:45, so I thought that I might have set a PR! I didn't really feel like I had been going all that fast and I figured that they could have changed the clock or something, but I was still happy with my time. Come to find out my official chip time was 28:14 - WHAT?!?!? I PRed by almost 2 minutes and I didn't even know it! It was good enough for 10th in my age group and was a really proud moment.

I got my medal and a bottle of water and headed to meet my family - and on my way Jackie Evans was walking in the opposite direction! Jackie and her son Dan were on Season 5 of the Biggest Loser and are the spokespeople for the BiggestLoser RunWalk. She was so down to earth - I thanked her for coming to Plattsburgh and she congratulated me on my time. What a cool experience!

I continued on to meet my family and enjoyed the rest of the race - we cheered people on as they came in and saw the first of the half marathoners finish. It was a really moving experience - so many people who are just starting out on their journey towards health were finishing with huge smiles on their faces. It was so inspiring and moved my mom to tears!

 the PR sisters.

We're JACKED.

It was such a fun day - I would highly recommend that you participate in a Biggest Loser RunWalk!

UPDATE: they offer free digital photos of you at the event for downloading! Love it! Here are my best...

 Trucking along.

 love how they got the finish line banner in the back!

Crossing the finish line

Proud finishers!