Race Report: Fly By 5K (Burlington, Vermont)
(tl;dr at the end if you prefer)
Registration and bib pickup:
The South Burlington Parks & Rec department advertised this brand new run on social media, and I signed up the moment I saw it. I'm a Million Miler and frequent flyer, so I knew I had to do it. It was free to register and the first 250 people who signed up got a pair of socks with the colors and logo design. Bib pickup was offered for two days before the race at the municipal offices. I went Friday at lunch time and there were big banners and signs at a desk as soon as you walked in the building. They asked for my name and I got a printed map of the parking, my bib and my socks. They had the course map printed on big posters but nowhere else, which was kind of weird. I took a pic with me phone to compare to Google Maps later.
Race morning: The race was at 8am and I got up about 6:30. Garmin told me I had optimal sleep cycles -- that's a first! I walked the dog and made some coffee. I had decided to dress up as Amelia Earhart, since she flew into Burlington in 1934 and there are photos of her in the terminal. I had tested my costume on the treadmill, including my boots. What I didn't anticipate was a 34 degree morning! So I swapped out my short sleeve shirt for long sleeve, put on longer socks under my pants and stuffed some fingerless gloves in my pocket.
Pre-race:
DH drove so I could eat an Uncrustable and finish my coffee on the way there. We drove past the staging area about 7:35 and I didn't see a porta, so he took me the quarter mile down the road to the terminal and waited at the curb while I ran in and use the bathroom. We swung back around and he dropped me off about 7:40. There were probably 250-300 people there milling about, ranging from fast-looking young guys in singlets to parents with toddlers (some in strollers). There was a table with water in cups and bowls of cut up fruit, and a table taking food bank donations. I dropped off my donation and grabbed a few sips of water.
They DID have one porta, with a VERY long, slow line. I was glad I'd gone to the terminal! The staging area was a parking lot normally used for the airplane catering facility, and they had some bicycle fencing designating one big corral. I hung toward the back with the stroller crowd. I was the ONLY person in costume. At first it was a bit awkward, but then a guy with a camera who was with the city asked to take my photo. I was taking a selfie with Aero, the airport mascot, and the airport social media person took a shot of us together as she introduced herself. I got random compliments and photo requests as we waited for the start. They made an announcement for the >20 minute runners to head toward the front and we all started about 8:01. There were some pre-race announcements I couldn't hear from the back of the corral, so one more speaker would've been good.
Race course and support:
We went in through the gate onto airport property and turned down a service road. The course was a bit hilly and wound around mostly back roads behind airport fencing and outside. There were two out-and-backs so I got to see the lead runners as I was about halfway through, which was cool. They had a truck with the mascot in the back pacing the lead and there were airport workers? volunteers? in neon vests about every 50 feet along the course. There was lots of encouragement, comments and compliments along the way. The kids loved the costume and lots of parents were pointing me out as they ran, which was fun.
The cool part came at the end, when we came back into airport property and got to run down and back on an actual runway! I stopped for a selfie and one of the workers asked if I'd like him to take a pic for me, so I did. You can see the terminal and planes on the left there.
I was in my usual mid-to-back of the pack, but there was a nice crowd at the finish and I got lots of shouts and noticed the social media person shooting video as I finished. I was SO ready to unzip my jacket! (Pleather doesn't breath, y'all.)
Post-race and final thoughts:
DH made a Dunkin run for me and had my iced coffee and munchkins there at the finish. And he surprised me with a medal he had made online! they didn't do medals for this race and he wanted me to have something to hang on my wall. It was so sweet! He had to order 10 though, so we found some of the kiddos who I'd seen on the course and (after getting parent permission) gave out the rest of them. The same water and fruit was there for the finish and there were shuttles taking people over to a community festival nearby. I stripped off my jacket (ahhh!) and we headed home.
Overall it was a well-run race, especially for a first time event and a free race. They could have used an extra porta or two at the start/finish and an extra speaker for the announcements. A medal or even something fun like pilot wings would've made good swag at the finish line, but no complaints at all about the cute socks. I'll definitely sign up if they do it again, assuming I'm in town.
As for my running, meh. I haven't been doing much except for maintenance runs so I had zero expectations, but I finished in 38:24 and got a lactate threshold update from Garmin. I do have some knee pain and shin splints today, which are new, but I chalk that up to the boots. I think if the weather isn't crazy hot, I may resurrect this costume for the January 10K adventure theme. I have chipmunk ears and a tail I can add to it, too.
And YES I did make both the airport's and the parks department's social media channels!
tl;dr: I ran the inaugural
Fly By 5K in Burlington dressed as Amelia Earhart, complete with pleather jacket and boots on a brisk 34° morning. The free race had great organization for a first-time event—easy bib pickup, fun socks as swag, friendly volunteers, and the highlight: running down an actual runway! Downsides were limited porta potties and hard-to-hear announcements, but overall it was a unique, well-run event. I finished in 38:24, got lots of love for the costume, and my DH surprised me with a custom medal. I’d definitely sign up again!
