On Monday, Lighthouse Events hosted its annual Race Into the New Year 5K and 10K. The race began and ended at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin, Wisconsin. There was a ton of free parking and a large gymnasium to wait in for the race start. There were also lots of indoor bathrooms — runners were warm and did not have to wait in porta potty lines. What a great way to start a race!
The day prior to the race, a winter weather advisory was issued indicating a chance for freezing rain predicted to begin just prior to race start time. Race organizers sent out multiple emails updating runners of what to expect. The emails contained the weather information and warned runners that if the trail was covered in ice, the race would be canceled. Updates were given every couple of hours throughout the night.
I was extremely appreciative of the extreme effort race directors put into their proactive communication to make sure everyone was safe. The determination was made that the weather pattern would hold off allowing runners to get their races in.
The 10K begin at 8:30 a.m. and runners experienced great weather. The skies were overcast, but there was no precipitation and temps were in the upper 30’s. The race began at the sports complex and followed a trail out and back to complete one 5K loop. 10K runners made the loop twice.
The trail was paved and mostly clear with the exception of a couple patches of snow. There was also the notorious bouncy bridge which runners crossed four times if they did the 10K. If you were on the bridge alone, you did not experience the bounce; however, when runners were passing on either side it felt somewhat like a shallow trampoline giving runners extra bounce to their step.
As with all Lighthouse Events, race company owner, Craig Braun, was at the finish line greeting everyone with a high-five and a smile. All runners received a short or long sleeve technical T-shirt, depending on their preference. Everyone also received a finisher’s medal. Age group medals were given to places first through tenth which is another unique perk found at Lighthouse races.
First through third female 10K winners were: Sherri Donnelly, Jenny Shattuck, and Christy Murray. First through third male 10K winners were: Jacob Jodat, Frankie Deguire, and Mike Deau.
First through third female 5K winners were: Cammie Beck, Lisa Johnson, and Amelia Henderson. First through third male 5K winners were: Evan Wetzel, Brian Falcone, and Freddy Garcia.
