I think I welcomed May in the best way possible—running my first long run of the month at 4am, and finishing as the sun was starting to rise. Thousands of others from across the globe also participated in this unifying run, and I was able to participate due to the fact that the only US/West Coast location that was organizing the event this year was an hour away by car. That, and the fact I was able to carpool with four others from my marathon training group!
This event occured the smack dab in the middle of exam week/I-really-need-to-study weekend, but fortunately I was able to balance the necessary to-do items with the fun ones.
The fun began the Friday before when me and three others from my marathon training group drove over to Santa Monica to pick up our race packets. Traffic was HORRENDOUS, and it took us about an hour just to get to Santa Monica when it should have taken 20-30 minutes! Even so, finding parking was relatively easy, and the running store was a short walk away.
After picking up our packets, we decided to hang out in Santa Monica for a while since traffic was still pretty bad going back. My teammates wanted to grab a bite to eat, but since I already had dinner cooking and waiting for me at home, I ended up being a “fourth wheel”, but extra company. Honestly, I just wanted to get back home asap, and get to sleep as early as possible since I would have to wake up extremely early on Sunday morning based on our group’s agreed meeting time…
I did get home around 8:30, had a quick dinner, and went to sleep around 9:30. I didn’t set an alarm since Saturday was my designated “rest” day, and I planned to wake up naturally and get straight to work once I had the energy.
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On Saturday, I began my day by finishing up my time-consuming genetics paper, and from there, made my way to the campus library to start studying for my final statistics exam. I also had a package waiting for me to pick up since its arrival in the middle of the week, and found time to do so before heading over to the library.
I had ordered the newest Quest bar flavor—Mint Chocolate Chunk—the week before since I knew I wouldn’t have time to head over to a Vitamin Shoppe this weekend to stock up for the week. But since this new flavor is only available through Quest as of right now, it made perfect sense to try this flavor out during one of my most busiest weeks.
I was intrigued by the bright green colored chunks and how tumeric was listed as an ingredient, but I think my expectations were too high after actually trying it. I found it to be much more solid in texture, and less chewy than some of Quest’s other flavors. The mint flavor wasn’t too strong, which was alright since it would otherwise be battling with the chocolate in the bar.
Overall, this flavor doesn’t make me want to part ways with my top 3 choices (S’mores, Cookies and Cream, and White Chocolate Raspberry), but at least I tried it, and sometimes you need to try something that you may or may not like in order to appreciate the things you really love!
The rest of my Saturday was spent in the library, grocery shopping locally, and then heading back home for a light dinner before going to bed at 7:30PM! Yup, 7:30PM…since we were leaving at 1:45AM that night (or following morning?), I needed to get a decent amount of sleep before the sky turned dark. So after getting all my things in order like a good runner, I promptly called it a day and was dependent on my alarm to wake me up on time.
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It was an interesting feeling having to wake up at 1:00AM…when a lot of youngsters usually are coming back from Saturday night outings! I say that like I’m a grandma or something, but in a way I pretty much am 
.
Anyways, I was picked up by my capool around 1:45AM, and then we were off on the highway towards Santa Clarita up north. For it being so early in the morning, it wasn’t that cold in LA, but when we arrived at the Valencia Town Center mall an hour later, we were freezing.
We found parking in the mall parking garage (and we made the wise decision to pick a spot on the FIRST floor…), and walked over to the mall center where race day registration and packet pick-up were happening.
We tried to stay warm by huddling under a lampost until it was time to line up at the start line. When our group found a spot within the crowds we finally started to feel as warm as we were anxious!
It was hard to catch a glimpse at the screen in front of us since there were so many people, but I realized that the “celeb ambassador” for our event was Lindsey Vonn. She was being interviewed by one of the race organizers I believe.
Once 4AM struck, we were allowed to begin our run. Of course, there was an awkward shuffle to even get to the starting line, but everything went smoothly after that.
The interesting and unique thing about this race was that there was no limit to how far you could go, hypothetically. The goal is to run for as long as possible, until the ‘catcher car’ passes you. All runners were given the first half hour to run without the fear of a looming catcher car behind them, but the car hit the road around 4:30AM. It started off at a 10 mph pace, and the gradually picked up speed as time went on.
I didn’t fuel up before this race since it was such an early start, but I also feel like I didn’t need to. I came into the race with the mindset of treating it as an extra early morning Sunday long run, and was excited to see how far I could go before the catcher car caught up to me!
