Litchfield, IL Route 66 5k

I set a new 5k PR for the year this morning!

All year I have been finishing 5k's in 42-ish minutes.  The MO' Cowbell 5K was my fastest this year at 39:01.  Last weekend's Veterans Day 5k time was 40:24 and the Cahokia Mounds trail run was over 43 minutes due to the difference in terrain.  Last night and this morning, I thought about walking the 5k because I was sore from the boot camp classes I took Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.  They had a high calorie burn but they left me sore and wondering if that soreness would negatively affect my 5k time.  But as it turned out, the soreness didn't affect my time today and I finished in 37:39!

I had signed up for the half marathon originally, but I was not properly trained so I switched to the 5k.  The last time I ran the half marathon here was in 2014 and I LOVED it!  This year, both my mom and my step-dad met me for the race.  Litchfield is about an hour from St. Louis and an hour from my hometown in Illinois, so it is a nice place to meet up with my family for a race.

We ate dinner at the historic Ariston Cafe again and stayed at the Quality Inn again just like we did in 2014.  I highly recommend staying at the Quality Inn because you only have a 5 minute walk to the start/finish line.  This is the only race I have run where I was able to get up 45 minutes prior to the race start because I didn't have to worry about driving and parking.  You really can't beat that!

This is a smaller race, but I love the hometown feel.  Packet pick-up was at the Holiday Inn and it only took a few minutes per person to get our packets.  This year is the 66th anniversary of the Skyview Drive In theater in Litchfield, so we received an iron-on patch at packet pick-up with our long-sleeved shirt.  This year, the 5k racers also received medals and they had a drive in movie theater theme that is really unique.  The course took you by Ariston Cafe and on Route 66.  It was an out-and-back course, which made it great for the spectators too.

Race day packet pick-up was available and was located right in between the start and the finish line.  There were four porta potties at the start/finish area which seemed to be enough for the runners and spectators.  The day started with a 1-mile dash, followed by the half marathon start, and finally the 5k start.

Give this race a try in 2017 if you haven't had the opportunity to experience it yet.  Check the Racemaker Productions website for all of their upcoming races and be sure to like their page on Facebook for updates and discount codes.