The Stone Rabbit: A ROYAL RUN!

When my niece tossed out the idea of signing up for the ROYALS CHARITIES 5K Run/Walk. . .well, I wasn't sure about doing it. The run was to be held in mid-August, which typically means HOT, HOT, HOT in Missouri...and it didn't start until 8 a.m., which meant it would be HOT, HOT, HOT at that time of day in August. . .and it was mostly held on the concrete parking lots that surround the Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadiums, which meant REALLY HOT, HOT, HOT! However, since it ALSO meant spending some fun time with her AND part of the run was to be done on the outfield inside the Royals stadium, I signed up. . . .and am I ever glad I did !!

It actually turned out to be a FABULOUS morning!! Rain had been predicted....but it didn't happen!! The skies were a bit overcast to start, but they cleared up to a gorgeous blue. . .I'm sure in honor of our Royals blue!!

This picture is of my niece and I prior to the 5K! I credit her for my start in running 5 years ago! We are so lucky to live close to each other . . .we get to do one or two runs together each year!

This was a heavenly sight. . .lots of Royal Blue porta potties. . .and they were clean and fresh!!

My running friend Karen came to cheer me on!! This picture is out of sequence cuz it was taken after I'd completed the 5K.....she looks fresh as a daisy....I'm sweating profusely! It was so awsome to have her there!!

I'm with one of my newer running friends, Sherri! She ran with a group called Team RWB (Red, White and Blue). It's an organization whose mission "is to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity." The Royals are huge supporters for our veterans.

Her blog is called Adventures of a Middle-Aged Drama Queen! We "met" on line nearly a year ago. . .through a running facebook page . . .and finally in person at at 10K in September! We've been "running into each other" ever since!!

This fellow was kind enough to give us his blessings as we headed to the Start of the run! :)

There were about 2,500 participants at the 5K! It was really family friendly. . . lots of serious (and not so serious) runners were there, but so were tons of kiddos with their parents, getting to experience running/walking at such a fun venue!!

An airshow was in town last weekend, and as the national anthem was nearly over, this formation of planes flew over us. . . twice!! It was such a moving experience!!

When I'm doing longer runs, I do run/walk intervals, but when I do 5Ks, I try to concentrate on running as much as I can. I take lots of photos on my walk intervals on the longer runs. . .but not so much on the 5Ks cuz, like I said, I'm trying not to walk! However, when we were near the end of the run, we ran down a tunnel and BAM....we were on the outfield at the Royals!!! It was so neat that I had to take a few pictures!!!

I "borrowed" this one from my niece's album of photos!!! I don't even remember seeing this spot! I was in lah lah land!!

I did take this blurry one. . .cuz I was still trying to run! I just wanted to remember what the outfield looked like at that level and not how I typically see it from up high in a seat in the stands!

Karen took this picture just as I had finished the run. That was a happy woman there!! I was glad it was over, but I was pleased that I didn't do too badly with my time.

There were so many awesome Royals "celebrities" at the event. . .all were so great about posing for photos!!

Here I am with Royals historian Dave Webster aka KayCee.....he's known to us as the "W Guy" because every time the Royals win at home, he climbs stairs and and hangs the W on the Royals Hall of Fame building and salutes it!!

He was waiting for all of us at the finish line!!

This Royals fan ran with moose antlers strapped to his back! One of the Royals players is Mike Moustakas....lovinly known as MOOSE !!! He took the antlers to the to the stadium last fall when the Royals were in the Worlds Series and became a "hit" with the fans.

He was right in front of us at the start of the run....I tried to get a picture of him there....but he took off and left us in his running dust!! I tracked him down for a photo afterwards. He said the antlers weighed about 15 pounds.

I was thrilled to find out I'd placed third in my division!! My niece took this photo of me holding up my little certificate! In the background you can see the announcer for the awards ceremony.....his name is Toby Cook. He used to be an anchor at a local news station. He has been the Vice President for Community Affairs and Publicity (for the Royals) for several years now!

Yep, I had my niece take a picture of me with Toby, too! :)

THE STONE RABBIT loved hearing all about our great time at the Royals 5K!! He was impressed with my running on that morning. . .but even more by my swell new Royals shirt! He got pretty tired of hearing me grumble last year about not being able to find a shirt I loved. . .cuz this city was so Royals crazy our t-shirt suppliers couldn't keep the shelves stocked! :)