For the first hour, everything was still pitch black and running against such a dark backdrop felt surreal. My pace was close to 9 min/mile, and I even got faster as the miles went on! There were water/aid stations every two miles or so, but I didn’t feel the need to stop since the weather was kind, cool, and very runner-friendly (in other words, no dehydration concerns!).
The route wasn’t well-lit, so the headlamps they gave us in our goody bags came in handy for the runners. Unfortunately, I left mine in my bag (in the car) because I didn’t think I would absolutely need it…and I didn’t really, but this was the best opportunity to try it out.
It was around the 8 mile mark that I noticed the sun was starting to rise. This was one of the moments I had been waiting for during this race, and was excited to be able to run against the backdrop of a golden dawn.
Things started to get a little crazy at around 10 miles. I had a feeling that based on the pace I was running and the distance I had already covered, the catcher car should not be too far behind. In fact, once the runners near me and I noticed the sirens in the distance, we made a mad dash for our lives! There were a couple of photographers and video cameramen nearby urging us to run faster and faster, but it didn’t make a significant difference
The catcher car caught up to me at around 10.4 miles, and from there I wasn’t sure if we were “allowed” to keep running. After high fiving a fellow runner, I asked her if she knew and she simply shrugged her shoulders and kept walking. I decided I might as well run to the next shuttle pick-up stop, which was another ~1.5 miles away.
After making it to the next boarding shuttle stop, I joined the huddle that was beginning to grow in size and waited for the shuttle bus doors to open. In the meantime, I got myself a heat sheet to stay warm. Volunteers also laid out some fruit (oranges, bananas) and water bottles.
The shuttle was packed, and so I ended up having to stand in the aisle. I did happen to catch a glimpse of Lindsey Vonn though, since she was seated by the window in the row of seats next to where I was standing!
From what I saw, she was very down-to-earth and friendly, talking enthusiastically to the runners around her despite it being almost 6AM in the morning.
Once we got to the finish line (the starting line area), tents were set up and free stuff was now available for the taking!
There was a red carpet rolled out, a poster wall to sign, and free Red Bull in martini glasses. Despite the ‘glitz and glamour’ of the post-race festivities, I passed on all of the above and headed straight towards the food vouchers tent for the food trucks. I wanted a waffle, so as soon as I got my ticket, I immediately found the line for Waffles de Liege.
The items free for runners were already predetermined and made for the race, so even though I spotted speculoos cookie butter as a possible topping for their waffles, it unfortunately wasn’t an option for this time around. Instead, we were given waffles based off the ‘Red Bull Menu’: an original waffle topped with strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate spread.
And despite the small size and it being the only option available, man was it gooooood!
The waffles itself had a crisp exterior, but a warm, almost honeycomb-like crystallized sugar interior that melted in your mouth! I could have had just the waffle itself and been one happy runner post-race :)!
From the five of us in my group, I ended up running the second-farthest from everyone. One girl was caught by the catcher car around 6 miles, and two others were caught around 8-8.5 miles. One of the guys ended up running close to a half marathon before he was caught!
After redeeming and reveling in our waffles and early morning accomplishments, all five of us unanimously decided it was time to go back and either sleep, shower, or most likely end up falling asleep in the shower! I was dropped off at my apartment as it approached 8AM, and felt like continuing the celebration by diving into my first Ben & Jerry’s cookie core before squeezing in a nap.
Who cares if it was 8AM? I had already been awake for six hours, so it was as good a time as any for ice cream.
Plus, it was the Spectacular Speculoos flavor…the hottest B&J’s flavor to hit grocery stores as of late!
This, paired with the previous night’s episode of Saturday Night Live was the best way to continue the excitment that made this Sunday morning unforgettable. But seriously though—a giant core of cookie butter and cookie bits mixed in vanilla and caramel ice cream—right up there with that waffle I had just a few hours before!
So after my little ice cream feast, I ended up taking a 40 minute nap, waking up still a bit groggy and falling asleep again for nap #2, and then taking a shower before heading to the library to continue studying for my Statistics exam the next day.
I would definitely recommend participating in a Wings for Life World Run if it happens in a location near you. This one of a kind race has a relatively cheap entry fee for what you get out of it, and the proceeds benefit spinal cord research. It provides a unique and unifying opportunity every runner should have the chance to experience sometime during their running journey 
Have you ever participated in a World Run?
