I’ve written about Pat’s Run before. It’s probably Phoenix’s most popular race. The 4.2 mile race is in honor of Pat Tillman, war-veteran and former NFL player, who died in Afghanistan in 2004. The unique race distance commemorates the 42 jersey he wore when he played for Arizona State University, and the finish line of the race leads you to the 42 yard line inside Sun Devil Stadium. The race always takes place in April, and on a day in the twenties–this year, 4/22.
Flat Helly
There were 28,000 registrants for the 13th annual walk/run.
I’ve done this race twice before, once pre-kids and once with my husband and I pushing a stroller. Needless to say, it is a very difficult race to maneuver, even without a stroller. Even though it is an awesomely inspiring race, I can’t get over the magnitude of the crowd, so I don’t sign up for it.
But this year the shirt was camo. And you cannot say no camo.
I was hoping for *more* camo, but I’ll take what I get, lol (source)
There was also a medal for the first time, which will become a part of a 4 year series (I don’t know how I feel about series medals…what do you guys think?).
(source)
Anyway, I didn’t have a game plan for this race. I wanted to be around half marathon pace as I have a half this coming weekend–so for me, that’s around 7:35-7:55/mile.
SPLITS: 7:42, 7:48, 7:39, 7:46
So I was happy. But as I’ve said, this isn’t a race to worry about time, but more so to soak up the atmosphere.
Cheesin’ with Sparky (Go Devils!)
At the start line with 28,000 of my closest running buddies (check out that girls badass hair)
I love running for a good cause. I love running with friends. I love running. ❤
–What’s the biggest race you’ve participated in?
–Are you a fan of series medals? (I’m not particularly a fan, tbh)
–Have you raced at your alma mater?
I live too far away from my alma mater and back then, running wasn’t as popular so many of the races that exist now weren’t there when I was a student.
Tillman played college football when I was a student, so I would have definitely seen him. His death affected us because he was a member of the Pac-10 family (it’s always the Pac-10 to me, I don’t care about the other two interlopers).
Nice splits.
It’s always the Pac-10 to me too, lol!!
That’s a great run. Congrats! I can see why this would be a frustrating run, but how awesome that it is still so popular. Great to see people honoring a wonderful guy. I used to compete at a figure skating competition where the medals were pie slices that came together. I so desperately wanted to get the whole pie, but I never went back. Cool idea. But a tough one to make work.
Exactly! It’s crazy crowded but it’s cool to see so many people support a great cause! 🙂
Vancouver Sun Run, 40,000 runners. I only did it because I led a running group for it, otherwise I stay away from big crowds like that. EEEEEEP!
Yeah, that sounds insane!
We had a Pat’s Run here too but I don’t know how it went with turnout. I don’t think it was even timed. I did not participate because I really didn’t know much about it and without it being timed and on race calendars, it just wasn’t on my radar (until the night before, I saw a friend facebooking about it and remembered it was going on). You had a GREAT 4 mile time. I like the medal but I don’t like the idea of series medals over multiple years because it’s not likely most people can do all four races.
Exactly. Especially if you want to explore other different races. It bugs me if the series medal doesn’t stand alone as a good medal, lol
Yeah, I feel like if a series has medals it should be a good medal for those who can only run one, too.
This looks similar to the Seahawks 12K we just ran a couple weeks ago and it with the weird distance, I didn’t really know what to do with it either – I sorta made it a Hansons tempo type run…our 12K was nowhere near that in size though, probably 5,000 or so…biggest race for me was Chicago marathon by far! Not sure about series medals – have never done one…we like to travel and take in new races so at the half or full distances, series are not something we are likely to complete.
Yes, I’ve done Chicago and some other big ones but for a 4.2 miler, this one’s pretty insane, lol!
Those are great splits! Can’t wait to see how your half marathon goes 🙂
I usually tend to run smaller races. I did a Disney race a few years ago that I believe had around 16,000 runners. Can’t imagine 28,000!
I’ve been wanting to do a Disney race. And yes, I’ve heard those are crowded–I think anything after Pat’s Run (and NYC), I’m prepared, lol!!
I did it in NYC this weekend. There were just over 700 people. It was fun, and cool to see so many alumni! Not that I knew anyone! We got the shirt but there wasn’t a medal. Which is fine because I do not need a medal for that distance! It was crazy crowded; it looped back and forth between a couple of piers on the Hudson River. And then they had an after party at a pub. It was untimed but I got myself a good pace!
That’s so cool to hear about some of the Honor Runs that happen outside of AZ!! It’s funny to hear how it was even crowded for you guys!
OMG that’s huge!! I think the biggest race I’ve ever run is CIM which is like 8,000-10,000ish. Lord help me at Boston next year or if I ever run something like London or NY.
I’ve done some big ones–Chicago, MCM, New York–so I’m not too bad with crowds but for a 4.2 miler, this one’s pretty crazy, LOL!!!