Race Report: Fables & Feathers Wine Run 5K

An interesting ad popped up in my Facebook feed one day, advertising a race called The Wine Run 5K.  Apparently these races take place all over, and this one was not far from my parents' house.  You run (or walk) a 5K and get a glass of wine at the end.

We enjoy wine tasting, so my 22-year-old daughter Carrie and I signed up.  

It was a lovely day in the low 60s.  Carrie wore a singlet and shorts.  I wore a very light long-sleeved shirt and capris.  The course was two laps of the vineyard, at one point running up and down the rows of vines.

Carrie is nursing a wonky IT band, so we figured we'd run when her knee felt okay, and walk when it grumbled.  We had no grand plans to run hard.

It appears others had the same mindset because as the race was about to begin, nobody lined up in the front at the start line.  I have never seen such a thing!  The race started and and it was downhill for a while.  We were some of the front runners.  Carrie was very strong and as we went up the first hill, I motioned for her to go ahead of me because I knew I couldn't keep up.

On the next downhill portion, I was able to make up a little bit of the distance between us.  The only reason I caught her was because her knee started to hurt on a long uphill through the vines and she had to walk.  So for the rest of the course, we alternated walking up and running down.  

At the end of the race, we got our complimentary glass of wine, and then headed to the tasting room.  The tasting room is lovely and the view is beautiful.  We sat there for quite a while, enjoying our wine flights.  They have some food for sale, which we discovered we needed after drinking the equivalent of only one glass of wine on an empty stomach!  So I bought a box of crackers and some nuts.  They also have cheeses, charcuteries, and other things available in a refrigerated case.  There were specialty peanuts and chocolate truffles (and probably other things I don't remember) for sale at the bar.  It turns out Fables & Feathers also brews beer, which was a surprise.  We bought a growler of Andy's Stout to take home to my husband.  He said it was very good.  

The tasting room also has games (foosball and pool, etc).  The outdoor seating area is beautiful.  Since my parents live only 10 minutes away, I plan to come back here sometime with my husband to chill, enjoy the scenery, and try some of the other wines and beers.

I suppose this is supposed to be a race report, so back to the race...

I wound up winning my age group.  That was a surprise!  I thought maybe I was the only one, but it turned out I was first out of fifteen.  That was an extra big surprise.  I only wish Carrie hadn't been injured because I am sure she would have medaled if she could have run the whole thing.  She is feeling so strong these days.  I feel for anyone who is feeling strong and is hampered by injury.  She did the smart thing and took care of herself by doing what she needed to do, even though it was very frustrating.  That's even harder than pushing through the pain, in my opinion.

I would definitely run this race again and will look for it next year.  Cheers!