I had never considered the possibility of running more than a couple of times around the block until January 2012, when I decided to adopt a regular morning exercise routine. I started out mostly “running” inside on my elliptical machine but slowly built up to running 5k around my neighborhood slowly with friends. The biggest obstacle to running for me had always been the feeling that I couldn’t actually breathe when I ran. In less than a mile I was completely out of breath and I felt a sting in my lungs. But I found that the more I ran, the more I learned how to breathe when running, and soon I could run a 5k with no lung issue (unless it was below freezing outside). I still couldn’t run fast, but I could actually run and enjoy myself while doing it. I also learned the importance of proper footwear and replacing said footwear periodically. I invested in several pairs of running tights with pockets, good socks, and comfortable sports bras.

Since moving to Pittsburgh, I had watched many races that ran through my neighborhood and practically right by my house. When I first moved in I would go outside and cheer on the runners, with no thought of actually running myself. But at some point I realized that running a race was not such a crazy idea, and by Fall 2012, I was running 5k races.

I ran my first Pittsburgh Great Race 5k in September 2013. One of the really great things about this race is the 5k is mostly downhill from the Pitt campus in Oakland to downtown. A year later I decided to try my first 10k, and it was ok. Since then I’ve run every year I could — I’ve been out of town or had schedule conflicts some years, and one year I had planned to run but had to sit it out due to an injury. But I think I’ve done it about half a dozen times. Sometimes its cold, sometimes its hot, sometimes it rains. One year there was a giant inflatable rubber duck near the finish line. And always there are smiley cookies and bananas.

The weather was perfect for the Great Race today. It was about 60 degrees and sunny at the 9:30 am race start time. I ran comfortably in the long-sleeve 2026 race shirt. Although I’ve played a lot of soccer recently, I haven’t run as much over the past few months due to travel and the unavailability of some of my usual running buddies. So I felt somewhat unprepared for a 10k.

This year the Great Race organizers assigned runners to starting corrals based on their self-reported pace to try to avoid the bunching that happens at the beginning of the race when slow runners start too far up front. I was assigned to corral B and was pleased to see that monitors were actually directing people to their assigned corrals to line up. The race started and I felt like I was in a good place.

The beginning of the race is mostly uphill, which is a drag. However, I live on a hill and most of my neighborhood runs start up by running up a hill for a quarter of a mile, so I’m used to it. Once at the top of this hill, the race levels off as it goes through the Squirrel Hill business district, where I was excited to hear a Sunburst School of Music band playing in front of the school as we ran by. Then we headed downhill on Forbes, past my street. I waived at lots of neighbors as I ran by. Next, we passed Carnegie Mellon and went back up a hill, and then down and up to Fifth Avenue and through the Pitt campus. Here, the 10k race passed through the 5k starting line, indicating that we were halfway there. I knew I could make it this far, since I run 5k around my neighborhood all the time. The next half of the race was what I was worried about.

The run through Oakland wasn’t too bad, but then the race headed uphill again and all my leg muscles started to ache. But just when I was starting to question my decision to run a 10k, we turned onto the highway and could see the Pittsburgh skyline, bridges and river. And then I forgot my aching muscles and started enjoying the view.

But as the road turned uphill again, my leg muscles continued to complain. I pushed on and was relieved to reach Duquesne University at the top of the hill. I started composing this blog post in my head.

Shortly thereafter, we reached the five-mile mark and I knew I could get to the finish line. Still my legs complained but I pushed on. As we entered the downtown area of the city, there were more onlookers cheering us on. People had posters and cowbells. A sign reminding us that there would be bananas at the finish line helped push me forward. I was still breathing just fine, but my legs had really had enough.

It wasn’t my best time, but it also wasn’t my worst, and I reached the finish line without any injuries. I grabbed my medal, a bottle of water, and a banana, and headed to the fountain at the Point to enjoy the beautiful day.